Need a reciever recommendation (1 Viewer)

[David Blair]

My old Panasonic SA XR 25 just died and I need a replacement. I'm looking to spend no more than $300 and I will consider refurbished. For my equipment I have 3.1 system with JBL E30's, N center and a dayton 12" sub, 60" Sharp Aquos LCD, HD DVR, Blu ray player and a Wii.
What should I look for in this price range?

 

[Mr645]

Im sure one of the entry level receivers from Yamaha, Denon, Pioneer, Onkyo would all do well. See if there is a store where you can see then in action and look to what features each has that you will use.

 

[Al.Anderson]

Obviously a refurbished product will give more more per dollar, and the most recommended place for refurbished products is accessories4less.
You won't have to do anything to match the capabilities of your current receiver. So the question becomes what features are you craving. The first option is automated calibration, many brands use Audyssey, a few others use their own proprietary technology so they won't have to pay licensing fees. Audyssey is the most desired, but I'm not convinced they all don't work sufficiently well.
Networking is a nice feature nowadays, including the ability to listen to internet radio, Pandora, etc; plus the ability to stream files from your PC or NAS. If you're big into iTunes you may want Apple airplay support.
Audio return channel is nice, but you won't need it right out of the chute since it has to be supported by both the receiver and the TV, and it's unlikely your existing TV is capable (just become big in the last year of two).
Of course, make sure it has enough connections for your 3 peripherals. Since at least the Wii is not HDMI, you should look for component/composite upconversion to HDMI. That way you only have to run one cable to your TV (assuming your TV has an HDMI connection).

 

[David Blair]

Comparing features (from accessories4less), number of channels not being considered, these three seem to have most if not everything I would need: Marantz NR1402, Denon AVR-1712 and Onkyo TX-SR608. These range from 50w to 100w per channel, would this make that big of a difference with my E30's? Are there any others I should consider, Harman Kardon, Sony?

 

[Al.Anderson]

Your speakers have an 88 db sensitivity. That’s good, but not at the high end of ~92. So you already lose about 3 db from sensitivity. (BTW, sensitivity is just a measure of how loud a speaker will play, not how good it is. So don’t take the “lower” as anything bad regarding your speakers.) The difference between 50 wpc and 80 wpc is also about 3 db. 3 db is about one notch of “that’s louder”. So you’ll lose one degree of loudness by chosing the lower rated amp, and that might be made worse by losing one notch based on your speakers.
You haven’t mentioned how big your room is, or how it’s configured. Both of those plays a part in how much power you need.
I will add that I just returned a Marantz 1602. I returned it because the networking feature wasn’t working correctly. But I did notice that my system didn’t sound as good as with my previpous 80 wpc amp. Was I the wattage, or was it the accoustics of the Marantz? Can’t say, but many people warned me that I’d miss the power.

 

[Jerome Grate]

Including Harmon Kardon and Sony to your choices would be a good idea. I had my HK AVR 500 for years and at 85 watts per channel, it was more than enough power to run my old Platinum Audio speakers with a DIY sub. The left front side went out and I picked up an open box Sony that has 7.1 channels, 100 watts per channel and 4 HDMI input connections.
The Sony sounds really good for my new speaker set up (Pioneer Satellites speakers with sub), and I got it for less than $150.00. For $300.00 you can certainly get a good entry level HK or the more compact yet powerful Sony. One question, why do you only have a 3.1 set up as oppose to 5.1 or 7.1? The reason I ask this is because based on the speaker set up, you may not need to use a great deal of that $300.00 to get a good receiver with the newer bells and whistles.

 

[David Blair]

Your speakers have an 88 db sensitivity. That’s good, but not at the high end of ~92. So you already lose about 3 db from sensitivity. (BTW, sensitivity is just a measure of how loud a speaker will play, not how good it is. So don’t take the “lower” as anything bad regarding your speakers.) The difference between 50 wpc and 80 wpc is also about 3 db. 3 db is about one notch of “that’s louder”. So you’ll lose one degree of loudness by chosing the lower rated amp, and that might be made worse by losing one notch based on your speakers.
You haven’t mentioned how big your room is, or how it’s configured. Both of those plays a part in how much power you need.
I will add that I just returned a Marantz 1602. I returned it because the networking feature wasn’t working correctly. But I did notice that my system didn’t sound as good as with my previpous 80 wpc amp. Was I the wattage, or was it the accoustics of the Marantz? Can’t say, but many people warned me that I’d miss the power.

The room is an open floor plan with 10' ceiling, seating is roughly 10' from the television. The area directly in front of the speakers about 300 sqft, taking into consideration the full width of the room.

 

[David Blair]

I'm leaning towards the Denon AVR-1712 right now. What are the equivalent Yamaha, Pioneer and HK models to compare it to?