Replacing our AV receiver

[Neutron]

We have a 9 year old Onkyo TXSR505 that has bitten the dust so I just picked up a Sony STRDH550 that was open box on sale for $129.

Does anyone else have this receiver?


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[Neutron]

Well that sucks. It won't pass 4K content like it advertises.


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[harshness]

Well that sucks. It won't pass 4K content like it advertises.

It will pass UHD -- just not HDCP 2.2 protected UHD (that pretty much all but YouTube are covered by).

I don't think you're going to find what you're looking for at the $150 price point. I expect that you're looking at something at or above the Onkyo TX-SR353 for $199 (a pretty swingin' deal at Amazon) depending on your needs.

 

[jevans64]

Accessories4less has the Denon AVR-S510BT for $200 but it is a refurbished unit. That will give you HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2 but probably on one HDMI port. Amp power is comparable to Onkyo TX-NR5xx series and probably more than the Sony. Only thing about A4L is that they are only covered for one year and buying an extended warranty will put you close to retail price on the S510BT.

 

[harshness]

The AVR-S510BT is a very basic design and HDCP 2.2 is probably the only advantage over the Sony. If you're limited to 5.1, it will probably suffice. The Denon does HDCP on three of the five HDMI inputs.

The Onkyo does HDCP on all four of its inputs and it features a coaxial digital input that the Denon mysteriously lacks (coaxial offers greater bandwidth and is required for >DD5.1 sound).

Both of these guys are basement dwellers of their respective product lines but they will inter-operate with HDCP 2.2.

 

[Foxbat]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread. Neutron, were you ever able to find a receiver that did what you needed?

I picked up an Onkyo TX-NR656 for under $400 at Crutchfield. It may be last years model, but I'm really impressed with the network capabilities (I like it better than the Denon AVR I set up for a friend) and it does all the video conversion to HDMI so we can still support the older technology in our vacation home. The recent download added Chromecast capabilities, too, in addition to AirPlay and Bluetooth. Plus, three of the HDMI inputs support HDCP 2.2 and HDMI passthrough when powered off.

 

[Foxbat]

Hey, it's been almost a year since I last resurrected this thread, so why not do it again? Our new Denon AVR-X3400H IN-Command arrived today. Denon reduced the price to $400 off MSRP (must be making room for the AVR-X3500H) so I pulled the trigger. Step 3 on my totally replacing everything with 4K HDR Technology (Step 1 was the replacing the Vip 722k with a Hopper 3, Step 2 was getting an ?TV 4K to replace the 3rd gen ?TV).

Of course, I'll need to swap out all my 10 year-old HDMI cables since I doubt any of them are anywhere close to HDMI 2.0 compatible. Any suggestions for an affordable source of HDMI cables that can handle 4K HDR and beyond? Longest run is 16 feet.

 

[harshness]

Of course, I'll need to swap out all my 10 year-old HDMI cables since I doubt any of them are anywhere close to HDMI 2.0 compatible.

This is a situation where it doesn't pay dividends to assume that the cables are substandard. HDMI uses the cables differently to achieve its speed and if you bought high-speed cables before, they may well qualify now. It is a little like when everyone assumed that CAT6 would be required for Gigabit but it turns out that isn't the case by a long shot.

Monoprice has some nice cables that are high speed rated (18Gbps) and able to handle good distances fer cheap. Anything else is just going to cost a lot more. Unfortunately, you want a 5m cable and Monoprice sizes theirs in feet so that kinda sucks as you have to go to longer cable and perhaps to something that uses "active" technology. Don't pay more than $20 per cable.

If I had to pick a specific cable, it would probably be the Monoprice 15427 in the 20' denomination. The price is $14.24 each. Their rather beefy "commercial series" cable is five cents more (but may cost more to ship). Prices do not include transportation.

 

[jerryez]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread. Neutron, were you ever able to find a receiver that did what you needed?

