Might be in the market for a new 7.1 "amp"

Strange they're advertising discrete MOSFETs as better than HVICs. I hope they're referring to surface mount MOSFETs being superior to IPMs, since HVICs are considered the very best up to 300W/channel or so.

It also don't have support for more than 2 channels through analog (not surprising) so you'll have to use HDMI.

Mpegger said:

A Denon AVR-2112CI. Less then $300 shipped, but factory refurb. It's an older model, but has the MultEQ XT and plenty of watts to drive my speakers. The automatic timing, crossovers, and freq response done by it should make things loads easier for me. I can still fine tune the setup further if need be with my own custom EQ profiles on the PC.

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You don't want to get a unit with the newer codecs? All you have is DTS & DD. For $250 you can get the Yamaha 377 and have everything you need, including YPAO. I'm on the fence about Dolby Atmos and it's just too pricey anyway, but geting a unit with HDMI 2.0 should also be considered for the future. Just my opnion though

That's only 5.1 and they seem to show a really old looking design with two discrete through hole MOSFETs per channel. Through hole MOSFETs can't handle as high a carrier frequency as surface mount MOSFETs/HVICs. HDMI 2.0 support is irrelevant as routing video through the receiver may add lag.

NiHaoMike said:

That's only 5.1 and they seem to show a really old looking design with two discrete through hole MOSFETs per channel. Through hole MOSFETs can't handle as high a carrier frequency as surface mount MOSFETs/HVICs. HDMI 2.0 support is irrelevant as routing video through the receiver may add lag.

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I think it's too early to say that HDMI 2.0 is introduces a lot of lag (unless you have a source?), and it depends what it's being used for. My point for HDMI 2.0 is that maybe in the next year or 2, the OP may want to use a 4K screen with it, and get 60fps. Not everyone is a competitive FPS gamer.

The Denon's suffer from hdmi switching problems and at this level, are you really that concerned with the design? The Yamaha sounds great for the price.

Why route HDMI through the receiver when you can run a second HDMI purely for audio?

NiHaoMike said:

Why route HDMI through the receiver when you can run a second HDMI purely for audio?

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For a PC connection, of course you can just run it for audio. This is how I'm running my current setup. What about if you want to move it off the PC and use it for standard Home Theater later on with a shiny new 4K? HDMI aside, why buy a unit without at least HD audio decoding capability, for almost equal the cost?

The 577 does 7.2. 677 gives you hdmi 2.0.

Interesting that the 577 advertises the same outdated discrete MOSFET design as the 377 (including the long, inductive lead lengths!), but not the 677. I wonder if they moved on to a surface mount design with the 677. I also wonder if the "eco mode" downclocks the DSP and disables some features, possibly with reduced lag as a nice side effect...

It would be nice if all amplifier and receiver manufacturers published the carrier frequency specification. Higher isn't always better, but it does help distinguish between through hole and surface mount designs.

I don't need any of that, because the only purpose the receiver serves is to be the amplifier to my PC, which is the center of my entertainment. Other then having the convenience of HDMI for my game consoles (which currently is a 360), it won't be doing anything else other then being fed audio from my PC. Which is why I wanted analog input so much.

Though I would love one with support for Atmos, till it's released on the PC and games take advantage of it, it pointless right now, and probably will be for a few more years.

Got it in, got it setup, let it do its auto setup, and am loving just how smooth the audio sounds between all the speakers and sub. MultEQ XT is very nice indeed. Did a better job with timing and volumes then I ever did, though I'm still up in the air about the EQ (freq response). I might play around with my own custom EQ, but I'll hold off for now to see if it grows on me.

However, I just can't get over the loss of my automatic CMSS-3D for the stereo sources, so I searched for and found probably the only Auzentech X-Fi Home Theater HD for sale any where (literally it was the only thing that came up in any search). I always wanted one, but couldn't justify the $300+ price tag when it first came out, especially since I already had a X-Fi and didn't require HDMI then. It's used, but if it's as bullet proof as my other two X-Fi's, then it should continue to live on for many more years.