Musical in-wall speakers on a relative budget.

[kennyt]

You will get more functionality at a cheaper price from a receiver, better sound quality and flexibility to upgrade with separates.

Do you need to have three independent zones or will the outdoor speakers always be playing the same thing as the one room? If so, you could use a two zone unit with the speakers set up as A and B pairs (receiver) If you go separates, you would need three zones, that can be tough. For this reason I will flip back and say a good receiver will likely be the easiest to do this with. There are many that can handle this and in all budgets, you will only need one video system, so that makes it much easier....

Look into Denon, Marantz just to name a few. I have always liked the Denons and the Marantz 8002 I just reviewed is equaly good.

[EricPU]

Thanks for the input. My biggest concern with going with a reciever was to insure that I had enough clean power to run the speakers. Having said that if you feel I can run some in-walls (Sonance) and a sub (REL T1) as well as ss in the HT room and another pair outside in a third zone from a reciever, thats good enough for me.

What do you think of the Sony STR-DA5300ES reciever? What HDMI 3.1 ss recievers should be on my short list? Just looking at the Marantz 8002 now, is that a new model? I think the better question is, which ss reciever (HDMI 3.1) gives me the best chance at good music SQ at the < $2,000 price point?

Thanks,
Eric

[kennyt]

I haven't listened to a Sony receiver on years outside of shows. They have a great GUI, and HDMI 1.3, but, and I must restate I haven't heard one in a while, they were never to my tastes musically. I preferred the Denon, Marantz, (used to love SAE) and such. I think you can easily pick up the Marantzx 8002 for $1650 or so or a Denon 4308Ci for ~$2K. I would have to check but I think the Denon offers more of the newer audio formats, but as HT is a secondary concern to you, this might not matter much.

If you wanted to go cheaper, I know Andrew Robinson absolutely loved the new Onkyo 805 and you could easily do that or something higher up in their line as well maybe freeing up some funds as your speakers may dictate.

Just some thoughts....

[EricPU]

I heard some not so good things about the Onkyo's with regards to over-heating and lip sync issues to name two off the top.

In your opinion, what is the best HDMI 1.3 "ss reciever for music" (that might sound like a contradiction in terms I understand), for ~$2K? In the mean time I'll check out both Denon and the Marantz.

Cheers,
Eric

[kennyt]

I don't think you would be wrong to choose either. I think the Marantz's are made in the same factory as the Denon's FWIW.

Both offer all the new audio formats and HDMI 1.3 switching and excellent sound, the new Denon GUI seems pretty slick, I am not sure Marantz updated theirs for the 8002 (the GUI in the 8001 is bland and boring but effective, just not as pretty as the Denon. Take this FWIW as you will likely only use it once or twice and then never see it again...)

$2K puts you into a pretty sweet spot in the receiver market, there are many great units, you might want to look into Pioneer Elite as well, a solid player in the upper end market of receivers as well.

[EricPU]

Ok, thanks for all the advice, lots of food for thought.

One final question: For the same price as the proposed recievers (2K) I could get an Emotiva MMC-1/IPS-1 pre pro/amp combo (or their next generation coming soon). Have you heard anything (good or bad) about this ID outfit and these products?

Thats it, i've taken enough of your time for one afternoon

Cheers,
Eric