Newbie needing help/info on 1st time AV receiver buying..

[Hallsy]

Hi guys, I am new to the forum and also fairly new to home cinema!! I have started to build up my collection of equipment and am now looking at expanding to surround sound and want to buy an AV receiver first.



My current setup is as follows:

LG RI28CZ10RX 28" W/S 1xRGB 1xSTD SCART 1xS-VIDEO 1xcomposite video

Sony PS2

Bush DVD2026 DVD Player (Not the best i know but was bought as xmas present so what can you do??!!)

Goldstar VHS (Not used very much)



I have my DVD player connected via the RGB on the TV, the video uses the other Scart and my PS2 runs through the composite video at the moment, although i will probably soon buy a splitter so that i can run both the video and PS2 through Scart.



Basically I am after a surround setup now as i mentioned and the first thing I want to buy is an amp/receiver. I started browsing at richer sounds and then also looked about on the net. I was considering a NAD T741 from richer (£170) but read bad reviews on the T742 and also the T741 doesn't have Pro-logic II (big deal??)so wasn't sure. I liked the look of the marantz amps such as the 4300 but then someone suggested an SR4200, I have not been able to find these anywhere for sale new but ebay havea few although i did a search on here and one guy was saying he could get them new for £129!! Also considered a Sony STR-DB780 from richer (£165) and a Yamaha RX-V340 (around £100) but i don't know a great deasl about these amps.



Basically i'm looking for the best i can get mainly for watching films, etc but also to give me something decent for playing CD's. I am looking to spend upto £200 and don't mind buying 2nd hand.



What would you guys suggest would be suitable amps for me to look into/demo, etc? If you could give me a rough idea on prices and sources that would be very helpful.



Also if anybody would like to suggest suitable speakers to go woth the system that would be excellent, although they will have to come later!!



Hope you guys can help,



Cheers.

[juboy]

Welcome to AV Talk :thumbup:



The Marantz amps you mentioned are definitely good performers for the money - especially at the bargain prices the likes of Richer Sounds have them for.



If you could just slightly stretch your budget to around the £300 mark (maybe just save for another month or so) you would then also open up the possibility of the Pioneer VSX-D812 and the Denon 1804, which are both available for £299 from decent online retailers. Use Pricerunner UK to get the retailer info and amp specs.



Either the Pioneer or the Denon would be excellent choices and you'd also be buying new, which means you have at least 1 year's warranty. Both of them also feature Dolby Pro Logic II decoding which definitely is a facility worth having, no question.



Let us know which you decide to go for and, more importantly, how it sounds when you get it :nod:

[Hallsy]

Thanks for the reply.



I could possibly stretch to £300, i'd just have to keep it quiet from the missus!! How does the Denon 1803 compare to the 1804, or doesn't it?



Also i got the source wrong above, I have a Bush TXA 2028 and not a DVD2026!! Not that i think it makes any odds as they look VERY similar and also have VERY similar features, i swear these cheap manufacturers just make loads of the same thing and sell it in different disguises!!

[juboy]

The 1804 is the updated, latest version of the 1803. I'm not sure of the exact differences/improvements but the full spec can be found here (http://www.web-quality.ch/WQ/apres_01.asp?Branche=1498&VirtualKunde=&VirtualGro up=0&KundenID=DenonUK&VKundenID=DenonUK&PromoPage= &S=2&Anbieter=16009&OrigAnbieter=16009&SearchMode= &ShowGap=&ShowNav=).