Best brands of receivers around $200? (1 Viewer)

I know it's not sexy, but I'm on a budget!:frowning:

I'm considering brands like Sony, Pioneer, Onkyo, JVC, Panasonic,and Kenwood.

Right now I'm leaning toward Sony and Pioneer as they are 6.1 compatible in that price range and seem like a better investment in the long term.

Any thoughts?

Stay farrr away from Sony....just throw another $100 to this and your really stepping up to some better units...what speakers will you be driving?

Thanks, Michael.

I'm almost embarassed to respond!

I'm slowly upgrading from a panasonic HTIB (SCHT67) whose power supply failed (bought it for $50 from a friend). I was thinking of cannibalizing the speakers from that until I can afford newer ones. My wife and I just had a baby, so money's a little tight! I'm not sure I could justify the extra $100 to my wife. Though, if I could give her some solid reasons, it might help....got any? (please!)

The speakers are (gulp) 6 ohms and say 60W (Music). Any thoughts?

I know that you get what you pay for usually... I'm trying to work my way to a decent HT setup.

Try to buy used...check out any Yamahas....youd find something decent there....your right you proba bly dont need to spend much to drive those speakers...just try to get somethign to hold u over...deff check out yamahas.

Dave: Don't ever feel embarrassed about buying lower priced audio equipment--as far as receivers go much of the time all you get in the more expensive version is more power (not always what you need) or a bunch of glitzy gee-whiz features that do little to nothing to improve the listening experience for that particular buyer.

And from watching several friends & family members go through financial upheavals when they had their first (and subsequent) kid, I can easily see why someone cannot afford more expensive equipment.

Anyhoo...........

From what I can tell better sound--more important to me than raw power--is only found in much more expensive models because it is there that most manufacturers finally admit (usually in there own literature) to using better quality components or more sophisticated DSP chips. I haven't done any formal tests myself but when I used to sell HT back in the 90s our supervisor had us change out our HT demo receiver about every two months, and we learned a lot from those changeovers.

So until I see a properly conducted test between a $200 receiver and say, a $600 one, I really don't believe there are any startling differences between these two price points.

> I also agree about staying away from Sony receivers.

As far as speakers:

I listened to the following Sony bookshelf models and thought they sounded decent, i.e. they had no obvious deficiencies or irritating sonics. And they sounded much better than pretty much any HTiB speakers I've heard.

These for front mains.

These for rear channels.

These will form a basic surround system that will supply the directional effects that make many movies fun to watch, and the front mains with their 8" woofers (in an @14X20ft room) while not being able to reproduce rumbly/subsonic bass frequencies, will supply enough bass to make music/movies sound full (compared to the thin sound of most tiny satellite speakers that use a 4 inch "woofer") but without having to blow money on a cheap one-note/boomy subwoofer.

FYI: when you program the receiver for no sub & no center, you will not lose those channels' information because it will be rerouted to the front mains.

Sony also sells a matching center channel so later you can improve the precision of the front soundstage.

BTW: If you want a more zingy sounding speaker , I own these 8" Pioneers and along with similar sized Boston Acoustics CR9s in front, use them for the rear channels in my own surround system, which is geared more for music surround than movies (all channels are set to "large"). Circuit had a crazy sale on them last year so I couldn't pass them up. Overall they sound quite good, have excellent bass for their size and despite the photos look fine in person (the grill cloths have a nice but subtle satiny sheen to them). If you use them for fronts, IMO using the treble control should tame that rather overactive tweeter.

Forgot this part!

IMO the large majority of receivers should not have a problem powering these and in fact will probably be able to easily fry them too, so be careful!

And that 60W music rating is usually equivalent to roughly a 30 watt continuous & clean power rating. Trust me, 30 watts with most speakers can get pretty damn loud so these should be O.K. if you have to use them for awhile. I think speakers are THE most important component in a system as far as determining overall sound quality, so try to upgrade these first when you're able.

As for sub $200 receivers look into refurbs from places like pcmall.com and others. They have several from Onkyo, the top brand in the low price but solid performance class (IMO) and Denon which both come with factory warranties. Ecost.com also has a new (I think) Onkyo 502 for just under $200 but might come with a third party warranty (not nearly as good). I would also avoid the low end Pioneers, Sony's and Kenwoods. I agree with Lance that you can get real good sound for under $200 if you shop around. Just won't have as many bells and whistles.

new JVC RX-D202B @ Amazon for only $180

Ok, I tried to post this a minute ago but it won't let me becuase I'm a relatively new member. (can't post URL's yet). Basically there is a coupon you can find online, to give you an additional 30% off of open box stuff at Best Buy. So I'd suggest finding this coupon (you can e-mail me at [email protected] and I'll send you the link) printing it out, and heading out to your local Best Buy(s) (I'm assuming you're in the US) to see what they have available open box. Last time I was in there I beleive I saw some decent looking open box/floor model Yamaha's for around 200. Also don't be afraid to talk to a manager/senior sales person/whatever and point out every scratch on the thing and try to get the price down as far as possible. (I'd suggest doing this before revealing the 30% off coupon). Anyway, open box stuff has the same 30 day return policy and you can still buy a service contract thingy on it etc, so it's worth trying the stuff out, but in my experience open box stuff/ floor models are usually just fine, even if they have a few scratches and such on them. And with an additional 30% off, it's certainly worth it to at least take a look at what they have!

So, I'm hearing from many that I should avoid Sony. What's the deal with their stuff? Is it the sound or the reliability or what?

I googled the Best Buy coupon and found it. Thanks Stephen! I'll see what they have. I think I'm going to look for Yamaha...

Got a sweet deal with that coupon! Got a Yamaha that listed at $249 on clearance (regularly $269) for $175, open box. Left me money to get a sub. Thanks for your help everyone!

For $250+shipping at J&R, you can get one of the new Onkyo 503's. Not a bad way to get into 7.1, and if it's as solid as the 502 you should be very happy.

Oh... nevermind. You already got one. ENJOY!