Best Receiver for ~ $400 or Less?

[GranteedEV]

I would never get a receiber eithout pre outs.

 

[Melee]

I don't believe the P363's have bi-amp capability, do they? I think they only have one set of posts so do I really need pre-outs when I have no plans whatsoever for external amps in the future or capability on my speakers to even use them?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I don't believe the P363's have bi-amp capability, do they? I think they only have one set of posts so do I really need pre-outs when I have no plans whatsoever for external amps in the future or capability on my speakers to even use them?

The only reason for pre-outs on the receiver is for using External Amplifiers just in case you need more power.

I my family room, which is around 18' x 20' x 10' ceiling, my wimpy Denon AVR391 drives my P362 just fine. To achieve a maxium of 85dBA from 9 feet away on the song "Hotel California", I turn the volume to -10dB on my AVR391. So 90dBA would be -5dB on the volume knob on my AVR391.

But I would not recommend going above 85dBA just to be safe.

And yes, the P362 only has one set of cheap speaker binding posts, which is made to be used with bare speaker wires, so don't buy any fancy banana plugs.

 

[Melee]

Well, the point being on this is this is an overall Budget system. So, I'm basically looking for the cheapest options overall without sacrificing sound quality. The Denon I have doesn't have any of the cool features like nice/attractive menus, color GUI, or anything that basic units won't have.

So, I'm looking for the CHEAPEST receiver possible in that regard. lol The only thing this one has over the lower options would probably be the MultEQ I believe and maybe a bit more power?

If you're getting by fine with a 391, then I would much rather sell this one for $325-$350 Shipped, buy a $150-$200 Receiver that can handle everything, and save the rest for a computer. This is going to be a bedroom system forever so even when I move into a house I can keep it to use in the bedroom and build a new system for the living room or "man den" which I have every intention of having. haha

So, with that in mind, what is the best receiver (can either be current models or last years models. I don't want to go beyond that because I do want HDMI and decent video processing. I don't mind if it's refurbished as long as it's cheap.

Is this possible? lol I don't want a bunch of crap that I have to pay $500 for that I'm not going to use. ^_^ Cheap = Great. It doesn't really even have to be 7.1. lol I mean, it might be best if it is in case I want to go 7.1, but I don't see much of a need for it in my small room, right?

And in reference to the speaker wire, I got 100ft of cheap 16 gauge wire from Buy.Com. lol No need for fancy stuff with budget builds.

 

[hwkn]

The 391 has no video processing so if you want that you'll have to go a different route.[btw i'm using the 391 in my system also]

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

...buy a $150-$200 Receiver that can handle everything...

...I don't mind if it's refurbished as long as it's cheap.

Oh man, I will never recommend any refurbished AVRs ever again after what happened to me last year!

I bought like 4 different things from eCost. I can't remember which models now unless I track down my old threads, but it's something like a Denon 4810, 3808, 4308, & AVP-A1HDCI.

All four of them were DEFECTIVE!!!

So I will never ever recommend refurbished AVRs again.

Oh, and I also sent in a Denon 1910 (or something) to the Denon OEM Panurgy Repair Center and they screwed it up even worst!

You can tell that gives me loads of confidence in the refurbished department!

I don't see how you can get a $300 AVR with all the bells and whistles unless it is refurbished.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The 391 has no video processing so if you want that you'll have to go a different route.[btw i'm using the 391 in my system also]

Yeah, the Denon 391 kind of sucks with no bells and whistles. It is plain as dirt. No HDMI on-screen display or Graphics User Interface. I guess it's okay for a family room with kids running around though. I sure as heck won't let any kids near my AVR-5308 or AVP-A1HD.

 

[PENG]

I think I'm all but decided on getting a Pioneer Receiver. I just don't see a downside to it as they have by far the most features, great sound quality, and great video processing.

Do you have at least one good reason to worry about video processing? A lot of us around here have nice VPs in our media players and AVRs but very few will tell you they put the one in their AVRs to good use. I always have the one in the AVR turned off so they are virtually useless to me.

I wish they offer VP as an option because it would have allowed me to save a few bucks. Seriously this VP thing is so hyped up by professional reviewers who watched test patterns it is beyond funny. Some users swear by them but those people typically have very large screens, say 60 to 100+ inches screens. Even then I really don't believe a top notch VP in an AVR would make any visible difference to them. It is the source disc that determines how good the picture is going to look. A media player with the best VP should help a little but an AVR with a good VP would not matter much, if at all. I suggest you focus on things that will actually do something for you and leave VP to your media players and/or display.

