Gimmie an AV receiver under $500!!

[dutch123]

Need AV receiver under 500$ as the heart of my HT music system.

Warning Spoiler : Read gory details at your own risk



I'm done with my 1974 Zenith Allegro console cabinet, 8 track, cassette, etc. Good investment for $20 but time to move on.

Room specs: 16x12
Looking to set up HT/ music system.(emphasis on MUSIC)
Budgetary considerations (what do I know)

mains 400-500$
center 200-300$
rear 300-400$
sats 200-300$

again, what do I know.

So, AV receiver thoughts needed and welcomed
thanks earthlings;

Dutch

[Woochifer]

Try looking for a Denon AVR-2803 on closeout. It has a list price of $800, but they just introduced the AVR-2805, so you can probably negotiate a nice deal on any remaining 2803s in stock. Otherwise, the Yamaha RX-V650/HTR-5560 is right around the $500 price point, and it gives you their YPAO room calibration function and decent build quality.

[hershon]

[QUOTE=dutch123]Need AV receiver under 500$ as the heart of my HT music system.

JVC RX-DV31SL dvd/receiver (handles 500 watts) ,You can get the JVC receiver at a great price at Amazon.com or EBay between around $200- $275 on sale. It lists for $450. Sounds great

[This Guy]

I wouldn't bother with a JVC receiever/DVD player when you could get a nice Yamaha, H/K, Denon, Onkyo, or Marantz. Plus if the dvd player in it breaks or something, you have to send the whole unit back leaving you without anysound for any component unless you use the TV's speakers; and JVC isn't known for their quality in the H/T world so I'd stary away from that one. I'm gonna go ahead and reccomend a Marantz SR-4400 or higher model. They do everything you want, plus have pre-outs which many of the competing receievers in this price range don't have. You can get them factory refurbished and heavely discounted from this authorized dealer. accessories4less.com (where I got mine). Or brand new at retail prices hifi.com . I reccomend Accessories4less.com. And what do you mean with the "sats" $200-300? Are these supposed to be rear surrounds? And have you budgeted for a subwoofer?

-Joey

[dutch123]

Oops- I mean sub, thank you very much This Guy, and thank you to hershon and Woochifer. I shall continue researching and until then thank goodness for covalent bonding

Dutch

[Jim Clark]

Need AV receiver under 500$ as the heart of my HT music system.

Warning Spoiler : Read gory details at your own risk



I'm done with my 1974 Zenith Allegro console cabinet, 8 track, cassette, etc. Good investment for $20 but time to move on.

Room specs: 16x12
Looking to set up HT/ music system.(emphasis on MUSIC)
Budgetary considerations (what do I know)

mains 400-500$
center 200-300$
rear 300-400$
sats 200-300$

again, what do I know.

So, AV receiver thoughts needed and welcomed
thanks earthlings;

Dutch

/begin transmission/

Bass is the universal home theater constant and you are looking to cheap out compared to the rest of your system. I think you should at least consider swaping a little of the budget for rears and adding it to the sub. One place to start would be an Adire Rava for 399.

I haven't auditioned any receivers in ages so I'm not going to make any model specific recomendations. Typically I have been most impressed with Denon-Yamaha-Marantz, in that order. I think you'd be hard pressed to go wrong with a mid-line model from any of those companies. A Denon on closeout would be awfully tempting for me.

/transmission ends/

[dutch123]

DooH! I'm too green!! Thanks JC... I was checking refurbished Marantz; SR 5200/5300, I see the 5400 is out for more payola. I'd like to know more about refurbs.

I'll stiff around for closeouts and take this informative sessions as a starting point in negotiations.

The sub, as it were, upon more research, does constitute a crucial element in the listening experience. Again, thank you for the heads up.


Dutch

[Bryan]

$1,500 for the speakers with an additional $500 for the receiver. Okay. How about the Ascend Acoustic S33-23 package? You have the CMT-340 mains and center and a pair of CBM-170s for the surrounds along with a HSU VTF-2 sub for $1,568 delivered. You can add to that a Yamaha HTR-5760 for $425 (try and haggle with JandR.com to get it for that price delivered) and you should have an excellent system that meets your given needs and requirements for $1,993 delivered.

[prash]

I would suggest a different receiver wioth the Ascends. They dont do very well with Yammies. Even Ascend recommends HK/Onkyo/Denons. I myself chose an onkyo after trying a Yamaha. It was too bright.

-prashanth

$1,500 for the speakers with an additional $500 for the receiver. Okay. How about the Ascend Acoustic S33-23 package? You have the CMT-340 mains and center and a pair of CBM-170s for the surrounds along with a HSU VTF-2 sub for $1,568 delivered. You can add to that a Yamaha HTR-5760 for $425 (try and haggle with JandR.com to get it for that price delivered) and you should have an excellent system that meets your given needs and requirements for $1,993 delivered.

[Woochifer]

I would suggest a different receiver wioth the Ascends. They dont do very well with Yammies. Even Ascend recommends HK/Onkyo/Denons. I myself chose an onkyo after trying a Yamaha. It was too bright.

-prashanth

I've had both Onkyo and Yamaha receivers in the same room, and never picked up on one sounding "brighter" than the other when you have them setup with the processors switched off. The RX-V650/HTR-5760 has a parametric room calibration function. If the in-room measurement determines that "brightness" is the most problematic area, then the system can use one of the three available parametric filters per channel to attenuate the highs so long as there aren't other room or speaker-induced issues that are more severe. Room acoustics, speakers, and placement issues are much more significant determinants than the typically subtle differences between comparably priced receivers.

[dutch123]

Ok, considering Denon1804; Yamaha 5560; Yamaha V1300 (over budget) I hear it runs hot?; Marantz 5300 (refurb) 349$;should I be concerned? Marantz 5400 (new) it has componet i/o; (over budget)

FYI: When I say considering- nothing is in stone- just focusing here for now

Dutch

[This Guy]

One thing about the Marantz. It has a fixed subwoofer crossover at 100 hertz. This is pretty high and you can localize the sub on some notes. So you're either going to have to put your sub right next to one of the front speakers, or use the subs speaker level inputs and set your crossover on the sub to make it lower than 100. The quality of the Marantz is fine, I got my SR-5200 refurbished from them, and it looks brand new cosmetically, and I haven't had a single problem with it yet in the 1.5 years I've had it. Oh and I just found that they have a refurbished SR-5400 for $450, and a brand new SR-6300 for $500 at accessories4less.com. Good luck.

-Joey

[dutch123]

Doh! I'm sloow to get on the learning curve but I just researched the crossover issue.... great insider tip This Guy... I'm goin there right now to have a peek -er- roo.

[dutch123]

Okay- I "listened" to a Marantz SR 5300- I liked.. So, I want the SR-5400 because it had component
Suggestions for online shop sources needed. I'm still scratching my head regarding the Denon 1804. - which I believe is comparable. Locally, I have 4 different purchase locations, non of which will negotiate the price?

Dutch

[sy_lu]

Pioneer VSX-2012 for $500 at Goodguys. It is a better to far better (depends on which function) unit for the most part than the Denon 3300 it replaces. It probably will be at least on par with Denon 38xx if not better.