Receiver advice

[steakman1971]

I think I kind of know the answer, but thought I'd throw this out anyway. I have an old Onkyo receiver that has SVHS support. It's probably every bit of 15 years old. Long story, but it hadn't been used in 10 years (got married, had kids, moved, etc).
I recently got the bug and fired it up. Works well. Sounds nice.

Well, a lot has changed in 15 years. HDMI is all the rage. Ethernet. Streaming. You get the picture.

Would I be better off buying a new receiver? I'd like to hook up a SteamLink, Xbox 360, PS4, Roku, etc to the device. I could get an HDMI switcher - but then you have to manually switch the inputs on the receiver to match it.

I can live without ethernet/streaming. I put RuneAudio on a Raspberry PI2 - very cool!

I just hate seeing a perfectly good receiver go to waste. Not too mention, it's paid for

 

[Climber]

http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-S510BT-Channel-Receiver-Bluetooth/dp/B00YAO43YG

It is the 5.2 system but is 4k and 3d ready and is an excellent startup avr. It does not support audessy or the new ddx(?) standard so there is that, but if your on a budget I doubt you be needing those anytime soon.

I don't know what Onkyo receiver you have but if you're wanting to utilize the hdmi ports and any newer tech, then this Denon is an excellent beginner avr that gives you much bang for your buck.

 

[J Macker]

I just upgraded in December from an 8 year old Onkyo TX-SR605 to a Yamaha Aventage 2030 (refurbished from Accessories4less for $700, though price drop to $650 2 weeks after I ordered).

The difference in sound quality was nothing short of AMAZING.
The Yamaha 2030 is much cleaner, better surround effects and way more power. I am very glad that I spent the money upgrading.

I am using it to drive some high quality speakers though, so you may or may not hear the difference in sound quality unless you have good speakers. Folks over at the AVSforum always recommend upgrading speakers first and optimizing your room. After that, then upgrade the receiver.

however, if you're just looking for more features, then getting a basic receiver with HDMI seems reasonable.

After doing a ton of reading on the AVSforum, I got the impression that Yamaha was the better than Denon all-around. Yamaha reliability is much better, but has a different sound profile. Some people prefer the sound of high end Denons, others prefer Yamaha Aventage.

Here's the speakers I'm powering
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1041400307&postcount=8

 

[steakman1971]

The Denon looks like a good solution for me. I am going to be using in-wall speakers (I have two Boston Acoustics, need to get a center channel and rear speakers - these will be in-wall as well). I also have an older Velodyne powered sub. It hasn't been used in 10+ years either - haven't turned it on yet

Thanks for the feedback. I was trying to use what I have, but it would probably cost me a ridiculous amount and fall short of a modern solution.

 

[Climber]

The Elac C5 Debut series is an excellent center channel and is $179 at Amazon. The whole Elac debut line is a pretty powerful and awesome speaker set that won't break the bank. I'd recommend taking a look at them if you need speakers as well.