Reciever Recomendations for my HT...

[SmackDaddy]

Been on an upgrading tear lately and picking up the Sony KDF50WE655 LCD set, Athena Micra6 speaker set (down to $207 at BB, great deal!) to replace my mediocre Yamahas. Now my HK AVR 300's IR sensor has gone south, even the remote IR jack doesn't seem to be working. Which of course means that I can't access a lot of set-up menus and such with out the use of the remote.

With all my recent purchases, I'm kind of on a budget now. I've had the HK for almost 5 years, so I'm not really up on my receivers. What can I get in the $300 price range that's decent? Anything?

Thanks!

[renaldow]

I just bought a Pioneer 815 for just under $300. It's feature packed and has gotten great reviews. The latest issue of Sound & Vision put it up against the Sony and Marantz receivers in the same price range, and the Pio was way beyond them in terms of quality.

Here's the article:
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=848&page_number=1

[K&AJones]

I'll second the Pioneer. They've really come a long way in the last couple of years. The Onkyo TX-SR503 is a fav on the boards for solid it's all-around value/performance. But if I was looking for one right now it would be a Denon AVR-1905. Check Crutchfield because they have it $100 off right now. If I'm not mistaken they still do the "Easy Pay" thing you have three months to pay off. Get a Denon and you'll never look back.

Kenny J.

[Sdallnct]

Ok here I go again,

Get another H/K. If on a budget, get a refurbished one (you can check H/K own site, the sell direct)

If you just don't think you can swing that, get an Onkyo and if really tight, get a refurbished Onkyo. Heck, the very nice recently discountinued 502 can be had for about $170 shipped (refurbished model) at eCost.

[DVD Josh]

Onkyo 602, all the way. May not be able to sneak below $350, but worth every penny.

[SmackDaddy]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've got to really stick to the $300 budget since I've already spent a lot. I checked out the HK site and saw som really good deals on refurbs. I like Denon's too, but have had little experience with Onkyo. But I may have to look into them since they are highly regarded by their owners.

Thanks for the help!

[Sweet Baby James]

Have a look at the Panasonic digital receivers. They offer tremendous performance for the $$$. They also created quite a buzz in the high end community when they first came out. You can definitely get the SAXR-70 model for around $300. I have the very first digital model that they released(SA-XR10) and have been very satisfied with it.:)

[ILikeDVD]

Any good deals on the Pioneer receiver? Is it easily found at any B&M stores? i live in San Diego

[renaldow]

Any good deals on the Pioneer receiver? Is it easily found at any B&M stores? i live in San Diego

Yeah, there are plenty of stores that are Pioneer authorized dealers. Check the Pio website for a list of ones local to you.

[SmackDaddy]

Update:

Started looking into digital recievers, Panasonic(XR70 XR55) and JVC(various) and came across the Onkyo TX-LR552 at Fry's for $149!! Online seems to go from $179-379. Reviews from customers seem to be very good.

Anyone had any experience with this model? Has enough inputs for my needs, does component upconversion (not that I'll be using it).

[Sdallnct]

Update:

Started looking into digital recievers, Panasonic(XR70 XR55) and JVC(various) and came across the Onkyo TX-LR552 at Fry's for $149!! Online seems to go from $179-379. Reviews from customers seem to be very good.

Anyone had any experience with this model? Has enough inputs for my needs, does component upconversion (not that I'll be using it).

Well I wouldn't get all excited about a digital receiver. After reading from some who thought they were the next best thing to running water, I tried one. Overall I was not impressed and returned it. Tho it was an inexpensive one, it had a big following. I thought the sound was rather "cold" and the highs slightly harsh. The power was good, but nothing I hadn't heard before.

I'm sure there are some awesome digital receiver's. Just as there are some awesome non-digital receivers. Hopefully you will purchase from a store that has a good return policy so you try it and return it if you don't like it (digital or not).

[SmackDaddy]

Well,

Although I was tempted to get another HK, I ended up trying out a couple of totally different receivers. The Yamaha HTR-5860 and the Onkyo LR552 digital reciever.

Compared all 3 (HK AVR300, Yam, and Onkyo) with my Micra 6 speakers. Used scenes fromThe Two towers, Hellboy, Castaway and AOTC to demo all three.

Well, while I love my HK, and thought the Yamaha sounded decent (I've had that one for a couple of days) the Onkyo was a distinct improvement over those two. The soundstage was dramatically improved over the older HK. Dialog came through stronger than it did with the Yamaha.

I had a friend over while I was trying out the Onkyo and she noticed the difference immediatly. She came in while I was testing the Onkyo with Hellboy (which we had watch the other night using the Yamaha) and commeted on how much more clear it sounded. If she noticed, then I know it had to be a big difference since she doesn't ever notice stuff like that.

Setup was a breeze, and although I hate the springclips used on the Onkyo (which most digital decks seem to be using) they sure made speaker swapping between the units go faster.

The Yamaha is going back. I liked it fine overall, but the Onkyo just sounds better.

These are just first impressions, and I plan on giving the Onkyo a good workout over the next week. But at $149 (originally $399, still $379 at Circuit City) I think I'll have a hard time finding something in my $300 budget that can compete.

[Sdallnct]

Good job and trying before buying (well before keeping). Good report and good luck! My H/K should arrive by the time I get home on Monday, so will have a new play toy as well.

[nightmaster]

I just ordered the Pioneer VSX-814 model. I hated giving up the auto speaker calibration by going to the 815's predecessor, but picked it up for $165 refurbished from Pioneer so I'll labor with the manual tweaking!