Best Budget Reciever for under $500 (1 Viewer)

[Taylor Assen]

Hey guys, I'm gettin' hitched and I am looking for a home theater reciever for no more than 500 dollars USD. Looking at the Outlaw 1050, or maybe the new yamaha's coming out. I plan to have this reciever for years to come (or until I can convince my wife to be to upgrade). What would be your best options for me. I will be buying the JBL NSP1 with a velodyne sub (10"). I wouldn't mind a 6.1 but I am a newbie with this stuff as well. I live in Calgary Alberta. Please help me out! I listen to 60 movies and 40 music. Thanks guys!

 

[Richard Knight]

Hmm, hopefully some of the other guys here have some suggestions to fit a US style pricetag.

Taking a quick look at the A&B Sound in the NE, there seems to be quite a lot to offer for the ~$750 CDN / $500 USD range, but it really depends on how "much" you want. I'm apartment bound, so going into the THX certified units isn't really worth it, compared to those who have their own house to insulate the volume levels from!

I grabbed a Kenwood VR-509 for $550 CDN, which is about as much as I wanted at 100w/channel - no 6.1, but PL2 instead...

But if you want to go rather high end, there are some pretty nice looking Denon and Marantz models to be had.

To sum it up, you might want to consider a lower price receiver and beef up in the area of accesories and cables - but if you've got a seperate budget for that as well, then wait for some other comments, I suppose.

Richard

 

[Eujin]

Hmm...I'm sorta in the same boat myself, except that I'm upgrading. So far, the best options for $500 U.S. clams or less, IMHO are:

1. Outlaw 1050

2. Denon 1802

3. Onkyo 595

4. A whole bunch of Yamaha receivers with model numbers I can't keep track of.

If you plan to keep the receiver for years to come, and care about adding outboard amplification, the Outlaw and Denon are the way to go. The big difference between the two are that the 1802 has DPLII, whereas the Outlaw does not. If you don't care about this, the other major difference is that the Outlaw as pre-outs for all channels, but the Denon only has them for L,R, C and Sub. Will outboard amplification of your surrounds be important to you? If they are, the choice is clear. The Onkyo 595 costs quite a bit less, especially if you buy online, but there are no pre-outs, so you're essentially on a non-upgradeable path. Onkyo doesn't offer pre-outs for their receivers until the 696 which falls quite a fair bit outside your price range. You've already mentioned the Yamahas, so I won't go into them. Suffice it to say that some people love Yammies, while others don't at all--it all boils down to personal preference.

You may have noticed that I've not included any Marantz receivers on the list. The reason I haven't done so is because there've been numerous reports of poor quality control on their new x200 line. If you're fortunate enough to get one without any issues, I'm sure that you'll enjoy some great sounding stuff for years, but I'd stay away until Marantz gets some of these issues sorted out. Good luck hunting!

 

[Andrew Beck]

[font=http://beck.servebeer.com/ht.html]The preouts are the reason I went with the outlaw. the only downside's it has for me are lack of dpl2 (not really a big deal) and not enough s-video inputs. However the sound more than makes up for it, and it's upgradable. I can buy a seperate amp and then maybe a used outlaw 950 preamp (when they start turning up used after the next big thing comes out).[/font]

 

[DaveF]

I recommend doing a search on this topic (budget receivers, or similar). There have been a few recent threads about it, with a good number of responses.

But, as others said, Onkyo 494, 595, Kenwood 505 - 509, Outlaw are considered good values, among others.

 

[EricHaas]

I don't know if there are complications in ordering from online sources in the US when you are in Canada. I suppose you are OK as long as they ship to Canada?

Go to shopping.yahoo.com and enter the model number to find the cheapest price. The prices below do not include shipping. Also, in many cases these are not authorized dealers so you are stuck with only the retailers 30 day warranty. However, you might be able to get an authorized dealer to price match.

Anyway, here are a bunch of options, from most to least expensive, with some key features mentioned (PLII=prologic 2):

Onkyo 696, $575 (5.1, 100wx5, preouts, PLII)

Yamaha HTR-5490, $525 (6.1, 80wx6, no preouts, PLII)

Denon 2802, $502 (6.1, 90wx6, preouts, PLII)

Outlaw 1050, $500 (6.1, 65Wx6, preouts, no PLII)

Kenwood VR-510, $400 (5.1, 110x5, preouts, PLII, THX)

Onkyo tx-ds595, $360 (5.1, 75wx5, no preouts, PLII)

Denon 1802, $325 (5.1, 80wx5, 3 preouts, PLII)

Kenwood VR-509, $290 (5.1, 100wx5, no preouts, PLII)

You're likely going to want one of those.

Happy shopping!

 

[Jim_Stu]

Eric's list,

You might add the:

Yamaha HTR5280/RV-800 abt 500 USD

5.1 X 100, 6.1 (phantom)

5.1 pre-amp in & out

Center channel equalizer

No DPLII.

Get the pre-amp outputs, you won't regret it!

JRS

 

[Andrew Beck]

[font=http://beck.servebeer.com/ht.html]What's the real difference between yamaha's HTR line and RXV line?[/font]

 

[Jim_Stu]

YAMAHA,

The HTRs have yellow markings and the RVs have white.

