D.Pham5GLTE (>60GB)

Well, i'm looking for a good receiver for around $250-350, preferably with DTS-ES and DD EX. What's the best bang for the buck in this price range?

nekobus

FWIW, the Denon 1603 is only a 5 channel unit and it's only $200 at www.6ave.com (an authorized Denon dealer).

Since D.Pham00 is looking for a receiver with DTS-EX and DD EX, in his price range, I would recommend the Onkyo TX-SR501 ($300). It has Dolby Digital EX, DTS-ES and Pro Logic II and high bandwidth component video switching

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S...0&I=580TXSR501

or a refurbished Onkyo TX=SR600 for $300 from Onecall:

http://ww3.onecall.com/PID_19068.htm

gcribbs

oops I looked at the 1604 description you are right the 1603 is a 5 channel receiver

for that price at 6ave.com I am going to get my brother to buy one for his home theater.

nekobus

Yeah, it's a nice deal and that 6 cent shipping doesn't hurt either.

D.Pham5GLTE (>60GB)

the txsr600 looks nice. also, is this loud enough for a mid-sized room?

what about the Panasonic SAHE100? it has DTS ES, but i heard that it unofficially supports DD EX. also, i'm looking for something of quality too, not just something that meets the specs. i've had my current receiver for over 5 years now and it's starting to crap out on me. i want something that will last for at least that long.

lordzeppelin

Denon 1803 all the way.

nekobus

The TX-SR600 is loud enough for a mid-sized room and then some (loud enough to be unhealthy). I would pass on the Panasonic. The best lower price receivers are made by Onkyo and Denon.

While a nice unit, it's too expensive for the requested price budget. It also has a lower component switching bandwidth rating (27MHz bandwidth) when compared with the Onkyo 600 (60Mhz bandwith).

D.Pham5GLTE (>60GB)

thanks all! i picked up the sr600. i went to CC to see if they had the receiver on demo, and luckily they had the sr601 and i walked in whilst the sales guy was demoing the receiver with some infinitis to some other guy. it sounded pretty good, though he was only testing it on a CD. i'll let you know how i like it once i get it.

D.Pham5GLTE (>60GB)

alright...i've used the unit for a while now, and it's really a great receiver! thanks for the advice guys!

p.s. Onecall called me to make sure that I got the receiver! now that's what i call service!

nekobus

Glad you're enjoying it. There's nothing like a new HT toy.