Sorry, this may well be a stupid question, but after reading reviews, I'm no closer to a descision than I previously was. Too many either wildly positive or wildly negative reviews.

So basically, right now I''ve got an old Harman Kardon HK3300 reciever, a pair of klipsch RB 15's and a klipsch RW-8. The reciever is old and was about 150 bucks in a pawn shop as it was pretty much the only thing I could find with a phono input in my area.

I'm not looking for a more powerfull setup, this produces at least enough volume for me. Clarity is more important, but being a student I have a (very) limited budget. The system is basically for music (from classical to punk to rock, and a very very little rap). If I had around $500 canadian (+/- $100) to spend on a new reciever there be much of a difference in quality? I'm in an area with out a lot of selection, so it's tough to go try things to get a feel as most stores have the same products, and the salespeople tend to try and sell you one product with bad lines and little technical knowledge.

So if anyone has some experience with th HK 3300 and can compare it to some current models in the price range I'm looking at, or just general advice, I would greatly appreciate it.

Sorry about a probably stupid question and long post. I figured that a certain amount of info was needed to avoid being another "what reciever should I buy" style post.