Need Receiver Recommendations
 

Hello All,

I am planning on purchasing a new receiver over the holidays and am looking for recommendations. My budget is $300, so, I have been comparing different brand's $299 models. The pioneer and Sony seem to have the most features for the buck but what about quality? I am looking for people who have used different brands and have opinions on which brand receivers offer the best audio performance. I have heard good things about Onkyo and Harman Kardon, bad things about Yamaha and Kenwood, but nothing about Pioneer, Sony Denon, Panasonic, etc.. Are these good receivers, what would you recommend for under $300? I have no need for component video switching as my TV does not have component inputs -- and if I get a new TV, I will just wire directly from DVD to TV. I do need digital inputs and an output for DVD and minidisc players. I want this system to rock music-wise also, its not just for movies.

On a related note, I am going to purchase the Onkyo SKS-HT500 speaker system as they come highly recommended and affordably priced (Description + Reviews ) Any opinions?

Thanks for all of your help and let me know any questions that you need answered.

-Mike

Don't rule out yamaha, I dont know who would talk badly about those receivers. Yamaha is a VERY good receiver. Some people feel they are too bright, but that is about the worst thing to say about a Yamaha.

Sony receivers at that price point are not very good at all...stay away if you can.

Onkyo makes a good receiver - very comparible to Yamaha.

HK hasnt been as good over the past few years.

Most companies over rate their products when it comes to wattage. My 70/5 yamaha blows away my DE series Sony I had before it that was 100/5.

At the price you are looking at, you may want to consider picking up a used receiver from someone over at hometheater forum. Those guys usually take pretty good care of their stuff and you can find a pretty good Yamaha, Onkyo, Marantz or Outlaw in your price range that was originally double what you'll spend on it.

As for speakers, I dont know your price range, but Onkyo puts out a betetr receiver then they do speakers.

A good spreaker set that may be in your range are the JBL (n-series?). They have the at best buy. You can test them out there and buy them on-line for around $400 a set.

I recommend the Onkyo SR-500. I own the 2000 model of this receiver. I believe its sound quality is unmatched at that price range. It has a nice feature set too.

I'm confused as to what you trying to do here.

Yeah, ...
 

I always had thought Yamaha to be on par with Onkyo also. I think it was in some of the 4 million reviews that I have been reading that some people were coming down on Yamaha. Great suggestion about used, I'm going to check that out now. I also understand about the wattage, I have had the same experience with stereos before.

Keep em coming!
-Mike

Skar,
 

Thanks for your recommendation. I was simply saying that I wanted at least one digital input for my dvd/cd player and one digital output to a minidisk recorder. Sorry for the poor wording.

-Mike

I second the vote for Yamaha. At the price point you mention they make nice sounding stuff. You may also want to consider a Denon. I do not like the cheap Sony. Have not listened much to the Onkyo.

p.s.I think the high end Sonys' sound great.

If a digital output is very important to you, your choices become far more limited. The $300 models from Onkyo, Yamaha, and Denon all lack digital outputs. H/K doesn't have a $300 model to my knowledge.

I recommend looking for a discounted Denon AVR-1602 (it is getting replaced by the 1603). It retailed for $399 , but is available online in the $250-350 range.