First I'd like to say hello, this being my first post here. I've always like Klipsch equipment, for the price there is not a lot I know of that can reproduce equivalent sound.

Anyway, I work at a BestBuy , and sell these speakers commonly. Only problem is, I usually come up short on receiver recommendations. That is, the store only offers Yamaha, Sony, Pioneer, and Harmon Kardon receivers.  Usually, I push the Harmon Kardon line (the AVR 146 is the best seller). But what do Klipsch-philes recommend? I see a lot of Denon in the audience (by looking at your sigs, that is), and some Sony, but I can say with certainty that the Sony Receivers at BestBuy are absolutely worthless. Hell I do not know of any receiver from Sony worthy of its price (the TVs are a different story).

 I am soon to acquire a RF-52 Home Theater system for myself. What receiver is best to power this? Note that I will be adding two more RS-42s for a 7.1 Channel Surround system.

Also, it'd be sweet (odd word to use, but it fits the bill) if the receiver was to the HDMI 1.3 standard. I'm using a Panasonic Blu-Ray Player, which supports Dolby True HD and DTS Master Audio. Only HDMI 1.3a will pass that though, and I do not want to have to mess with using two HDMI Cables to the TV and two fiber optic cables to the Receiver.

 

I know its kind of rude to just pop in and ask all this and then set criteria, but with so many choices of receivers out there, its taking me a while to find out what would work and where.
 

 

Among forum members, the Big Three for receivers seems to be Yamaha, Denon and Harman Kardon.  The people who use them seem to like them.  As well, there are at least five forum members using Yamaha receivers with outboard power amps.  They work well as pre-pro units as well as receivers.

I am very happy with my Pioneer Elite receiver driving my Klipsch RF-7 home theater setup.  If is wasn't for the fact that my Plasma TV wasn't Pioneer, my next choice of receivers would have been a Denon.

Southern:

I am very happy with my Pioneer Elite receiver driving my Klipsch RF-7 home theater setup.  If is wasn't for the fact that my Plasma TV wasn't Pioneer, my next choice of receivers would have been a Denon.

 

I'm driving 2 Khorns, 1 LaScala, a Chorus II rears with an Onkyo,  6xxx series. Gorgeous sound. I have had Khorns for 30 years, and this is as good of an amp as I've ever had with 2-channel, including Marantz tubes.

I am leaning towards purchasing the Yamaha YX-V2700 which I believe Best Buy even carries.  I heard it at Best Buy powering the RF-82's and sounded great and also heard it as a pre/pro hooked to a 200watt/channel amp powering an RF-7 speakers and it sounded absolutely amazing.  I currently have an Onkyo and it has served me extremely well over the years.  Just want more power than what it produces and a newer 7.1 receiver.

After reviewing the options and looking at Yamaha and Denons pages, I am slowly coming to the conclusion that the Denon AVR-2808CI is the best bet, for both the money and that it satisfies more than all my requirements for the system. At $1200 though thats still more than I budgeted for just the speakers, so its going to take some time.

 

I saw we have Pioneer in the house as well. Looking at their page, I am not seeing HDMI 1.3 support..... does your VSX-74VxTi have it Southern?

No my Pioneer receiver does not have HDMI 1.3 support.  It is a older model that I choose to go with my Pioneer Plasma which has 720 resolution and not the newer 1080 resolution.  I did get the firmware update which fixed the LFE problem and can play DVD's through the receiver over HDMI.

My entire HT setup consisted of older model equipment which I saved a bundle from buying the current models.  Since I don't plan on getting a HD DVD or Blue Ray in the near future, my HT equipment will suffice for a while. 

I think Pioneer makes the unit I am looking for actually: the VSX-91TXH. It is the first HDMi 1.3 unit from Pioneer. This means Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio. My only concern is dealing with its specs: it cannot power the speakers to the maximum frequency response, and that Total Harmonic Distortion Level is atrocious. Would I be better off with the Denon unit for only $200 more? Tomorrow I find out I guess.

This one is easy, I have the RF-52's and an RC-52, I use a Yamaha RX-V661, conveniently available at BestBuy for peanuts (relatively speaking), I drive it through a creative digital I/O module attached to an SB X-Fi audio extreme, conveniently, the I/O module lets me run a spdif cable to my receiver.  As far as power goes, unless it is a really rare occasion or poor source, I am running at between -45 and -40 db gain on my receiver.  The receiver let me set for simulating 5 channel mode and cinema modes once I set the center channel correctly, which was really easy.  The big problem is that the receiver goes nuts and acts as a straight pipe at sampling rates over 44 Mhz

I rarely go above -40 db gain on my receiver, 0 db is a painful experience, because at my listening position it is 121 db,,,ouch...my listening area is around 7' from TV/Speakers.  I keep the center channel mounted (RC-52) mounted over the tv, and it will make the tv vibrate and do funky things with the picture.  As far as HT/Entertainment, it is pretty good, better than most and definelty kicks butt on that Bose crap they push at magnolia. 

Remember the KISS principle, boots, ammo, rifle, Ka-Bar...all you need. 

I agree with MFK for budget mindedness, get the Yamaha, you'll be pleased.  If you want no holds barred performance, Sunfire Theater Grand 3 Receiver.  I think the last time I priced one for a customer, it could be had for $2300 new.

Welcome to the forum.

Would you happen to be familiar with the HDMI 1.3 receivers available at Best Buy (do any exist)? I imagine you're wanting to cash in on your employee discount.

For what it's worth, I've always felt that most receivers sound about 90% the same and that last 10% is going to be more of a lateral shift in performance rather than a true improvement in quality. In other words, I would make the purchase based on the feature set you require. Usually the price range and feature set will narrow down the decision to just a few units...and then once you get there, you can choose that last 10% to be in the direction of the flavor you prefer.

Quick note.  If you are trying to get the newest lossless sound out of your receiver, I'm not sure if the Pioneer 91 will work for you.  It might be just the 90, but some fo the new elite models only pass-through hdmi.  I have had my eye on the 92 for along time myself. I currently have an older elite, and couldn't be happier with the sound and quality.  Good luck.

 I have both HII's and the RF-52/RC-52/RW-10D series, I have a Yamaha RX-V661, got it at buset buy for $175, open box...totally worth it.  Beauty of Klipsch is that you don't much to power them.

I have the HK 240 (now the 247).  Great unit, easy to operate and does everything I need.

I bought mine thru HK at a great price, w/ full warranty.................   JMHO.