I picked up an Onkyo TX-NR656 for under $400 at Crutchfield. It may be last years model, but I'm really impressed with the network capabilities (I like it better than the Denon AVR I set up for a friend) and it does all the video conversion to HDMI so we can still support the older technology in our vacation home. The recent download added Chromecast capabilities, too, in addition to AirPlay and Bluetooth. Plus, three of the HDMI inputs support HDCP 2.2 and HDMI passthrough when powered off.

So, what was wrong with your TX-NR656 that you needed to replace it?

 

[harshness]

Dolby Atmos perhaps? It looks like they're probably not going to bring HLG to the older models either (DV is supported through pass-through).

This is a downside of buying inventory clearance pieces.

 

[Foxbat]

Ah, two different locations. The Onkyo is going strong at our Family lake home, driving some Infinity speakers (sorry, I forget the model) and a powered Infinity subwoofer. Atrium speakers under the deck for Zone 2 audio.

No, the Denon is replacing my nine year old Yamaha RX-V663 receiver in my Family Room Entertainment center. Sorry for the confusion...

harshness, Monoprice is where I purchased the original HDMI cables that I ran. I said 5m but 15'-16' should work. I also bought my flat wall mount from Monoprice as well. Ten years ago the price of flat panel mounting products was obscene. I think I paid $14 for powder-coated steel plate and rails that hung from the plate which fit my needs perfectly (the plate mounts to a wooden upright frame that is mounted on drawer slides so the TV slides in and out of the Entertainment center, no tilt desired).

 

[harshness]

An HDMI cable from ten years ago may not be high speed, but what was high speed four or five years ago is pretty much the same as high speed today.

I really wish they would settle on something more physically robust than HDMI (DisplayPort for example). Its an even bigger deal where articulated panel mounts are in play.

 

[Foxbat]

I think when I bought them the big debate was single channel vs. dual channel.

DisplayPort is nice, I like the positive latching aspect of the connectors.

Regarding the Denon, I haven't had a chance to unbox it yet, with all the power problems in our neighborhood that might be a good thing not being connected to the mains...

 

[navychop]

DisplayPort is all but extinct, isn't it?


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[Ganthet]

Hey, it's been almost a year since I last resurrected this thread, so why not do it again? Our new Denon AVR-X3400H IN-Command arrived today. Denon reduced the price to $400 off MSRP (must be making room for the AVR-X3500H) so I pulled the trigger. Step 3 on my totally replacing everything with 4K HDR Technology (Step 1 was the replacing the Vip 722k with a Hopper 3, Step 2 was getting an ?TV 4K to replace the 3rd gen ?TV).

I just bought the exact same receiver for my new home. I left behind my older AVR and speakers in my divorce. Needed a new AVR and speaker setup to go with my LG OLED.

I like the 3400 as it up-converts older analog inputs to HDMI. I still use my beloved Laserdisc player from time to time. So far the 3400 has been great. I think you'll be pleased too.

 

[harshness]

DisplayPort is all but extinct, isn't it?

DVI is mostly extinct. VGA is on the downward slope. Most high-zoot display cards have one HDMI and one or more DisplayPort outs now. Laptops that have video outputs are increasingly featuring miniature DisplayPort jacks rather than HDMI.

The office computers with onboard graphics that I purchased recently have a VGA D connector and two DP jacks mounted on the computer's backplane.

 

[navychop]

Odd about the laptops. Seems they don't see much value in connecting to TVs.


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[harshness]

Odd about the laptops. Seems they don't see much value in connecting to TVs.

I think they're hoping that everyone is going to lug around a USB C breakout box and connect to TVs that way. That said, it is surely better than the WiDi systems that Intel offered.

For Apple's part, they took a step way out of character and offered mini DP ports on their most expensive Macbooks.

 

[jayn_j]

We've had to adapt at work because half our laptops are still VGA and the other half are USB-C. All the projector cables now have an adapter tethered to them.

 

[Foxbat]

For Apple's part, they took a step way out of character and offered mini DP ports on their most expensive Macbooks.

Maybe four years ago, now it's all Thunderbolt 3 via the USB Type-C connector.