Purchasing my first reciever (1 Viewer)

[ChrisT]

Hello, I'm a highschool student and I've been searching around for a reliable low-end receiver. I currently have a make-shift 6.1 setup running off a 5.1 Sony minisystem; it's not pretty. I have multiple speakers in the stronger channels since the wattage on a few of them is extremely weak. I know the under-wattage is slowly killing my speakers at high volumes so it's time for a real receiver.

I've been looking at the Kenwood VR-806, mostly because it offers ProLogic IIx and there is quite a price jump between that and other receivers with that same feature. I'm still in school and have an extremely limited bugdet (staying at or around $200 is the goal here). I mostly listen to music (primarily rock, metal, and jazz) however I would like to have something to accent the occasional anime/movie showing. I really like this Kenwood, so I was wondering if there is something particularly bad about the model and/or why it's so much cheaper than other receivers with similar features (i.e. the Pioneer VSX-D814K).

 

[JohnCZ]

Chris,

There are many reasons for the price difference. Quality of the parts is one reason. Different receivers produce different sound. The reproduction quality of the ProLogics & DTS is also an issue. Watts/channel is also a issue. You can Google real-world tests and see that many low-end recievers are not even close to their own stats. It gets even worse when you start adding more channels.

In retrospect, I too grew up on Kenwood products and loved them. It maybe fine for what you want it to do. If your going to blow something up, it's better that its $200. Its like computers, you don't learn till you blow it up.

One thing that may also help is going with used or demo products (B-Stock)directly from the manufacturers or an authorized dealer. They may have a blemish here or there. but have the same warranties.

Here is a good article on 3 recievers in your price range. They were $300 last year.
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/art...&page_number=1


J

 

[Perry Jonkheer]

I second going with the "used" market. EBay can be a great place to start. I sold my Yamaha on there for about $150 last year and that is still a great receiver.

An even better place is: audiogon.com

Goodluck in your search.

 

[ChrisT]

Thanks for the advice! I'm going to go ahead and purchase the Kenwood. Hopefully it'll work out, and if it doesn't then I haven't lost much money anyways.

 

[Bill Will]

www.crutchfield.com has the 806 "Refurbished" for $159.99 but I would also take a look at the Sherwood RD-7108 that www.jandr.com has delivered for $155.40 The Sherwood got a pretty good review by S&V Mag.