Best Receiver for $400-600 (1 Viewer)

[James::Mc]

I'm looking for the best receiver for $400-600. Looking for a balance between music and home theater use. Hoping to get some features that will allow me to expand to DVD-Audio or SACD in the future (this is a nice to have vs. a must have).

Would be coupling the receiver with Polk RM7200's (at least this is my plan right now).

Am looking at the Denon-2803 and HK 525. Any advice? Any others to consider? Thanks!

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

also give the pioneer elite 43TX and 45TX a look. They can both be had in your price range online and even in some stores closing them out (HiFi Buys and Tweeter come to mind).

I have the Elite 43TX and it matches well with my Polk RT800s, CS245, and RT/FX's for a nice slightly warm sound. The receiver it's self has a very neutral sound.

 

[DavidVT]

I totally agree with Steve,

I have the Pioneer 45TX with Reference Klipsch and two SVS subwoofers, for a 7.2 setup and to me it sounds wonderful.

I listen from Classical to Rap, and the 45TX delivers in spades.

 

[Lee M T]

I'll throw in the Yamaha RX-V640 ($499) or Yamaha RX-V740 ($599). For the price, you'll probably find the most features on either of these units. You just need to figure out if you like their sound or not.

I love me some Marantz, H/K, and Denon as well, so those are nice choices. Especially if you don't need preamps & comp video ins/outs, because these units don't offer both of these features on the same unit until you hit the $799 mark. :frowning: My budget was $500, so I took the RX-V640 from Yamaha and haven't looked back since. I love it.

 

[ChrisLazarko]

I just bought my HK AVR-225 a week ago and i'm loving it. I have not had a problem with it, hookup was very simple, the setup is very simple as well.

HK usually underrates there power supply's but comparing how much power there recievers put out in the showroom compared to Denon, Yamaha, and such for the same price range just blew the other recievers out of the water with sheer power. It sounded clear and much louder than the others.

HK also has a very nice front display on all there recievers which no other company has unless you go into the $1000's range.

I would have to recommend any HK product. The AVR-325 is probably the best for you though. The AVR-525 is a little overkill for the setup you have.

 

[BrianCli]

James

I have the H/K 525 and I absolutely love it. I have it pushing some Polk RC85i's as well as a PolkCSI40 center channel.

It was very simple to hook with the on screen display. It's a great receiver, I would definitely recommend it.

Brian

 

[Steve_L_B]

Hoping to get some features that will allow me to expand to DVD-Audio or SACD in the future (this is a nice to have vs. a must have).

The Sony STR-DA4ES is going for about $600 new on-line if you can find one. It has two multi-channel analog inputs and is a great buy at this price.

-Steve

 

[James::Mc]

A friend recommended the Outlaw Audio 1050 - anyone know anything about this one? Just curious since I don't know much about Outlaw...

 

[Frank Carter]

Plenty of quality receivers, my choice would be a HK325/525 or Pioneer VSX45TX.

 

[SeanA]

One Call has refurbished HK 325's for less than $400. And the great thing about HK refurbished units is they get the same warranty as brand new units.

 

[ChrisLazarko]

Not to mention even if you get a low-end HK you still get full video inputs and audio inputs unlike other recievers where with there low-end you might get 1 optical in and 1 coax in.

You get a full range with HK. I think HK has like 3 optical in and 3 coax in as well as plenty of Analog in's for any stereo equipment you might have.

Awesome unit and it they are great for there price range.

 

[Shervin]

the avr-1804 seems liek a good buy. it is 450 at good guys right now. I am trying to find a review for it but it is hard.

 

[Alex_Santos]

How about Onkyo? The 601 is a great deal and shoponkyo has refurbished 600's. Onkyo gets hammered a lot because their products aren't too expensive but they are well built and have excellent feature sets. Not to mention that they sound pretty good too.

 

[Thomas Nichols]

I have an AVR125 and have loved it. It does everything I want and more. I think H/K is pretty good.

 

[ChrisLazarko]

Alex, where do you say Onkyo is cheap? They charge just as much as HK would and that is one reason I decided not to buy.

 

[Mark Hedges]

I would not get the Outlaw 1050. It is just too far behind the times, with no Dolby Pro logic II or any 6 channel support. If Outlaw upgraded it I would consider it but till then it just can't compete (IMHO).

Outlaw seems to make good products but how they think a 3 year old reciever can still compete is beyond me. Surround recievers are very feature-rich and for one to be competitive it has to stay up with the latest processing modes.


Mark

 

[Alex_Santos]

There is no way that Onkyo charges as much as HK. Not even close. Maybe if you got in on that one day OneCall special but that was rare and most people didn't even know about it. Plus, at least from what Ive heard, Onkyo hasn't had nearly as many QC problems as HK has. Again, just from what Ive heard and read.

 

[ChrisLazarko]

Well I won't disagree that Onkyo is a a little bit cheaper than HK but not by a big shot. Also, the new HK xx5 series I haven't seen people have alot of problems with unlike some of their previous series.

 

[James::Mc]

Thanks for all the advice! I wonder if I should be taking a step back and saying what is the best receiver and speaker setup I can get for around 1500. I had narrowed down to the Polk RM7200s but would like everyone's advice...I was looking for the best combo music/home theatre speakers to go with the receiver. Thanks!