Yamaha RX-Vs

[oxrob]

I am new to home cinema, but am about to buy a house which has "tremendous opportunity for modernisation". So, whilst the floorboards are up to install central heating, I thought I might as well go all out and install a 5.1 system.

So, with that in mind went with my brother to his local audo shop, and saw their Yahama RX-Vs, which all look pretty swish. They have the V1700 at £550 (ex-display) which is probably good enough for me as I am no expert in these things and will be moving from a CRT TV anyway...

I will be pairing it with a 37" TV and probably the Q-AV 5.1 system, with a PS3 and either Sky+ or BT Vision.

I really only up to £600 to spend on the amp as I have to buy the rest of the kit, as well as a bathroom, central heating system, kitchen...

Would the V1700 be a good buy (the salesman said I would have to run the sound thru an optical cable from the PS3 as the HDMI inputs won't be able to split the sound?) or as it is a 2006 model is it really now obsolete? The other RX-Vs all look good, but a lot more expensive.

The relatively button-less front (thanks to the drop down panel cover) will please my girlfriend who's keen to have it look good when not turned on - she's a little like Monica in that repect...

Or should I follow the masses and get an Onkyo?

Any help or recommondations would be appreciated.

 

[Clare Newsome]

[quote user="oxrob"]

as it is a 2006 model is it really now obsolete? [/quote]

For your set-up, if you intend to fully enjoy Blu-ray discs, pretty much so.

You won't enjoy the benefits of any of the HD Audio formats your PlayStation 3 can handle when playing Blu-ray discs.

If you don't fancy Onkyo, there are new @£400-£600 receiver models due from Pioneer, Denon and Yamaha due by August. If you want to buy now, the Onkyo TX-SR606 is the best bet for your system.

 

[oxrob]

Thanks for the info Clare. Very useful. I'll let go of the Yamaha then.

Depending on the speed the work takes, I'll wait for the new releases or go with Onkyo

 

[ginganinga]

On the same note - I was wondering whether the optical out on the PS3 sends the same sound detail as through HDMI. Is that the case?

 

[Clare Newsome]

Nope - optical out will send basic Dolby/DTS surround sound, but you need HDMI to handle higher-bandwidth (HD Audio, or HD Audio decoded to PCM) formats.

 

[Anonymous]

If you don't want to spend alot of money you could also get the Onkyo 605. Less HDMI but still a great machine for enjoying all the current HD audio.

 

[ginganinga]

Thanks Clare (sorry to hijack your thread OxRob - seeing as you're my brother and we went to the same shop and the staff there didn't mention that!!!).

 

[oxrob]

I'll let you off, just this once, mind...