Home Theater Remote
What is the best receiver to start a Home theater system with? (Computer remote with readout display)?
I am finishing my basement and putting together a media center…I have a 52″ Sony Bravia TV and a Panasonic “Blue Ray player”. I need a decent reciever (Onkyo?) and do they have AM/FM? Can I get a Computer remote to control everything?(display on remote).Speakers?(Bose?)
Receivers: Depends on what your definition of ‘Best’ is. You can spend well over $5000 for a Yamaha RX-Z11 or similar Onkyo and Denon receivers. But these flagship receivers are for running several entertainment areas each with thousands of dollars equipment. I would reccomend looking at the Onkyo, Marantz, Pioneer Elite, Denon, and Yamaha receivers costing between $800 and $1700. Stay away from Sony unless they have features which I am about to list. Look for features like HDMI upconversion NOT passthrough, microphone devices for automatic tuning (Called the YPAO on the Yamaha receivers for example), and the HD decoders (Dolby True HD, Dolby Digital Plus, and DTS-HD) since these are the decoders that deal with the audio on blu-ray players. The higher the wattage doesn’t always mean louder, but the higher the wattage the better the sound quality will be as the volume increases.
Speakers: Look for higher end Polk and Klipsch, Cerwin Vega, Martin Logan, Definitive technology, and Bower & Wilkins (B&W). Subwoofers: Bigger isn’t always better. You dont want boomy bass. I recommend Definitive Technology Supercude Series, Sunfire, JL audio. Remember that subwoofers like to be placed in corners of a room. I would also reccomend getting some nice big towers for the front to start. They are not cheap (expect to pay $1200 – $2000 for a good pair) but they make up the biggest part of what you will hear since music is generally in stereo, and most of the action (non-verbal) sound from movies comes from the front right and left. (Most of the spoken audio comes from the center channel speaker). For the surround speakers, if you are still in the planning stages of this room think about in wall or ceiling speakers are really cool since they look hidden and doesnt make the room look cluttered.
Remote: A computerized remote should work with just about every brand of receiver that I listed.
Radio: All of the receivers listed have AM/FM.
Bose?: I am not going to preach, but stay away from Bose. Just trust me on this one. Period.
Bottom Line: Do some research, then go to a high end audio store. They usually are not a chain although you might be able to find some knowledgeable people in Tweeter or Magnolia centers. Tell them what you are looking to do. See what they reccomend. Dont let them push you into something more expensive than you are willing to spend. Go home and do research on the equipment that was reccomended. Make sure you go to several different stores. Almost all stores will only tell you about the brands of equipment that they sell. So it is important to not make a decision untill you go home and research.
How to Set Up a Home Theater System : Programming Tips for a Home Theater Remote Control
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