entry level reciever died....

[reallybigafro]

my KLH budget reciever died on me this week. it just makes a loud pop noise and shuts off. Anyways i need to get a new reciever ASAP. the only thing is i have $250 to spend. what i'm currently looking at is the Harman AVR-130 and a Sony STR-DE579. the Harman is 5.1 and the Sony is 6.1 the sony is also $50 cheaper, but from what i've heard Harman is a better reciever. i'm new to this stuff so any advice would be great. thank you

[MikeyBC]

I'm dont know the details of either model but as far as sound quality goes I think i'd lean towards the Harmon Kardon based on past products i've seen and heard from both companies.

[bargainseeker]

Harmon Kardon products have a good reputation for sound quality but a poor reputation for reliability. For $250, the A/V receiver I would recommend instead is the Onkyo TX-SR502 (http://www.us.onkyo.com/model.cfm?m=TX-SR502&class=Receiver&p=i). You can get it new from a reputable dealer at Vanns for $249 (http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/item/features/538299965) with free shipping. If you are willing to consider a factory refurbished model with a one year warranty, you can get it as cheap as $149 from J&R (http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4014530). Some consumer reviews of this model can be found here (http://www.audioreview.com/A-V+Receivers/Onkyo/PRD_302794_2718crx.aspx).

[reallybigafro]

thank you guys both for the input, i'm about to go read those reviews. i don't know where it was but i did read something about HK's being unreliable. maybe i can find the 502 new because i am kinda worried about a referb. thanks again

[kexodusc]

H/K seems to have resolved the reliability issues of a few years ago. If you're looking for an invincible receiver, the closest thing you'll find is Yamaha, but even their not perfect.
I wouldn't even consider the Sony if the H/K is only $50 more, there's really NO comparison. Same with Onkyo.

[bargainseeker]

H/K seems to have resolved the reliability issues of a few years ago. If you're looking for an invincible receiver, the closest thing you'll find is Yamaha, but even their not perfect.
I wouldn't even consider the Sony if the H/K is only $50 more, there's really NO comparison. Same with Onkyo.I have experience with both Yamaha and Onkyo receivers and I recommend them both. I didn't recommend a Yamaha receiver to him initially because I don't like the feature set of the HTR-5740 and I couldn't find the HTR-5750 from an authorized dealer for less than $300 (which exceeds his $250 budget). Since then, I found this HTR-5650 receiver at J&R (http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=3712408) for about $228 with shipping. The HTR-5650 is last year's model which is equivalent to the HTR-5750. Even better, J&R is an authorized Yamaha dealer. The HTR-5650 would be a good alternative to the Onkyo TX-SR502. I don't think that he would go wrong either way.

[2Broke4This]

I have a Yamaha HTR-5640 that I love and would recommend to anyone, so I imagine that the 5650 would be an even better alternative, since it is even more powerful and has more features. I am in no financial position to upgrade, or I might look into getting a nicer Yamaha for myself.