HDTV and Home Theater Podcast #262 - A/V Receivers for your next Home Theater

[The HT Guys]

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.

[url=http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/podcast/2008/03/hdtv_and_home_theater_podcast_262_-_av_receivers_for_your_next_home_theater.php]Read Show Notes[/url]

[akirby]

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.

[genemc]

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 have not seen any of them but the information I have read sounds good. The AVR-2808CI says it supports HDMI 1.3a switching for video and also has decoders for Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD. It lists for $1199. Anything under that does not appear to have the decoders built in so you would have to use analog inputs from the DVD player to the receiver assuming your player has the correct audio decoders built in. My son has an AVR-1907 and that is how he had to hook his up. I haven't taken the HD player plunge yet.

[akirby]

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 sure if that degrades the signal over a bitstream feeding a truehd decoder in the receiver.

[Richard]

As an audiophile bit stream is preferred to avoid multiple conversions.