 

[Melee]

I'm not looking for Bells and Whistles now. lol My Denon doesn't have anything "extra" besides MultEQ. I'm looking for the CHEAPEST receiver possible without sacrificing sound quality or video quality.

I found the Onkyo SR508 for $199 new and the Pioneer VSX-520-K new for $175. The 520 actually has decent features but they leave out MCACC on it. The 820 is the first to have it and I can only find it for $10-$20 less than the 920-K which is a 7.1 receiver.

I'm hoping to stay $200 or less on this. ^_^ lol

The Onkyo 508 for $199 Shipped is the best deal I've found so far. If I can sell my 791 for $325-$350, then that is an extra $125-$150 for me to use on the speakers that I wouldn't have had otherwise and I believe the only main thing I am losing is Audyssey MultEQ. The 508 has Audyssey, but does not EQ the Sub.

Anyone have any better ideas? lol

Do you have at least one good reason to worry about video processing? A lot of us around here have nice VPs in our media players and AVRs but very few will tell you they put the one in their AVRs to good use. I always have the one in the AVR turned off so they are virtually useless to me.

I wish they offer VP as an option because it would have allowed me to save a few bucks. Seriously this VP thing is so hyped up by professional reviewers who watched test patterns it is beyond funny. Some users swear by them but those people typically have very large screens, say 60 to 100+ inches screens. Even then I really don't believe a top notch VP in an AVR would make any visible difference to them. It is the source disc that determines how good the picture is going to look. A media player with the best VP should help a little but an AVR with a good VP would not matter much, if at all. I suggest you focus on things that will actually do something for you and leave VP to your media players and/or display.

I did not know this. Thank You for informing me as everyone does make it out to be a huge deal.

I use my Xbox 360 for just about everything. 90% of my movie/tv show watching is done on Netflix through it. I believe my Toshiba 46" Regza has some sort of Upconversion in it but I'm not sure? The most important thing is that I can get decent quality through my Xbox.

I have thought about getting an Apple TV to stream my iTunes and watch Netflix on, but it only shows video in Maximum of 720p. Having something w/ upconversion to 1080p would fix that if I understand correctly.

I'm extremely new to audio beyond "HTIB" systems so as little as I know about speakers, I am FAR more clueless about Receivers.

I'm trying to save as much as possible in order to add to my speaker budget. I don't need all of the bells and whistles, just something that will give me great sound quality and that has at least 4 HDMI ports for me to run all of my stuff through. 7.1 isn't necessary but it's fine. I can make do with a 5.1 receiver easily as I don't think I will be upgrading to 7.1 any time soon. Last years models normally have everything this years models do without 3D support so I don't mind buying them, either. I'm doubting there's anything better than the Onkyo 508 for $199, though, as it actually has most of the bells and whistles while also being 7.1 and having plenty of power and auto calibration.

 

[PENG]

The Onkyo 508 for $199 Shipped is the best deal I've found so far. If I can sell my 791 for $325-$350, then that is an extra $125-$150 for me to use on the speakers that I wouldn't have had otherwise and I believe the only main thing I am losing is Audyssey MultEQ. The 508 has Audyssey, but does not EQ the Sub.

Anyone have any better ideas? lol

If you can really get a good one for $199 then I agree it is hard, or even impossible to beat and I have no better ideas.

 

[Melee]

I mean, is there any reason to NOT buy the 508? It looks extremely nice for only $199 but I could definitely have overlooked something.

 

[33Gerry45]

Only 3D and Audio Return Channel

A 508 could be just the thing if you do not want and Audio Return Channel or 3D as they rely on a slightly higher HDMI spec than the 508 has but if you have plenty of ventilation around it then it could be a good buy. There were some complaints about overheating in confined cabinets if I recall correctly.

 

[filmsomething]

I'm in the same boat as AcuDefTecGuy with the refurb stuff, I got two refurb Onkyo receivers that had to be sent back in less than 6mo after purchasing due to faulty amps. Made the whole good deal thing far from worth it.

 

[jeannot]

With the 2010 models, I mainly only lose the 3D support, right? I could honestly care less about that.

I tend to agree. IMHO, the rational approach is to buy a quality refurbished receiver.
One neat feature you may want to go after (or see how much...) is networking. Easy firmware updates, Internet Radio, streaming your video files from the network, controlling your receiver from a browser...
As a last note, I would say be flexible on crossing your max a little bit. Otherwise you're setting yourself up for an upgrade in the short term, which ends up costing you more: an $80 feature that makes you love your receiver may push your next upgrade by 1-2 years, which is a real saving. For example, pre-outs makes possible an amplifier upgrade without changing your whole receiver.