Not a fan of Onkyo/Pioneer these days (same company now, Integra is the fancier brand put out by Onkyo) so I'd keep looking, Denon/Marantz, maybe Yamaha. Make sure you have some room for ventilation, modern avrs don't do well with heat accumulation in tight spaces....add fans if you need to..
I tend to agree. While I have seen great results sound wise with Integras (also a nice bonus when they have the excellent Audyssey system), I have experienced too many faulty units to recommend them (or Pioneer) very highly. Out in the field, my experience has proven to me that Yamahas are the most reliable by a mile. Pioneer/Onkyo/Integra has been the worst, although the latest models seem to have improved some. Sony/Denon/Marantz fall somewhere in the middle. They all have their pros/cons for sure. The common theme with ALL of them though, is that budget AVRs seem to have the most problems and sound the worst to begin with. As Gene and Hugo have often pointed out, when they're trying to shove every logo on the packaging as possible, they gotta make compromises in other ways, usually by way of power supplies, inputs/outputs, and other internal circuitry. The high end stuff seems to be great from all of them (even from Integra), and I've rarely required replacement.
This actually gets me thinking about WHY I see so much failure with the budget AVRs. Aside from simply cheaper components. I wonder if customers have had to push them so hard to listen to them at reference levels that it's just really tough on the units. Whereas a powerful receiver barely has to break a sweat to listen at the same levels. Kind of like using an underpowered car versus a high powered car to get up to and maintain highway speeds. I do believe the 3.1 OP is looking at falls somewhere in the middle. Should honestly be a fine receiver, but I'd recommend checking out all options within that price point.
