Help choosing AV Receiver!

[admin_exported]

Im currently thinking about setting up a new home cinema for my living room.

I have got my eye on one of the following speaker packages
KEF KHT 2005.3
KEF KHT 3005SE

I think I am leaning towards the 3005 setup at the moment. These will be matched with two pairs of stands.

I'll be using the system for general TV (SkyHD), Bluray (via PS3) and the main use will be linking up a Apple Mac Mini for music and movies.

The question I have is, could you recommend some AV receivers to go with speakers? An important feature is that I can link all above systems using optical audio links, so would require 3 minimum. Other than that I don't mind on other features as long as I can get the most of the speakers...Not a brand snob so anything goes 🙂

Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated!

 

[True Blue]

Hi, if you can stretch for the 3005se's they are far better than the 2005.3. Choice of recievers really depends on your budget.

Can personally recommend the Denon 1909. However similar priced products which get good reviews are the Yamaha 763 and the Sony 820. However the latter will not upscale if that is required.

Next step up price wise and you would be looking at the Denon 2309, Yamaha 863se and Sony 2400es. All really good with the Yamaha apparently the more musical.

So, set your total budget then go and have an audition of the above. Good luck.

Dont forget to buy good speaker and sub cables. Remember to factor in the KEF 3005 stands as they are quite expensive (but good).

Am really happy with my set up as listed below. Very crisp, clear and could easily fill a larger room than mine (4m x 4m)

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for that 🙂

I'll have a look through all the Receiver specs on Richer Sounds and then pop in and see if I can ge a demo of them.

I'm definitely swinging towards the 3005 speakers now, for the extra, you seem to get quite a lot more over the 2005s.

My budget for the amp is probably about 400 for the Denon/Yamaha/Sony are all in the right area.

Speaker cable is on the list of 'todos' and it'll be done properly, no point skimping on that!

Cheers again, and hopefully I'll get it all sorted soon, as I've heard that the KEF prices are all increasing very soon??

 

[professorhat]

Make sure you're looking at the 3005SEs and not just the 3005s - I seem to remember the SEs were a decent improvement over the originals.

 

[Frank Harvey]

If you're looking at the 2005's, the 1909/606 etc will be fine, working particularly well with the 606. If you want to get the best from the 3005's, look more towards the Yamaha RXV1900/Onkyo 806/876. The 3005's can sound like a different package when driven properly.

 

[True Blue]

FrankHarveyHiFi:If you're looking at the 2005's, the 1909/606 etc will be fine, working particularly well with the 606. If you want to get the best from the 3005's, look more towards the Yamaha RXV1900/Onkyo 806/876. The 3005's can sound like a different package when driven properly.

Interesting take that one. Would you not recommend anything from Denon or Sony then to wring the best out of my 3005se's?