The HTRs are sold in super stores and the RV are (claimed)

to be sold only by 'authorized' dealers. However, unopened

boxes of either can be found on eBay and etc..

When shopping for receivers, I would suggest a detailed

list of models and features, because just buying a brand

name can result in buying one without features you need.

JRS

 

[Andrew Beck]

[font=http://beck.servebeer.com/ht.html]Jim,



That's what I thought. I've noticed the HTR's seem cheaper (ie, lighter and more plastic), if there a noticible difference in sonic quality between them? As much as moving from sony to sony-es, pioneer to pioneer-elite, or onkyo to integra?[/font]

 

[Kelly Scott Rickards]

Check out the 2003 Yamahas I posted about in this thread:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...threadid=36998
With a 499 and 599 MSRP you should be able to get an RX-V630 or RX-V730 (respectively) for well under $500 street price...
Both these reciever have DPL2, DDEX, DTS ES, DTS Neo6 and 6 amplified channels!!
This is much cheaper than the Denon 2802 (the next cheapest reciever with all these features,AFAIK)which goes for over $500 online!!!

 

[RichardK]

EricHaas, when you quote the denon2802 at ~$500, have you purchased one at that price? anyone else out there? if so, is it legit denon online retailer?...i may take my chances for that price with a non-legit, but i really want the 3802 which retails for $1K, at $800 or lower i dont think i would toy with anything that isnt legit retailer of denon for that type of product.

thanks

RK

 

[Jim_Stu]

Andrew,

As far as the HTR-5280/RV-800 comparision, most agree, they

are the same chassis inside.

If I were you, I would give Yamaha about 2 weeks to upgrade their

web site, and if they did not, I would buy the Outlaw.

Reasons:

1) Web site is several months out-of-date.

2) They acknowledge email requesting information,

but they never seem to answer it.

I have a HTR-5280 and I am very happy with it. However,

for $10.00 more I may have been able to buy a similar

unit from a responsive source. However, my set-up demands

a center channel equalizer. Therefore, the Yamaha HTR-5280

was and still is the only one under $500.00

that meets my requirements. (I think)

JRS

 

[Ryan T]

I might be in the market for a new receiver soon and i'm looking into the Pioneer VSX-D810S its list price is $575 but I can get it refurb for $275 + $20 online. What do you guys think of Pioneer are there products any good? Thanks.

Ryan

 

[Len Cheong]

Ryan, a few points regarding the d850s. This is a steal for $250 (price I paid excluding tax). Has pre-outs, component switching, universal remote, 6 110wattamps, and DD EX/DTS ES capable. My major complaint with the unit is that the remote sucks donkeys. In the dark, you will not be pleased with the remote. It takes a while to get a feel for the buttons. For the price, I'll live with it. I'm using it now as a pre/pro setup. I'm not sure if my unit was refurbished. The volume LED is also too small to read 10 feet away. Good luck.

 

[Ryan T]

Len,

could you look on the back of your amp or look in your manual and tell me what the power consumption is? Also does you receiver play very loud with the internal amplifier? When I looked at the one at bestbuy I had to turn up the volume to -38 db to hear it very well. It might have just been because there was other stuff in the store that was playing loud I'm not sure. Thanks.

Ryan

 

[EricHaas]

RichardK,

Go to shopping.yahoo.com and put "denon 2802" into the search box. There are 3 online sellers that have the 2802 at ~$500. These are NOT authorized dealers however, in that you will probably not get a Denon warranty if you buy from them. Instead, you will only get their own 30 day return policy. This does not mean that these dealers are unreliable though. In fact, over 80% of the online sellers of receivers are not on the authorized dealer list. Also, as I said, sometimes you can get an authorized seller to pricematch and get the good price AND the warranty.

Also, be careful about shipping charges. I have noticed that some vendors at the low end of the price spectrum can charge obscene amounts for shipping, e.g. $80 for ground. This is to make up for their thin profit margin. Don't pay more than $50 for shipping. Actual UPS ground shipping cost for a 25 lb. receiver is ~$25. The rest is their "handling" fee.

 

[Len Cheong]

Ryan, the power consumption is 290W. It does play loud on it's own but I don't have a speaker system to truly test it. All I have are JBL satellite speakers. Of course, external amps would net you more volume and less distortion. At -38, the sound seems fine for my 20x20 room.

 

[Ryan T]

Thanks for checking out the power consumption for me. I just have two more questions is the receiver you have the D850S or the D810S. If yours is the D810S here is my question, I was looking at the specs and I saw this "DTS-ES (Compatible)" do you have any idea what that means. Does the receiver have DTS-ES decoding onbard or do I have to buy a outboard decoder?

Ryan

 

[Len Cheong]

Ryan, it is the d850s. DTS ES compatible confused me as well when I saw this and thought it was some sort of fake advertising. This unit does decode DD EX and DTS ES and has a 6th channel of amplification for the surround back (only 1 though). To enter the mode you have to select 6 channel theater. All the moview with such information have checked out.