The Ultimate Guide to Receivers
Aug 28 '01
The Bottom Line Find what you are looking for with this review, then go out and listen, listen, listen.
Your receiver is the heart of your audio and visual entertainment system, and as such, will be the most important piece of equipment you own. Unless you use a separate amplifier, it will be powering your speakers, channeling your video signals, switching audio inputs and processing digital inputs such as DTS or Dolby Digital. You can pay anywhere from $200 to $5000 dollars, and anywhere in between. When searching for the right receiver for you, decide where your preferences fit in the following categories:
POWER - Pretty simple here, you want a receiver that is capable of powering your speakers. If you are a casual listener who listens at low to medium volume levels most of the time, 75 watts per channel will be more than enough power for you. If you have a large room and are frequently having parties where you need loud music, look for 100 watts per channel. Make sure that the listed power rating is not peak output power--cheap receivers list their peak output to trick you into thinking they are better quality. Also, make sure that the rating also lists the number of channels driven at that power level (i.e. 5 chan x 75 watts or 2 chan x 100 watts).
If you are a real Audiophile and need the best power and lots of it, look for a receiver that is THX rated select(good) or ultra(best). This means that George Lucas' Lucasfilms LTD. has inspected the receiver and rated it to be of the highest standards. These are usually pretty expensive pieces of equipment.
INPUTS - There are a huge variety of inputs that can be had on today's receivers. The receiver you choose should have enough inputs to handle everything you already own as well as anything you might own in the future. There are many to choose from:
Audio:
-Stereo RCA: Your common, everyday, two channel inputs. The white and the red plug that come from most cd players, record players and vcr's. Your receiver should have at least four of these. They are basic, default inputs that can be used for any device.
-Digital Coaxial: This input looks like half of a stereo RCA input, but carries a digital signal from a source such as a DVD player or satellite TV decoder. It will allow you to pass a Dolby Digital, DTS(explained later), HDCD or SACD(also explained later) signal to your receiver. This input requires a digital coaxial cable which will cost $20 and up. The advantages are pretty nice though. Read on to the Digital Signal Processing section of this review.
-Digital Optical: Also called TOSLINK, this input accepts a fiber optic cable which does the exact same thing as a Digital Coaxial cable. There are arguments as to which is better, but since they both carry a digital signal, there is very little difference as long as the cable you are using is about 10 feet or less. Optical cables are about the same price as a coaxial cable, sometimes a few dollars cheaper. Any good receiver should have at least a few digital inputs. Even if you dont have any digital capable sources right now, you might in the future. The difference in clarity between digital and analogue is pretty astounding.
-USB(Universal Serial Bus): This connection, available only on very new receivers, allows you to establish a digital connection between your computer and your receiver. If you are an MP3 freak like me, you may want to consider this. You can blast your MP3's or computer based DVD with very little distortion. (Note: You must configure your sound card to output a signal via your USB port)
Video:
(Note: Make sure your TV also has the input listed below before you buy a receiver that has one)
-Composite: accepts a single RCA cable and is the base video input. You should have one of these for each video source you have (TV, VCR, DVD, camcorder).
-S-Video: This is a step up in video quality from a composite video input. It looks kind of like a mouse port on a computer and is a must if you have a DVD, Satellite TV or Super-VHS player. Most new receivers have many of these. These cables are pretty cheap as well (less than $10)
-Component Video: This is the highest quality video input available. It looks like three RCA jacks--one blue, one green and one red. Mostly newer, high-end receivers have component video switching. If you have an HDTV-capable TV, this is what you have to get to reach its potential. If you watch a lot of DVD's you should think about this and if you have an HDTV decoder, you need this. This cable will run you about $25.
DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING - Any source with a digital output will require processing. There are many forms of digital signals these days and more coming. If you have a DVD player, you will need some form of processing to hear the superior soundtrack that a DVD is encoded with. Look for these:
-Dolby Digital Decoding - About 99% of DVD's have Dolby Digital as their soundtrack. It includes 6 discrete channels of sound (5 surround speakers and one subwoofer). It is also used in one form or another in many theaters. Requires a digital input as mentioned above
-DTS or DTS-ES(Digital Theater Sound) - The highest quality movie soundtrack available on DVD's. While Dolby Digital is a six channels compressed into a single bitstream, DTS is six (seven in the case of DTS-ES) completely separate channels of sound. About 15% of DVD's have a DTS track on them, but most new movies have DTS DVD's. DTS also requires a digital input. I personally prefer DTS far above Dolby Digital.
-HDCD - A pretty recent comer to the CD market. Better quality than a normal CD. Your CD player must have a digital output and have HDCD decoding. Also, the CD must be in HDCD format. Applies only to audio CD's
-SACD - A very recent comer. SACD and it's opponent DVD-Audio(read below) are both six channel audio CD players. You must have an SACD player and SACD-recorded CD's to use this feature. SACD players are very expensive right now and will probably not drop in price for a while. They are supposedly the next step for audio CD's
-DVD-Audio - The competitor of SACD. Like the VHS/Beta battle, each of these are different formats of the same thing: multi-channel audio CD's. Right now, SACD has more support from the recording industry and audio component manufacturers than DVD-Audio, but the arguments go both ways. If this category whets your whistle, I would wait to see format which prevails.
BUILD QUALITY - You are going to pay some serious money for a receiver and it should last you for many years, so you want it to be built well. Go out and look at receivers that you are considering. Do they look sturdy? Pick them up, are they heavy? Usually, a heavier receiver means better build quality. Also, test out some of them and see which ones build up excessive heat--that will lead to an early demise. Good receivers have many heat sinks built-in and should only get a little warm.
USABILITY - Since your receiver is going to integrate all of your audio and video components, it should be easy to use. Try them out and make sure you can switch easily between sources and any other actions you perform on a regular basis. Try the remote? Is it sensibly laid out? Although you can always get a universal remote, a good receiver should have a good remote.
BRAND NAMES - I am not going to tell you which brand is better for you because I have seen people perfectly satisfied with what I consider sub-par manufacturers. I do however recommend a few brands which, in my own experience, have performed very well.
-Rotel (I own an RSX-965)
-Sony ES
-Marantz
-Onkyo
-Denon
-NAD
-B&K
While there are others, the brands above manufacturers have prices that you will probably be able to swallow if you are reading this review. Most importantly, go out and listen to some receivers. Pick about five that you want to consider from product specifications and price range and go out and listen to them--compare them to each other and see which ones sound best to you and suites your needs best.
After all, the opinion that counts most is yours.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
ghostryder
|
|
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Reviews written: 13
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
I am an engineer, feel sorry for me...I do.
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.