bargainseeker
01-27-2005, 07:55 AM
Receiver: yes, I would be willing to purchase a refurbished one on-line as long as the warranty was the same. I was looking at one site (don't remember which) some time ago and the refurbished unit (Denon) had an extremely short warranty. However, I don't know which sites a good and which are not.I have started a new thread to address your request for recommendations on an A/V receiver around $400.
First you should know that all of the online dealers I am about to recommend are ones which are factory authorized dealers for that particular brand. I have bought from J&R, eCost and PCMall in the past with good results. I have no personal experience with Dakmart.
For a brand new receiver with a full length manufacturer warrany, I would recommend the Yamaha HTR-5760 (http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/HTIB/HTR5760.htm). The HTR-5760 can purchased for $399.99 plus shipping from J&R (http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=3967370) (click on the link to get an email with their $399.99 price).
In a Denon receiver, the best deal I found in your price range was the Denon AVR-1804 (http://www.usa.denon.com/catalog/pdfs/avr18043.pdf) from Dakmart for $326.98 plus shipping (http://www.dakmart.com/website/ItemDetail.asp?ItemId=40094&cID=111). This is a factory refurbished discontinued model that comes with a 1 year warranty.
In an Onkyo receiver, I would recommend the Onkyo TX-SR702 (http://www.us.onkyo.com/model.cfm?m=TX-SR702&class=Receiver&p=i) which lists for $799 but is currently available from PCMall for $409 with free shipping (http://www.pcmall.com/pcmall/shop/detail.asp?dpno=184791) (after mail in rebate) and from eCost for $409 plus shipping (http://www.ecost.com/ecost/shop/detail.asp?dpno=184791). This receiver is a refurbished current year model that comes with a 90 day warranty.
If I were buying today, I'd go with the refurbished Onkyo TX-SR702 even though it only has a 90 day warranty. Studies of failure rates in electronic equipment over time have shown that if a piece of electronics is going to fail, it is likely to do so in the first few months. After that, the failure rate drops to a minimum and then goes up again very gradually as failures due to age and wear and tear start to occur. Knowing these statistics, I am very keen to get a factory warranty that covers the first few months of ownership but not as concerned about coverage after that. These statistics are also why I don't buy extended warranties on receivers (and also why such warranties are so profitable to the sellers).
However, I don't think you would go wrong with any of these three.
First you should know that all of the online dealers I am about to recommend are ones which are factory authorized dealers for that particular brand. I have bought from J&R, eCost and PCMall in the past with good results. I have no personal experience with Dakmart.
For a brand new receiver with a full length manufacturer warrany, I would recommend the Yamaha HTR-5760 (http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/HTIB/HTR5760.htm). The HTR-5760 can purchased for $399.99 plus shipping from J&R (http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=3967370) (click on the link to get an email with their $399.99 price).
In a Denon receiver, the best deal I found in your price range was the Denon AVR-1804 (http://www.usa.denon.com/catalog/pdfs/avr18043.pdf) from Dakmart for $326.98 plus shipping (http://www.dakmart.com/website/ItemDetail.asp?ItemId=40094&cID=111). This is a factory refurbished discontinued model that comes with a 1 year warranty.
In an Onkyo receiver, I would recommend the Onkyo TX-SR702 (http://www.us.onkyo.com/model.cfm?m=TX-SR702&class=Receiver&p=i) which lists for $799 but is currently available from PCMall for $409 with free shipping (http://www.pcmall.com/pcmall/shop/detail.asp?dpno=184791) (after mail in rebate) and from eCost for $409 plus shipping (http://www.ecost.com/ecost/shop/detail.asp?dpno=184791). This receiver is a refurbished current year model that comes with a 90 day warranty.
If I were buying today, I'd go with the refurbished Onkyo TX-SR702 even though it only has a 90 day warranty. Studies of failure rates in electronic equipment over time have shown that if a piece of electronics is going to fail, it is likely to do so in the first few months. After that, the failure rate drops to a minimum and then goes up again very gradually as failures due to age and wear and tear start to occur. Knowing these statistics, I am very keen to get a factory warranty that covers the first few months of ownership but not as concerned about coverage after that. These statistics are also why I don't buy extended warranties on receivers (and also why such warranties are so profitable to the sellers).
However, I don't think you would go wrong with any of these three.