Best AV unit for XBMC on a Mac Mini
#1
I have XBMC running on a 2010 Mac Mini, and we currently have Onkyo HT-S5200 between the mac and the Mitsubishi LCD TV.

We get horrendously annoying clicks and pops on the TV speakers at times from the HDMI input through the Onkyo. This Onkyo doesn't pass audio over HDMI, so I use the digital aduio out with an optical cable to the Onkyo input and audio is output to the Onkyo speakers.

This and some other issues have prompted us to replace the AV unit.

I'm looking for something in the $300 - $500 range, 7.1 or 7.2 capable.
Anyone have anything like this running or have reccomendations?
Reply
#2
Denon AVR-1910 is probably in your price range since it's the last year model. I have changed 3 AV receivers in one year until I settled on the Denon AVR-1909 for which I don't see any reason to replace any time soon.
Reply
#3
Check out the Pioneer VSX 1020-K and the Onkyo RC-260. I have been also looking for a nice midrange AV Reciever, and those are the highest rated ones. Pioneer is 7.1 and the Onkyo is 7.2. The pioneer is slightly more expensive, but generally had higher reviews. I recommend you check out the reviews on Cnet, they seemed pretty good. Let me know what you decide on!
Server - Debain Squeeze Server + 6TB RAID5 + Sabnzbd + CP & SB
HTPC - Zotac MAG + 60GB Vertex 2 SSD + OpenELEC Frodo 12.1 + Aeon Nox
HTPC 2 - AppleTV 2
Reply
#4
CASHMON3Y Wrote:Check out the Pioneer VSX 1020-K and the Onkyo RC-260. I have been also looking for a nice midrange AV Reciever, and those are the highest rated ones. Pioneer is 7.1 and the Onkyo is 7.2. The pioneer is slightly more expensive, but generally had higher reviews. I recommend you check out the reviews on Cnet, they seemed pretty good. Let me know what you decide on!

I have two Onkyo units now - one in the bedroom and one in the living room.
I have been pretty happy with the unit in the living room (TX-SR607) and I use it with a Mitsubishi DLP TV and an A.C. Ryan media player. (The A.C. Ryan is a discussion all on it's own...)

The bedroom system with the LCD TV I haven't been as happy. XBMC on the Mac is the only thing that makes the noises, but the connection between the TV and Onkyo makes the TV a bit crazy -- every few weeks the TV reboots itself and quite frequently we see severe issues when the TV tries to conduct authentication handshakes through the Onkyo - to the point we had the Cable company in to troubleshoot and they replaced our set top box with an older model that has worked .. better.

The point being that I like the Onkyo because of the price/features, but the 5200 series unit has made me very cautious especially after dealing with Onkyo support. I see that as the single largest drawback to Onkyo products - their support at least in the US - is so bad I'll buy another product before risking having to deal with them again.
Reply
#5
Yamaha 667 or Onkyo 608.
Reply

Logout Mark Read Team Forum Stats Members Help
Best AV unit for XBMC on a Mac Mini0