need new receiver under $400.00

[madmax1]

Hi guys,love the site! Im looking for a good receiver for home theater, aleast 6.1 for under $400.00 is it possible? ?Im looking at JVC,DENON,PIONEER,SONY i dont know which one is the better one? Hopefully one of you knows the best for the money? I like the jvc has more power just dont know if its good, dont know anyone with a jvc? Thanks again for the great site!!

[Bryan]

In the under $400 range, the Denon is by far the better one. The Harmon Kardon AVR130 (http://www.6ave.com/product.jsp?x=AVR130) (don't particularly like the volume control on it) goes for under $400, as do the Marantz SR5300 (http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/store/category.cgi?category=rec_hometheater&item=m1sr5300), Marantz SR4400 (http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/store/category.cgi?category=rec_hometheater&item=m1sr4400&type=store), Onkyo TX-SR501 (http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/store/category.cgi?category=rec_hometheater&item=o1txs501&type=store), Yamaha RXV440 (http://www.6ave.com/product.jsp?x=RXV440), or Yamaha HTR-5650 (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1051806319872&skuId=5393219&type=product&productCategoryId=cat03031).

[Worf101]

The only thing I'd add is if you're a total "noob" you might want to also consider ease of installation and set up before you buy. I find the Denon's and Onkyo's by far the easiest to work with, although the Yammies with this YPAO (?) seems to be hitting on something.

Da Worfster :o

[madmax1]

Are any of these good? For the money, My buddy is thinking about a JVC 9010 is this receiver any good?

[uncooked]

well with jvc's with personal experience the wattage is not up to par. if its rated at 100 its more like 60 - 70 where panny's are up there in the 80's most of the time.

i have a question about the harmon kardon avr 130 its rated at like 45 or 50 watts a channel does it have alot of power? i know its true power in a HK but still 50 is not very much. you would need to run another amp into that i would think boost it to atleast 80 - 100 a channel

[F1]

Are any of these good? For the money, My buddy is thinking about a JVC 9010 is this receiver any good?

This model does not offer the latest surround format, but to me it doesn't matter if the price is right. I used to have JVC receivers and I was happy. Read the user reviews in this site and decide yourself. Good luck.
http://www.audioreview.com/A-V,Receivers/JVC,RX-9010VBK/PRD_125738_2718crx.aspx

[Bryan]

JVCs are decent for the money but nothing spectacular. For example, I had a JVC RX-8000V. My Yamaha RX-V496 sounded much better than it. Feature wise, the JVC had more but that was its only advantage.

50 watts may not seem like much but it really in. In most high side of normal to very loud listening you will probably never get beyond 32 watts per channel anyways. Here is where you keep in mind the following rough formula: for every noticable increase (3 db) in volume you need to double the wattate. In other words, for a speaker with a sensitivity of 87 dbs at 1 watt:

W - db
1 - 87
2 - 90
4 - 93
8 - 96
16 - 99
32 - 102
64 - 105
128 - 108

As a guideline, when it comes to wattage and receivers, ignore it. The difference between a 100WPC JVC receiver and a 70WPC Yamaha or 50WPC HK isn't much. The sound quality between those three will be very great, with the lesser power Yamaha and HK beating out the JVC. You also have to take into consideration the given specs. For example, the JVC may say 100WPC, 1 channel driven, 1KHz, 8 ohms. The Yamaha or HK may read 70WPC, all channels driven, 20Hz - 20KHz, 8 ohms.

Here is where I would take an entry level Denon, Yamaha, Onkyo, HK, or Marantz over a featured packed JVC, Sony, or Pioneer any day of the week (with the Pioneer Elite being the only exception in Pioneers line of receivers).

[Worf101]

Are any of these good? For the money, My buddy is thinking about a JVC 9010 is this receiver any good?

I tried setting one of these things up for an ex girlfriends system. They are a ***** to set up and calibrate. Confusing inputs and designations, little or no component switching... I've avoided them ever since..

Da Worfster