I am considering a low cost AVR to get my system going. Low cost now to put money towards better speakers and then come back and replace with better electronics. I have narrowed my choices to Cambridge, Integra, and Marantz and keeping final price to under $400. Accessories4Less is having a 20th anniversary sale with 20% off certain brands/models and even better deals on factory refurbished models.
At this time I am not interested in 4k or Atmos. I am trying to build 2.0 then 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 5.2 system and then upgrade electronics.
Questions: Is it OK to purchase factory refurbished AVRs? Is the factory refurbished older stepped-up model better overall than a lesser totally new model? Ex. factory refurbished Integra DTR-50.4 (MSRP $1599.99) vs new (but old model) Cambridge Azur 351R (MSRP $879.99) both on sale for $399.99 vs models that have just come out. I acknowledge that Cambridge unit is 5.1 and not 5.2, but that is not really a concern at this time.
Thank you in advance for any and all assistance.
Mike