I am trying to buy a receiver asap, I know the onkyo sr606 is just coming out, and a local retailer will have it for 429.00. I am concerned with getting as good as quality as I can for my money at this point. Should I consider the older 605 model? I can find a refurb for 259.00?. I will be using mostly for HT and using ps3 blu ray. My other concern is also I am running some nice B&W speakers also so want to provide nice power for them. Should I consider any of the yamahas or denons? Really cant figure out what to do, last question is it a bad thing to go buy refurbished units? are they marked refurbed and will I have a harder time reselling it in the future? thanks so much
Yes, you should also consider Yamaha and Denon. I bought a Yamaha RX-V2700 for $300 (a demo unit from a local authorized store), and had to buy some accessories (like a remote), bringing my total closer to your budget, but still below. What model to buy depends upon what, exactly, you can get for a good price, and what features you need or want.
As for resale value, if you keep it until you need to upgrade, it will be almost completely worthless, regardless of whether it is a refurbished unit or a new one now. The reason it will be almost completely worthless is that other people (prospective buyers) will want some of whatever new features and capabilities there are that cause you to replace it in the future.
Refurbished can be a good deal, but it really depends upon what features you need and so forth. Typically, refurbished means that it isn't the latest model, and consequently it may lack some good feature or capability that is on the new models. I would advise you to buy from an authorized dealer, as otherwise you may have problems if the unit has a fault.
