Cheap Receiver?
 

Right now I have my audio going through a stereo that's about 10 years old. I love it and it sounds awesome but I can't hook up a center channel speaker. Plus I'm moving into an upstairs condo and don't really want the speakers sitting on the floor.

I found two bookshelf speakers and a center channel speaker that I want. They are Cerwin Vega, $99 for the bookshelfs and $99 for the center channel. I'm not out to build the ultimate home theater system. I really liked the way they sounded in the store and my question is, if I buy a cheap receiver will that greatly affect the quality of the sound? I'm talking $150 or less here. The receiver would only be used for this setup (TV and DVD). I guess the question is: If I were to hook them up to a $150 receiver and a $500 receiver, would there be a signifficant difference? I'm probably asking the wrong group, you guys are perfectionists. ;)

If I can't get something that sounds good for around $150 then I'll probably just stick with what I've got. Thanks in advance for your help!

Well since you asked :)

There are differences in receivers yes. Generally speaking this price difference should not matter, HOWEVER, there are $500.00 receivers and then there are $500.00 receivers.

A $500.00 offering from Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo would be superior to a $500.00 piece from Panasonic, Sanyo, Fisher etc.

Having said all that I am not sure given your speaker choice it will matter at all.

Good luck :)

The addition of a center channel will make a huge difference for video watching.

I bought a Denon 1601 receiver last year from ubid for around $175 after shipping. That may be about as cheap as you want to go. The amp will drive a 4ohm load and the specs are across the full 20-20khz range. So there are 'cheap' amps that are significantly better than others.

Hunt around the internet...You'll find something.

I looked around at Ubid but I don't know enough about receivers to just place a bid plus their setup is a little confusing to me. Anyway, I noticed Best Buy has 0% interest on everything until January 2003 so I think I'm just going to splurge and buy a new one. They only have two for $199 (which is about what I'm willing to spend). I think I'm going with the Pioneer but if you have comments I'd like to hear them...

Sony - http://www.bestbuy.com/detail.asp?e=...1&cat=3&scat=4
Pioneer - http://www.bestbuy.com/detail.asp?e=...1&cat=3&scat=4

Circuit City has quite a few for $199 if you think any of those are better I'd be willing to get it over there.

Here are some other ideas on this chart

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-GpNQyoP...mp.asp?g=10420

Good luck!

I've got a $300 (at the time) Kenwood receiver (VR-307 or something like that) in my first floor theater and a $500 Yamaha receiver (HTR5460) in the basement theater. The first day I hooked up the Yamaha, I couldn't believe how rich the sound was comapred to the Kenwood. I went back and listened to many of my CDs, because they sounded so much better.

I bought a (gulp) Teac Dolby Digital receiver a couple of years ago at Costco, for something like $175-200, and it's been much, much better than I expected, performance-wise and quality-wise (hasn't died yet or acted up, knock on wood) (can you tell my expectations were pretty low?). It's currently driving a pair of old Technics towers (honeycomb woofers), a JBL center speaker, and 2 cheapo surround speakers (KLH?). As you can see, not a dream setup. I did recently add a Sony powered sub, yippee! It actually does rock, figuratively (and, sometimes, I think, literally). Anyway, my point is that, not being especially picky about my audio, I've been pleasantly surprised with my Teac. Maybe worth considering, although I can see some others have also pointed out similar prices for what appear to be better products. Good luck with your search, though.

Ok, I've come to my senses. Initially I was going to get a new reciever ($200), bookshelf speakers ($100), center channel speaker ($100), and speaker stands ($50). That comes out to $450.

I got to thinking, I'm going to end up with an old receiver and a so-so receiver that I will eventually have to replace with a good one. And I have stands for my current speakers which are perfectly good. So now I've decided to buy a $400 receiver and the center channel speaker and just use the speakers I already have.

So I'm afraid I'll need to ask for more advice. These are models I looked at from Best Buy and Circuit City (not sure if these links will work)...

Harmon Kardon AVR125
http://www.circuitcity.com/ewebIMa/d...k_18&oid=52444
Sony STRDE885
http://www.circuitcity.com/ewebIMa/d...k_20&oid=52440
Pioneer VSXD811S
http://www.circuitcity.com/ewebIMa/d...k_21&oid=55170

The Harmon Kardon only has 45 watts per channel but has good reviews. The HK and Pioneer both have a 4.9 rating (out of 5), the Sony only has a 3.9. I don't really put much faith in those ratings though.

I've heard Denon is an excellent brand and was wondering what you thought of this model (and if this is the one I should get)...

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S...VR1602&o=m&a=0

If there are others I should be considering let me know. Right now it's looking like I'll probably go for the Denon but I need a little reassurance. Thanks guys! :)

Check out the Onkyo 500 ($279) and 600 ($429). Both are excellent receivers for the money. The prices are from jandr.com (call to get these prices).

I would get the Denon over the other choices listed.

I would get the Onkyo SR-500 if you want to keep it under $300. In the $400 range I recommend the Onkyo SR-600 and the Denon 1802.