New Receiver

[KJB]

I'm about to buy a surround receiver. I'd appreciate any recommendations and advice re: important features to insist on in a receiver.

I was thinking of spending between $600 - $900. I'm not sure where the price threshhold makes a real difference. (Or what difference.)

I own Denon and Yamaha receivers for music.

Thanks for your thoughts and comments.

[abmarsh]

I recently bought the Yamaha RX-V2300. It retails at $999. If the store had had the RX-V1300 ($799) in stock, I would have bought it. The features are the same - the 2300 puts out a little more power.
I'm very pleased with how it matches my SDAs. I recommend you give either one a try.

[TonyPTX]

I'm a big fan of Onkyo receivers as I find them a good mix between music and home theater setup. I really enjoy the configuration of the jacks in the back (makes cable management easier). For the price range you've stated, the TX-SR700 will give you 100 W x 6 channels or you can get the TX-SR800 which is THX certified and 100 W x 7 channels. If you're a real digital audio freak (MP3's, WMA, etc), Onkyo has the TX-NR900 receiver which has a built in ethernet port which will allow you to network the receiver with a PC and play MP3's straight off of your harddrive (but it's a bit out of your price range).

If not for anything else, at a minimum, look for a high power rating (80+ W), lots of digital A/V inputs (preferably address assignable), and HDTV composite video switching. For added bonuses pre-amp outs would be nice, a universal remote that will function with all of your HT equipment, and a "pure" mode that allows you to turn off all unecessary electronics within the receiver to eliminate sources of noise.

Just my biased 2 cents....

[jdavy]

Harman Kardon AVR-8000 is my recomendation. Hudge powerful amp that is THX certified with 7.1 channels. Its full retail was $2500 and is now being discontinued for an upcoming new model and can be bought for about $1300. I have the previous model the AVR 7000 and it rocks the house. Check yahoo shopping for a list of sellers and their prices. Good luck.

[PETERNG]

Originally posted by abmarsh
I recently bought the Yamaha RX-V2300. It retails at $999. If the store had had the RX-V1300 ($799) in stock, I would have bought it. The features are the same - the 2300 puts out a little more power.


I'm second to this suggestion, the Yamaha RX-V1300 is the same as the HT-R5590, it's an excellent receiver, come to the store and "test drive" it.

[19ram98]

I have the onkyo tx-sr800 and love it thus far. I listened to the Onkyo and the Denon 3803 w/polk LSi line, my novice ear could hear a slight difference between the two. I chose the Onkyo because I thought it sounded a little warmer and cleaner at higher volumes, despite the Denons slight power advantage.

[ArtSaxby]

Look at the ohm rating of the receiver you are interested in. If you want a high end speaker set like the LSi line, you need a receiver that will handle 4 ohm speakers.

There is a good article in the Polk Audio newsletter, "The Speaker Specialist" about ohms.

The Denon 3803 can handle 4 ohm speaker. It has power ratings with 8 ohms and 6 ohms in the specifications, but the manual states the specified impedance is 4 ohms or higher. You can get one online for $899 or at Tweeters for $999. That is not the list price shown at Tweeters, but I got one this week for that when I showed them the online prices.