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  1. #1
    I R t3h n00b
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    Oct 2006
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    Smile Newb sayin' hello, maybe looking for help.

    Hey there folks, I'm the new guy.

    My name is Matt, and I'm having a bit of a home-theatre/stereo crisis at the moment.

    A while back, I inherited (free of charge, of course), my uncle's old Pioneer VSX-7500S Surround (4.0, old-school) Receiver. I was using this receiver a lot... at least until it died about a month ago. Something went whacko... 'kept blowing fuses, anyway, that's old news.

    I am now on the hunt for a replacement, my only stipulation is that I can't really spend more than $60 or $70 (being a college student of modest means)... and before you laugh me out of here I will note that "vintage" isn't really a concern for me. Front/Surround speakers are all I care about, and a sub out/pre-out.

    I figure with so many 6.1/7.1 receivers hitting the shelves, finding a moderately priced, used 5.1 (maybe even DTS?) setup of a 3/4+ year old vintage in my price range shouldn't be too great of a challenge?

    I should also note that my speakers aren't that fancy either (that's possibly and understatement) ... Two Sony MB350H's for front stuff, and two Sony MB100H's for the rear, both of an 8 ohm impedance.

    Anyway, like any good shopper I've been pourin' on the eBay hurt, and I've seen some decent stuff perk my interest. Reviews on this site have been helping a lot too.

    Are there any pitfall receivers I should watch out for?... Any brands I might be able to snag models from that are notably awesome-er than others? Another Pioneer might be nice (my father has had his 'atrocious' little 70 watt per channel 2-channel receiver for somewhere around 9 years, with probably near 1000 hours of playtime on it), but I'm not too fussy. I've heard bad stuff about Sony in this area, as well as Kenwood (?).

    Onkyo and Yamaha seem to crop up a lot on my search, as well as the occasional JVC unit.

    I'm also keeping an eye out for a Sherwood unit, since those seem to hold a special place in the heart for some. Any ideas?

  2. #2
    Forum Regular elapsed's Avatar
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    Here are a few I found on ebay on a quick search, no idea what condition they are in.. let us know what you eventually purchase!

    1. Yamaha RX-V870 for $53: http://cgi.ebay.com/MONSTER-YAMAHA-R...QQcmdZViewItem
    2. Yamaha RX-V1050 for $50: http://cgi.ebay.com/Yamaha-RX-V1050-...QQcmdZViewItem
    3. Denon AVR-1403 for $90: http://cgi.ebay.com/DENON-AV-SURROUN...QQcmdZViewItem

  3. #3
    Suspended PeruvianSkies's Avatar
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    Man, that's not easy, but here is a Pioneer that I found for $80 on eBay that does 5.1 and DTS. You are not really going to get much for that price range, but this is the best that I found....


    http://cgi.ebay.com/Pioneer-SX-315-H...QQcmdZViewItem

  4. #4
    Man of the People Forums Moderator bobsticks's Avatar
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    Welcome to the forum.

    For those dollars you're going to have a hard time finding even a middle of the road receiver (which you already know). I think the guys have got you on the right track. Stick with used Yammy, Pioneer,Onkyo, or Denon. I suspect you'll get the best bang-for-the-buck going with a refurb unit, as P-Sky suggested.

    Cheers and good luck
    So, I broke into the palace
    With a sponge and a rusty spanner
    She said : "Eh, I know you, and you cannot sing"
    I said : "That's nothing - you should hear me play piano"

  5. #5
    I R t3h n00b
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    Hrm, that Denon looks really promising, DTS would be a huge plus, obviously.

    I'm probably also gonna be hittin' up some Pawn Shops soon as well... bad karma? maybe... but probably not bad stereos.

    Also, here's another ebay listing I found that ends tomorrow:

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1

    HT magazine gave it favorable reviews when it was new, about... 5 years ago? DTS and 5.1

    I realize this is no easy task, hehe. Thanks for your help so far guys, keep it comin'

  6. #6
    I R t3h n00b
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    Oct 2006
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    Hello again everyone, I realize it's been a while since I last posted on this topic, however I'm posting to announce that the hunt is over.

    My birthday rolled around, my budget got pushed up, and today I paid a visit to my local pawn shop.

    There I found a Yamaha HTR-5440, with 4 sat speakers for $90 (no remote, my universal's doin' the job for now). Complete with Dolby Digital and DTS decoders in a 5.1 compatible setup. (In my mind it beat out the similarly equipped $60 Sherwood RVD-6090R that was parked across from it). I cleaned 'er up and she looks brand new!

    I pounced and purchased and am extremely pleased. I spent 3 hours tonight getting everything setup (my Sony speakers have never sounded better).

    Everything sounds amazing. I'm surrounded (ha, ha, get it?) by people who have those "out-of-the-box" type setups, and they're baffled at the sound quality... including (I think) the dude next door with his 900 watt/$450 Kenwood kit.

    Anyway, a happy ending.

  7. #7
    Forum Regular
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    Hi Matt, I am not familiar with the yamaha 5440 but I wish you luck with it. I would not knock the sherwood 6090R. It is a great receiver IMHO and uses a yamaha chip for its decoding of D.D. Its upgrade which I still currently use is the 6095R that has DTS. Works real well only I wish it had DPL-2.

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