Matt*S.

Looking to spend ~$500 on a Receiver

The Max that I can spend is ~$500. Some things that I'd like to have, but are not necessary: HDMI Switching, Analog->HDMI Upconversion, 7.1, analog->component upconversion if HDMI not available.

What is necessary is that the receiver be 5.1 capable as that's how I can use it currently & have as good of sound quality as could be had in this price range. Thus far, I've been thinking about a NAD 743 Refurbished unit. Can be had for just a fuzz under $500. Don't know too much about this sort of thing, as I am trying to cross over from Car Audio. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I've also looked at the new 1016 from Pioneer. Right in the same price range as the NAD. Let me know what other products should catch my eye.

John Brill

Re: Looking to spend ~$500 on a Receiver

Matt, a better approach would be to describe your overall budget, what you hope to achieve, why you would like HDMI switching, room size, etc, etc.

Now, more specific to your post, in the sub $500 category with HDMI switching, the pickings are slim. You have already mentioned the Pioneer 1016 and it's lesser sibling, the 816. Personally, I'm not impressed with the unit. HDMI is audio passthrough only, the MCACC feature for room equalization doesn't work as advertised (in my opinion), power rating is questionable.

Another contender in the sub $500 receiver with HDMI switching capabilities, is the Onkyo 674 and 604 receivers. In my opinion, much better. The 674 is capable of decoding audio over HDMI.

The NAD 743 is a fantastic unit but it may not meet your needs. There is no HDMI and it's 5.1 only. However, the power rating is much more honest, in my opinion sounds better and isn't in the same league as the lower end Pioneer and Onkyo.

Also, just like in car audio, speakers will make much more of a difference in sound quality and overall enjoyment of your Home Theater than the electronics will. That's why you need to be honest in what you hope to achieve and distribute your budget accordingly.

Best of luck.

JB

Matt*S.

Re: Looking to spend ~$500 on a Receiver

I'm all set on Speakers, I have a 5.1 Setup currently, with a Nice Sub and speaker Combo. I got all Acoustic Research speakers that I picked up used, before they were purchased by Audiovox. For a sub, I use an Electronic Design A3-300, 350W powered 12". I used to have an Onkyo TX-SR600. That powered them very nicely. Looking for something better than that. Really wanna stay under $600.

John Brill

Re: Looking to spend ~$500 on a Receiver

If you want to move away from Onkyo because you want to try something different, the only other low-mid range receiver with HDMI swtiching capabilities I can recommend would be a Marantz 4001 (or a 5001 if you can find it under $600).

However, the Onkyo 674 is a lot more receiver than the 600 was...

JB

Alf S

Re: Looking to spend ~$500 on a Receiver

For under $400 at Circuit City I got the JVC RX-D401S digital 7.1 receiver and have been quite happy with it. Lots of great features including 2 HDMI inputs. I like being able to run all my equipment that uses Component and S-Video through it and allow it to upconver everything via HDMI output to my HDTV.

Here's more info:

http://www.jvc.com/product.jsp?model...2&archive=true

Join my Hitachi HDTV group HERE

Matt*S.

Re: Looking to spend ~$500 on a Receiver

I'm certainly willing to move away from Onkyo, it just seems that they seem to have pretty decent features at a fantastic price. I've certainly been thinking about Marantz, NAD, and Denon. They all offer awesome sounding products, and out of all of them, I'm most taken with the Marantz Sound. I dislike the Denon 1707 sound, I know kind of bottom of the line, so perhaps looking at the 2307CI would be a good choice. Need to take these all for a test drive locally before any decision is made.

JVC Never even occurred to me when searching for Home Theater Equipment, can anyone give me their impressions of the mentioned Receiver? I'm going to do some digging for a review or two of it online, but any personal impressions are certainly welcomed. Thanks All for the responses.