Receiver Reccommendations for under $500 (1 Viewer)

[Debbie_L]

Sean,

OK, admittedly I am off subject here, but I can't help myself, you said the magic word.......puppy. What breed is she? How old? And congrats too on getting her -- what an exciting and wonderful time for you!

Oh, and yeah......uh.......(so as not to look like I'm straying too far ), trying to squeeze the last drop out of that Aiwa receiver sounds like a good idea. Maybe then, when you decide to upgrade, you can go for a 7.1 set-up!

 

[SeanA]

Debbie,

Oh oh... I will try not to stray too much here, but it will be hard. My puppy is a female cockapoo (cocker spaniel & poodle mix). She has stole my heart, as did my previous cockapoo of 16 years (she died a little over a year ago, in my arms). There must be something about the cockapoo mix that is just perfect for me. They are playful and sporting (natural retrievers), and yet not hyper. They are not yippy. They love cuddling and lap time. And very smart (I think that comes from the Poodle). My little girl learned to sit, stay, and come in just a couple of days. In 2 weeks, she was house-broken and learned to ring a bell by the door when she wants to go potty... except she still abuses the bell once in awhile. Also, cockapoos don't shed. Just love her !!!

Well that is enough straying I think. I have ordered a digital coaxial cable, and I am crossing my fingers that it will work. I think I am going to hang on to the Aiwa for a little while longer if the coax. connection does work. It really did come with a lot of bang for the buck and sound seems pretty good... I just don't think it is a very reliable brand. I am glad I brought up the subject though because I got a lot of good advice for when I do decide to upgrade the receiver. I plan to look into the Sony, H-K, Yamaha, and maybe the Kenwood. Thanks all.

 

[SeanA]

Well lo and behold... my Aiwa receiver is not defective after-all. I discovered that there is a digital/analog switch and that the receiver was locked into analog mode, and thus no sound from my digital optical input. So some of this is just stupidity on my part, but boy is the owner's manual lousy !!! I discovered that the digital mode is also an "automatic" mode, meaning it will detect the source and respond accordingly. But this mode must be set for each individual input source.

I also accidently locked my receiver into "DTS" mode while playing around with it during the Saturday broadcast of "The Green Mile". Well the signal wasn't DTS but Dolby Digital, so I lost the sound. It took me half an hour just to figure out how to get it out of DTS mode. The instructions for this were buried in a footnote, and it was one of these procedures where you had to hold in two buttons and release one first. There are some setting procedures that are even worse.

Worst part of this whole thing is that I called Aiwa for assistance, but they never thought to mention the digital/analog switch. They just gave me an address to send the receiver in for repair. Luckily I did not.

I think there is definitely something to be said for "user-friendly" electronics. Consumer Reports usually includes "ease of use" in their ratings, am I usually have ignored it... not anymore.

 

[Dave Mack]

Hey Kevin,

Is Etronics an official dealer for Harman Kardon? Seems like their prices are about 30 % off....

D

 

[MikeMcGrew]

Hey Dave, as far as I know, E-tronics is NOT an authorized H/K dealer. If you're in the market for H/K, check out One Call. They have killer deals on refurbs (the 525 for about $520 and the 325 for $400). The return policy kind of stinks but you have a full warranty with them through Harman. I have two good friends who both bought refurbed H/K's from One Call quite some time ago and have had nothing but positive reviews for both the receivers and the outlet. MM