receiver recomendations

[cashlz]

I am now looking to upgrade my receiver and am torn between Harmon kardon, onkyo, and denon. I get mixed advice from everyone but am sort of leaning towards the denon avr 1604 i am looking to keep this under $500 and closer to $400 if possible. Any advice for a somewhat newbie? Thanks!!! (I Have Sony STR-de685 now)

[poneal]

Personally, I prefer the warmth of the harman kardon over the sterile sound of the denon. The best advice is to audition both side by side on the same speakers at the same volume level if possible. The sales guy will probably need an SPL meter to adjust between the two receivers so that the sound level is the same when doing the A/B switch. This is important because tests have been conducted that people normally pick the loud one over the lower volume one. So go out there, take your favorite CD/DVDs, and spend a day listening and determing which one you want. Cheers.