Which receiver can I connect all of this to?

[gtidriver]

I could do with some buying advise, I've been lurking here for a while now
and each and every time I think I know what I want, I read something bad.
(I'm sorry to also sneak a request for speaker advice in this post, but I would like to keep it in one post.. oh and sorry for the ramble)

I currently have an 8 year old JVC 5.1 AV receiver/amp with mini jvc satelite speakers.
Attached an old xbox (for xbmc), a thompson dvd/divx player. The TV is an even older sony.
The wii is attached composite to the tv (no component on the tv or the AV receiver).

I'm moving to a different place around april and I'm looking around to find the best parts for
my new AV system. I need a tv, an AV receiver, speakers, a blueray/dvd player.

At the moment the only parts of the setup I'm sure of would be the Pioneer PDP LX5090 plasma
and a Sony PS3 as the blueray player.

As for the AV receiver, I have been looking at the Onkyo 606/806/876/906, the arcam 350,
the pioneer LX81 and several others. In all honesty, I like pretty much all of those receivers
and I'm sure they are all leagues ahead of what I currently have. But I need to know that I can
connect all of the following AT THE SAME TIME and easily switch between them without having to
go through 20 menus to deactivate ports and reactivate others: xbox(component), ps3(hdmi), wii(component), TV-in(hdmi), PC(vga/hdmi),
dedicated blueray (hdmi). It would also be nice to have at least one spare input just in case something on the xbox360
would make me want one

No idea what speakers I want/need. I'm tempted to go with b&w MT-30's, since they get good reviews and won't take up too much
space. I also like the Tannoy's (my dad has those as 'spares') not sure if that wouldn't kill my budget or be worth it.
Priorities are 50/30/20 movies/gaming/music. Music preference ranges from Within temptation to Dragonforce.. (and heavy bass dance).

My budget is around 7000Pounds (7500 euro). The LX5090 plasma is 3000 euro here in Belgium and the PS3 another 500euro.
Which leaves me with around 4000euro (3700pounds) for an AV receiver and 5.1 speakers.
What would you recommend and why ?

 

[davepuma]

Welcome to the forum

I could do with some buying advise, I've been lurking here for a while now
and each and every time I think I know what I want, I read something bad.

Unfortunately forums tend to be used to vent frustration about negative issues, people forget they should also say that something works brilliantly.

As for the AV receiver, I have been looking at the Onkyo 606/806/876/906, the arcam 350,
the pioneer LX81 and several others. In all honesty, I like pretty much all of those receivers
and I'm sure they are all leagues ahead of what I currently have.

You have picked out some pretty different receivers there in terms of features and performance. Why have you picked them? The Arcam is obviously the 'musical' option and sound fantastic and there are some cracking deals around but it lacks a lot of features. The HDMI is switching only so you wouldn't get video conversion from your non HDMI sources to HDMI. The AVR350 upconverts to component video only. They have sound quality in their favour though

But I need to know that I can
connect all of the following AT THE SAME TIME and easily switch between them without having to
go through 20 menus to deactivate ports and reactivate others: xbox(component), ps3(hdmi), wii(component), TV-in(hdmi), PC(vga/hdmi),
dedicated blueray (hdmi).

The TV connects to the amp output not an input, so you need 3 HDMI inputs and 2 component inputs but you stated you wanted a spare HDMI (or was it component or the Xbox?) input, so that's 4 HDMI and possibly 3 component inputs required. That should give you somewhere to start looking. Once setup, you don't have to configure anything and I have no idea what you mean about activating and deactivating ports, is that a PC networking issue? Once you have configured your amp, it will remember your settings and you should only have to make manual tweaks as an when required.

No idea what speakers I want/need. I'm tempted to go with b&w MT-30's, since they get good reviews and won't take up too much
space. I also like the Tannoy's (my dad has those as 'spares') not sure if that wouldn't kill my budget or be worth it.
Priorities are 50/30/20 movies/gaming/music. Music preference ranges from Within temptation to Dragonforce.. (and heavy bass dance).

Speakers are a very subjective issue. If there is a particular style you like, I would focus on that and then demo with the amps to make sure you are happy with the sound. It will also give you a chance to get hands on with the amp. Others to look for in the compact range would be MA Radius, Focal Dome, Arcam Muso, Kef 2005SE/3005. Larger, 'proper' speakers will give you a fuller and in my opinion better sound but if space is an issue, have a look/listen to the compact speaker setups. I would also pop over to the speaker forum, where I'm sure you'll get more help and I'm sure someone will point you in the direction of the XTZ stuff too. What "Tannoys" does your Dad own? I use Tannoys in my own system but recently tried some new ones and couldn't get on with them at all.