The Product: AV Receiver

A high quality A/V receiver is the core of any home entertainment center. It makes dealing with all of the different components a little more manageable and gives you a central point of control.

Recommendation: Onkyo TX-SR604 A/V Receiver

The Onkyo TX-SR604 is a very well priced unit with many features that would have been found only on top of the line units a year or two ago. With 7.1 channel surround sound capability, it delivers 90 watts per channel to up to seven speakers, which is the top end of today’s surround sound home entertainment systems. I upgraded from the SR602 to the SR604 and it’s a noticeable difference.

Some of my favorite features include

• Powered Second Zone: Let’s you listed to two different sources in different rooms at the same time.
• XM ready: Subscribe to XM satellite radio service, purchase an optional in-home antenna, and enjoy over 150 channels of XM radio.
• iPod compatible: You can play your iPod through your home-theater sound system (requires optional Onkyo DSA1 iPod dock).

In addition, the OnkyoTX-SR604 is one of the first receivers to offer HMDI switching so that you can plug multiple HDMI sources (i.e. Cable, DVD) into the receiver and then control sound and video at once. This is also great for those with a single HDMI input on their TV who currently have to choose between the DVD player and the Cable Satellite box. Now you can connect both your DVD and cable box and manage both sound and video switching from the same unit. The Onkyo 604 is an overall great choice for an HDTV entertainment system.

Devil's Advocate:

Overall the receiver its self warrants little complaint, however, upgrading to an HD system can involve a hefty investment of cable and wires to make everything work properly.