Best HD Reciever

[Peter Murray]

On Mon, Nov 8, 2010 at 11:07 AM, Nickolas Noseworthy <ncn86@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hello all, was wondering if anyone could help me out. My parents live in Merrimack NH, and have had the same stereo reciever for over 20 years. Its an old Pioneer SX-2600, and the radio reception in the living room has never been that good. I am looking into getting them an HD reciever for christmas, but I need to know what the best one would be for them. I dont want to spend more then $800.00 either. Heres what they need. 1. Better Radio Reception: Having a tabletop HD radio, I know the advantages and want them to have those advantages as well. It must be HD ready. They constantly complain that one of the few stations that comes in well is ZID, so good FM reception is crucial. 2. Multi room: They want to expand with speakers outside, so seperate zoning is needed. 3. 7.1 surround: They want to expand the 2 speaker system they have, so 7.1 surround sound is crucial so they can expand the system well.4. I also want to run the TV, CD player, Playstation 3, and Wii through the reciever, so it needs to have enough inputs.
> A fully functioning Home Theatre Reciever with HD radio and Multi room capability. Any thoughts?
> (Oh, and a new indoor antenna)-Nick NH

I own several of the Sony XDR-F1HD tuners, and each of them is an
excellent tuner. I have not experienced any issues with the units I
have.

I too have looked around for a good all-in-one unit - but I have not
found a reasonably-priced receiver that fulfills the specifications
above, and it is the lack of HD Radio capability that is the stumbling
block. Consider just buying whatever receiver satisfies the
multi-room, surround sound and other specifications, and add the Sony
to the unit as an aux-in device.

You did not specify what your parents will try to hear with the new
receiver/tuner, but anything coming from the Pru is about 40 miles
from the center of Merrimack. WGBH is almost 50 miles away. A good
antenna will make all the difference between full quieting and
unlistenable. Do everything you can to avoid an indoor amplified
antenna. There are far too many sources of noise inside. If an outside
antenna is impossible, try an attic antenna. If that is not possible,
put the antenna in a window facing towards the desired signal(s).
Extend the run to the antenna with coax if necessary.

Interesting experience at my parents' house in Harrisburg: They have a
fairly omni-directional attic antenna connected to a Sony XDR-F1HD
tuner, and if one tunes it to 97.9 I hear the programming from the
nearby FM translator for WIOO (AM 1000 in Carlisle, PA). This
translator is not running any HD carrier, but the HD signal indicator
flashes for a few seconds, and the radio then locks onto the digital
subcarriers being broadcast by WIYY (97.9 - Baltimore). It is quite a
switch from classic country to rock!

-Peter

--
Peter Murray (N3IXY)
Oak Hill, VA