Anyone good with Home theater stuff? Receiver replacement.

[Boyiee]

I have a home theater in a box 5.1 Sony HT-7000DH which is using a Sony STR-K7000 receiver. I'd like to replace the reciever but not the speakers it came with (yet) and am looking for suggestions.

The setup is a hand-me-down and the receiver has gone bad but the speakers seem fine, I'd like to upgrade the reciever but keep the speakers as they are already hung on the wall. I'm looking in the $200-300 range but am afraid to blow the speakers with too powerful of a system, so I want to know what to replace the receiver with... But I still want to somewhat future proof myself for when I do replace the speakers.

Features like Bluetooth and wireless connectivity to a PC for lossless would be great but not super necessary as I can always chromecast mp3's. The systems main use is PS4 games, Netflix, and the occasional blue ray movie. The system is on pretty often for music in the household while cooking or cleaning.

My confusion on what to buy comes with how much these current speakers can handle.

Thanks for any suggestions.

[Darus Grey]

How much the speakers can handle doesn't really matter unless you're planning on cranking the volume to 100% at all times, higher wattage in the receiver just means that it can drive more powerful and/or more speakers/subs. Higher wattage isn't going to blow out weaker speakers if you're not significantly increasing the volume over what you do now.

At $300~ I'd just look for whatever cheap Yamaha is on sale that has the feature set you want, it'll still be a big improvement probably and will likely have bluetooth or other wireless features you want in that price range.

[Isiolia]

Wattage likely wouldn't matter much, but you may want to double check what ohm rating (electrical resistance) the speakers you have are. Most consumer stuff these days is designed around 8Ω, and that's all the amps in most receivers are designed to support (or 6-8Ω). On the off chance that your HTIB system happened to utilize something like 2 or 4Ω speakers, you could wind up overworking the amp and routinely overheating it (or worse). Kind of a worst-case scenario, as many home-built speaker designs are rated at 4Ω and people drive them fine with receivers that don't officially support that...but my brother has killed a couple receivers like this too (I think modern ones would just going into a safety mode).

Most likely, you already have 8Ω speakers and it's a moot point, just a minor consideration is all.

[Boyiee]

Here are the specs.

Surround System Class 5.1 channel
Amplifier Output Details
140 Watt - 6 Ohm - at 1 kHz - THD 10% - 2 channel(s) ( front )
140 Watt - 6 Ohm - at 1 kHz - THD 10% - 2 channel(s) ( rear )
140 Watt - 6 Ohm - at 1 kHz - THD 10% - 1 channel(s) ( center )
200 Watt - THD 10% - 1 channel(s) ( subwoofer )

Sound Output Mode Surround Sound
Built-in Decoders DTS decoder, Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II
Digital Sound Processor (DSP) Yes
DSP Presets Cinema Studio Ex. A, Cinema Studio Ex. B, Cinema Studio Ex. C, Hall, Jazz club, Live Concert
Input Impedance 50 Ohm
Input Sensitivity 800 mV
Output Power (Total) 900 Watt
Bass Control Yes
Treble Control Yes
Additional Features auto sound calibration

Speaker(s)
2 x main channel speaker - 2-way - external - wired
2 - external - wired
1 x center channel speaker - external - wired
1 x subwoofer - external - wired

Driver Details
1 x tweeter driver - 40mm
1 x woofer driver - 80mm
1 x full-range driver - 80mm
Center channel speaker : 1 x full-range driver - 80mm
Subwoofer : 1 x subwoofer driver - 200mm

So any 6 or 6-8ohm Receiver will work?

[Isiolia]

Should be fine. It can also depend on the particular receiver you get - Yamaha's current ones list Dynamic power for 8/6/4/2 ohm, so they may work well anyway if you go with that.
Also keep in mind that power ratings there can be subject to marketing trickery. The power rating at 1kHz like it has there is going to be higher than what the full-range power rating is at. Additionally, they can claim more power by listing at 6 ohms rather than 8. Other brands or spec sheets might list things differently, and not seem to compare as well at first glance (like look underpowered).

[Boyiee]

Got any recommendations in that case?

I don't need an abundance of HDMI ports since I have an HDMI switch and a Vizio TV (even more ports) which has optical out going to the receiver.

[Senji]

Future proofing + wifi means you gotta step up your budget a bill or two. However you'll get bluetooth at the 200-300 pricepoint.

[Spicyryan]

Future proofing + wifi means you gotta step up your budget a bill or two. However you'll get bluetooth at the 200-300 pricepoint.

Sonos Connect or Connect Amp, forget bluetooth.

[Senji]

Sonos Connect or Connect Amp, forget bluetooth.

Bluetooth is default built into any receiver worth glancing at. Sonos is more than his initial budget lol. 15 years ago he should have just bought a Bose radio right bro?

[Spicyryan]

Bluetooth is default built into any receiver worth glancing at. Sonos is more than his initial budget lol. 15 years ago he should have just bought a Bose radio right bro?

Bluetooth sucks really.

Who buys Bose either? Old and naive people?