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The HT Guys HDTV and Home Theater Podcast #262 - A/V Receivers for your next Home Theater
By The HT Guys
Braden Russell and Ara Derderian
Posted on March 27, 2008
Category: General Interest
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Today's Show:
Today we discuss a recent article in CE Pro that runs down 9 A/V Receivers that you may want to consider for your next home theater. These receivers are not entry level and as such will cost a little more than your bargain receivers. For more information on the author please see his website (http://www.leedistad.com). Now on to the list:

A/V Receivers for your next Home Theater - An article from CE Pro Written by Lee Distad

Cambridge Audio 640R $1200 online


  • HDMI switching allows latest DVD players and set-top boxes to be routed to the TV

  • Proprietary Forced / Convection Heat Tunnel - X-Tract™ Allows for very quiet and cool operation

  • Multi room support for video as well as audio

Denon AVR-3808CI $1260 online (Buy Now)

  • Dolby® TrueHD and dts-HD™ Master Audio

  • DNLA certified

  • Expanded HDMI v1.3a ports with Deep Color, xvYCC and SACD support

  • New GUI menu support

Integra DTR-7.8 $1300 from Integra Dealers

  • THX Ultra2 Certified

  • HDMI (v.1.3a) Audio & Video Processing

  • Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus Decoding, DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS-HD High-Resolution Audio

  • De-interlacer w/Faroudja DCDi Edge™ Technology

  • Bi-directional Ethernet & RS-232 Port for 3rd Party Control Systems (Device Discovery, E-control, etc.)

Marantz SR7002 $1400 (Buy Now)

  • THX Select2 Certified

  • HDMI V1.3a Repeating/Switching: 4-In/2-Out

  • Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, dts-HD Master Audio

  • Deep Color, xvYCC and SACD Support by HDMI

NAD T775 $2500

  • “Music First” philosophy

  • 4 v1.3 1080p HDMI Digital Audio/Video Inputs

  • Holmgren™ Toroidal Power Supply

  • Back Surround Amplifier Channels can be reassigned as Zone 2, 3, or 4, or front Bi-Amp

Onkyo TX-SR875 $1150 (Buy Now)

  • Reon-HQV™ HD video scaling up to 1080p

  • HDMI V1.3 repeater (4in/1out)

  • Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD decoding

  • Top line of Burr-Brown DACs for clean sound

  • Internet Radio

  • Over 50 pounds

Pioneer Elite VSX-94TXH $1200 (Buy Now) See HT Guys Review

  • HDMI® 1.3a

  • dtsHD® & Dolby® TrueHD Decoders

  • DLNA® Compliant Network Music and Internet Radio via I/P

Sony ES STR-DA5300ES $1430 (Buy Now)

  • HDMI "Active Intelligence1" (6 inputs/1 output)

  • 2nd Room HD video distribution via component video

  • Accepts 8ch linear PCM, Dolby Digital +, Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD via HDMI3

  • Faroudja® DCDi Cinema™ Up Scaling Technology

Yamaha RXV-3800 $1600 (Buy Now)

  • Latest HDMI 1.3a (4 in/1 out) specification supports deep color (30/36 bit) transmission, 120Hz and 24Hz refresh rates and auto lip-sync

  • Analog video (480i or 480p) upscaling to full HD 1080p

  • Supports Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio

  • Network Receiver functions allow you to play Internet radio, stream PC music files, use Yamaha MusicCast, and play USB portable audio players and flash drives

Posted by The HT Guys, March 27, 2008 08:04 PM

Reader Commentary

See Forum Topic: HDTV and Home Theater Podcast #262 - A/V Receivers for your next Home Theater (4 replies)
Mar 28, 12:44pm
Does anybody know when the new Denon receiver lineup will be announced? I want a 2308 but with the TrueHD and DTS-MA decoders like the 2808. A less expensive 2808 would also be ok.
Mar 29, 7:44am
The new receivers are on the Denon website. I was not able to go to the 2008 Denon CI orientation this year due to illness in my family but it was the third week in March so the receivers should be available now or very soon. Since I could not go, I hav
Mar 30, 10:01am
I was referring to the next generation of players - presumably the 2309 and 2809. The 2308/2808s have been out for quite some time. It's my understanding that the PS3 would decode TrueHD and send it over the HDMI connection as multi-channel PCM. Not su
Mar 30, 12:32pm
As an audiophile bit stream is preferred to avoid multiple conversions.
Showing only excerpts from 4 out of 5, Read More

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About The HT Guys

The HT Guys, Ara Derderian and Braden Russell, are Engineers who formerly worked for the Advanced Digital Systems Group (ADSG) of Sony Pictures Entertainment. ADSG was the R&D unit of the sound department producing products for movie theaters and movie studios.

Two of the products they worked on include the DCP-1000 and DADR-5000. The DCP is a digital cinema processor used in movie theaters around the world. The DADR-5000 is a disk-based audio dubber used on Hollywood sound stages.

ADSG was awarded a Technical Academy Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2000 for the development of the DADR-5000. Ara holds three patents for his development work in Digital Cinema and Digital Audio Recording.

Every week they put together a podcast about High Definition TV and Home Theater. Each episode brings news from the A/V world, helpful product reviews and insights and help in demystifying and simplifying HDTV and home theater.