Suggestions for a HDMI 1.3 receivers?

[StLouisVegan]

Looking for a HDMI 1.3 receivers.... price range from $600-$1000. I want it to support all the lastest formats for future use.

Thanks

[el jopez]

Actually an HDMI 1.3 receiver is quite redundant in this still evolving market.

High-Def Faq: Is HDMI 1.3 Really Necessary?

Read this and then decide. Since all players decode the HD bit streams at the player level, you can purchase a used 1.1 or 1.2 model and still be in the HD-HT game.

[cbanoles]

Many people on this forum will point you towards Denon. Personally, I am a fan of Onkyo, so I will leave the Denon recommendations to those with more experience.

From Onkyo, the new line just released should fit your bill. Look at the TX-SR705 and TX-SR805.

If you have any questions please let me know.

[JCHout]

I would say Pioneer Elite. I absolutely love the sound. But, of course, you only need a 1.3 receiver if you plan to use a high end Blu-ray or HD-DVD player that outputs the lossless sound. Oh, and there are not any available right now. I think there should be a few of those players before Christmas. I think Denon announced a $2000 Blu-ray that fit that criteria that got pushed back to 2008. I am waiting on the Pioneer Elite BDP-LX70a (but I am not going to pay $1000 for it, that is for sure).

[cbanoles]

Actually, I believe the Samsung BD-P1400 will output sound via HDMI 1.3. It should be available for around $500. The new Samsung BD-P2400 will do the same, but provide HQV processing for $650.

Not saying these are the definitive answer for lossless sound, just pointing out some new players with these features.

[sethhobrin]

The ps3 is a 1.3 HDMI blu ray player and also the best BLP in my opinion.

I have the denon 2807 and it takes LPCM uncompressed audio. It is fully future compatible. As the previous poster said, you don't really need 1.3. Anythind 1.2 or 1.1 will be able to take uncompressed LPCM over hdmi.

The Pioneer elites have some bass management problems as well as LFE problems. Check the boards over at AVS for long threads regarding this. The denon's seem to work great out of the box. I love mine. The 2807 can be had for about 700-800 bucks now brand new from onecallcell.com and jr.com both are authorized resellers but you need to call and ask for that price to get it.

[CECAA850]

As long as decoding is done in the player and your receiver will accept multichannel PCM, all you need is 1.1. I haven't seen a valid reason to jump on 1.3 at this time.

[Allen O]

To whom ever it was I just read that said you needed a $2000 Denon Blu-Ray Player to get HDMI 1.3, you are a moron. The Sony Playstation 3 uses HDMI 1.3 and supports DTS-HD and Dolby TruHD. I know because I am using it now. Also Panasonic's DMP-BD10AK has HDMI 1.3 and it too supports those formats: any HDMI 1.3 device does support DTS-HD and Dolby TruHD.

Iam also using a Pioneer Elite VSX-91TXH receiver, which can be had for $1000. And in the past I have worked with people who have tried to find a difference between the High Dollar Denon or Pioneer Elite players and simpler DVD and BD Players. Other than support for super audio CD or a few other formats, you really do not gain much by using a more expensive Denon or Pioneer Elite Player over cheaper ones.

Remember, we are dealing with a digital, not an analog signal over HDMI. More expensive cables or more expensive players do not change that. Unless you are a really niche audio or video person, you do not need the expensive stuff. And you certainly never need to purchase expensive HDMI cables over cheaper ones.

A good example is a customer I dealt with earlier this month. He was using a $1000 BDP-94HD and decided to test the system out using the new Sony Blu-Ray player that debuted at $487. Guess what? He could not find a difference. Granted his system did not use HDMI 1.3 anyway, which is our topic, but audio quality and video quality remained the same. He did move the Sony to his other room and put the Pioneer back into place, but only because the rest of his media room was Pioneer minus the speakers (Martin Logan there).

[CECAA850]

To whom ever it was I just read that said you needed a $2000 Denon Blu-Ray Player to get HDMI 1.3, you are a moron.

Don't plan on staying on this forum long??????

[Jay481985]

To whom ever it was I just read that said you needed a $2000 Denon Blu-Ray Player to get HDMI 1.3, you are a moron.

Don't plan on staying on this forum long??????

he is pretty much right.......

[MatrixDweller]

To whom ever it was I just read that said you needed a $2000 Denon Blu-Ray Player to get HDMI 1.3, you are a moron.

Don't plan on staying on this forum long??????

he is pretty much right.......

Nice...

I do agree that the hefty price tag of the

Denon BD player is way too much to spend but I wouldn't say that the

$500 players are just as good.

As for bashing Denon...have you ever compared the PQ of a $50 up-converting DVD player vs that of a Denon 2930 (or better) on a 100" screen? Do the same with the Denon BD player and the Sony. You will see a remarkable difference when upconverting, showing BD movies, and playing regular CDs. Denon players are all-in-one units that do everything well.

Remember too if you don't have an HDMI 1.3 receiver you will be passing audio over HDMI 1.2 cable as PCM or through the analog outputs. Also the new $500 Sony BDPS300 player has only a DD/DD+ decoder, not all decoders like the Denon. I have a friend that works for an AV store and he told me that their first shipment of Sony BDPS300 were all defective and had to be sent back.

As for cables: Ever try to send a 1080p signal over 50 ft of generic 28 AWG HDMI

cable? It doesn't work very well. Smaller 3 to 20ft runs may be fine but

anything longer needs a good thick cable or a repeater to transmit the signal

perfectly. Even though HDMI is digital there can still be signal

degradation in the form of packet loss.

[Jay481985]

I have a denon 2910, guess i don't qualify

[el jopez]

Remember too if you don't have an HDMI 1.3 receiver you will be passing audio over HDMI 1.2 cable as PCM or through the analog outputs.

Which for the most of us should be good enough. PCM in my understanding is the basis of lossless audio, essentially a big wav file with minimal to no compression applied.

[CECAA850]

To whom ever it was I just read that said you needed a $2000 Denon Blu-Ray Player to get HDMI 1.3, you are a moron.

Don't plan on staying on this forum long??????

he is pretty much right.......

Right or not, calling someone a moron when your 7 posts into a new forum doesn't bode well.

[Jay481985]

minus the moron part then []

[CECAA850]

minus the moron part then []

[Y]

[Allen O]

One I was never bashing Denon: I know as well as anyone that if you are looking for premium sounding audio, Denon, Marantz, they are two of the best.

But I too work at a retail audio sales place (BestBuy), and have worked with the Magnolia side as well. Any benefits you gain from exotic, overpriced cabling really is minimal. And from one Blu-Ray player to another, barring any special processing, there won't be a difference. Now on upconverting I do agree that some players do it better than others, some in fact are far better than others. But for the average consumer, or even the above average, the difference will be minimal. Now at the 100" size yes you will start noticing a a difference, but then again, I think a customer who can afford a decent projection screen and a 1080p projector, in addition to a room with proper seating distance and speaker setup, would not have the $1000 limit our OP does.

Hey if you have the money, price is not a concern anyway. All I am saying is that for the vast majority of consumers, the Denon Blu-Ray player or expensive upconvert player will not show much of a difference.

[southflorida]

I agree with cbanoles. Hard to beat the features of the onkyo 605, 705, or 805.