AVR advice

[lomic]

I'm looking to pick up a new AVR soon, which I find to be one of the hardest to judge pieces of equipment. Stores around here only have 1 reciever hooked up to all the good speakers, then have all the rest of the recievers hooked up to low end systems.

What I'm looking for is an AVR with enough power to drive my system well, but not overkill. Needs to have crossover down to 80Hz and DTS of course, but I don't really need every bell and whistle on the high end models at this point - and 5.1 will be sufficient.

Fronts - RTi6
Center - CSi3
Surround - FXi3
Sub - HSU STF-2

I'd prefer not to spend more than $500 but I can save my pennies for a while if it will make a significant difference. Thanks for the help folks!

[jcaut]

If you'll go to "search" and type "receiver", or even just scroll down the page a bit, you'll find gobs of reading material on receivers. There's so many options that it's hard for anyone to make a meaningful, specific recommendation.

Most would agree that there's a pretty reasonable sonic difference between brands, so it's important that you listen and see what works for you. You might be able to find closeout models or refurbished units, so that you could move up the line and stay within budget. If you can, it's nice to be able to buy from a store with a liberal return policy. Or perhaps you could shop locally and then look for a good price online when you're ready to buy.

I bought a Denon from a local store that let me actually take several receivers home to try. I paid more than I would have by buying online, but I considered it to be worth the difference.

Jason

[amulford]

Like Jcaut said, you need to shop around for something that you like the sound of...

I have a Denon 1802 doing 5.1 for the "kid's" video rig. 80 WPC, it does a good job.

you could find a preowned and get more bang for the buck too...

[gatemplin]

Originally posted by amulford

you could find a preowned and get more bang for the buck too...

Yeppers, keep an eye on the flea market, there are often good deals to be had there.

[steveinaz]

Absolutely see above post. You can get ALOT of receiver for the money in the used market. They depreciate more than seperates, typically. Stay with well known names; Yamaha, Denon, Sony, etc, etc.

[lomic]

Thanks for the info - I'd been reading old posts, but lots of people are powering RTi8+ and such, more power than I need, and so more money than I want to spend.

I had seen a Sony in the flea market that looked pretty good, so I suppose I'll follow up on it since you all seem to give the green light to pre-owned AVRs.

http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/...highlight=sony

Should that suit me? I've read all the specs and reviews and don't see any glaring problems.

[Early B.]

Check out a used or refurbished Harman Kardon 525. But whatever receiver you choose, make sure it has pre-outs.

[lomic]

I see HK has the 520 refurbished on their website for $398 - can't seem to find any 525's refurbished from a store I'd want to purchase from. Any significant difference between the 520 and 525? Specs look pretty much the same.

[DaveJo]

Don't rule out Onkyo.

I moved from a Sony to my TX-SR800 and was blown away. Just purchaced a Onkyo TX-SR502 two days ago for $269 sounds great with even the cheap speakers we put on it.

I perfer to buy mine new from CC or BB to get the replacement warranty if the thing starts acting up. I used it on a powered sub I bought almost 3 years ago and they gave me a brand new (current model) to replace it.

Good luck!

[lomic]

Visited my local CC again yesterday and saw they had a HK AVR-330 refurb/display model in perfect condition for $379 so I'm probably loing to give that a try since everyone says Polk & HK are are a perfect match.

[DaveJo]

Couldn't blame ya for going with the HK, when I upgraded it took me a week to decide between HK and Onkyo... the salesman told me I couldn't go wrong with either but in his opinon the Onkyo had a slight edge when it came to movies but the HK had the edge when it came to music.

I'm sure you will be happy.