I was trying to decide between the following receivers for my HT and just wanted some opinions on them.

Sony STR DE-845 $340
Denon AVR-1601 $295
JVC RX 8000VBK $300

They all seem to be pretty close and I just wanted to see if there is anything that puts one over the top.

I would stay away from JVC. If something goes wrong you are on your own. I had a JVC DVD player that died after one year and they said it would cost more then a new player would. I have a Sony ES and love it. Denon makes really good stuff as well.

agreed, I would stay away from JVC, I had the model before the 8000 and have had to take it in twice in less than a year. The CSR even hung the phone up on me once, very bad

I agree--stay away from JVC.

Although it's priced somewhat higher (I believe it's currently $499 in the B & Ms), you should at least look into the Onkyo 575X.

------------------
Enjoy the sauce.

I would also have to agree I have no personal experience with the JVC but I have only heard bad things.
Take a look at the DB line of sony's they are made like the ES but are a little cheaper.

I have been researching and auditioning receivers for the past several weeks. From the ones you have listed, I would say Denon has the best quality.

I agree to stay away from JVC and the Sony "DE" series. The top receivers for your price range are Sony "DB or ES", Yamaha, Denon, and Onkyo. You might want to check out Yamaha 5240.

I finally decided on the Onkyo 575x, great reciever for the money ($400 shipped from www.onecall.com).

I'm not sure about the Denon AVR-1601 model, but my Denon DD receiver has an excellent 5-channel stereo mode that makes listening to music great! So if you also like to listen to music from the same set-up, this feature is a definite edge for the Denon. (Plus, the Denon has excellent high-current power amps, as do the Yamaha, Onkyo and Yamaha receivers. That gives you clean, unmuddied sound at higher volumes.)

Now I find out the JVC RX-8000VBK is a problem after having already ordered it from Amazon. At least it is free and didn't cost me anything. Contrary to what you all are saying this JVC has gotten some excellant reviews at http://www.audioreview.com , so now I don't know who to believe. Anyway, it has got to be a step up from my Technics receiver that hisses on the surround channels and has no video inputs at all.

Unless you're absolutely set on getting rid of that amazon certificate I have to suggest this. The harman kardon avr-65. www.harmanoutlet.com has it refurbed for $350. This blows away anything near that price range. You can always use that $150 towards cables/speaker wire.

OK, I think I am ruling out the Sony and JVC. The new models I am considering are the Denon 1801 and Onkyo 575x. They are both about the same price but I am leaning toward the Onkyo. Anyone have opinions on these?

quote:<HR>Originally posted by dygaar:
OK, I think I am ruling out the Sony and JVC. The new models I am considering are the Denon 1801 and Onkyo 575x. They are both about the same price but I am leaning toward the Onkyo. Anyone have opinions on these?<HR>

I would definately go with the Onkyo. It is a great value and a very good reciever.