Brand loyalty

[msmith855]

I'm still trying to decide once and for all what to invest on for my new receiver and a second question came to me. What brands do you feel offer the best value and quality for the money?

I am currently leaning towards Yamaha HTR 5860 (trying to stay under $400) but I have seen a Kenwood and Pioneer that "appears" to offer slightly more for roughly the same price. I've always felt Yamaha was slightly higher quality but I've never heard anything negative about the others generally.

 

[Takeereasy]

Stay away from the kenwood. If the pioneer is a model 1014 or 1015 then it is a fantastic value, very high on the bang for the buck and overall quality. Have you ever considered getting a Harman Kardon receiver off of their Ebay store? They are refurbised products but any repairs that were necessary have been completed by Harman themselves and there is a full Manf. warranty with the purchases. You could get a 235 or 330 for under $400. Both are decent. All of the receivers you are looking at seem to be fine choices except the Kenwood IMO.

Edit, names changed, thanks Bird, shouldn't write w/o coffee.

 

[Mr. Lamb Fries]

Check this out.HK 430

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=39794&item=5783825446

You can pick up a 335 in your price range. If your not ready just yet...keep watching the sellers ebay store (HARMANAUDIO). they offer incredible deals (refurbished but comes with a full factory warranty). HK's wattage is lower than most because they rate their receivers when ALL channels are driven at the same time. Not so attractive when comparing the numbers but great build quality and very powerful! My personal experience is limited but I have been looking for a while now and know where the deals are. Takeereasy gives good advice on which receiver is worth the money.

 

[JJMP50]

I believe the Pioneer that Easy is talking about is the 1015 and it's a rebadged elite 52. You can pick it up for $375-475, the lower being online and it's a hell of a deal.

As far as brand loyalty, I have a mid level Yamaha and an entry level Pioneer for my secondary system. The Pioneer will be replaced for Christmas with probably a 1015 (or Yamaha equivalent). I've never owned a Denon, but those 3 brands seem to be the most used around here. I'm not saying they are the best, just the most popular. HK and Marantz seem to be gaining ground but are a little more on the pricey side. I can't thing of any logical reason why I would look any further that those brands unless you want to get exotic.

 

[Duffinator]

Harman Kardon

What brands do you feel offer the best value and quality for the money?

Like Takeereasy said check out the refurbished HK products on their eBay store or look for one of their retailers online. They give the full warranty which is better than other manufacturers do with their refurb units. I've owned two HK reburbished receivers in the past and never had any problems. They will offer you the best value and quality for the money IMO.

 

[Mr. Lamb Fries]

I almost picked up the 1015.
it going for 369 on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=39799&item=5775474149&rd=1&ssPageName=WD1V

From what ive read its great bang for the buck. also Check out
www.unitedonlineshopping.com. they offer factory refurbished models with warrantys. pioneer-E 52 395, E 54 495

 

[msmith855]

Thanks for all the advice everyone... I actually have a gift certificate to use at etronics.com so I'll probably stick with either the Pioneer or the Yamaha but it sounds like either way I go I should be satisfied for a few years at least!

 

[BobbyT]

Yamaha and Pioneer both make excellent products. Get the one that sounds the best to your ears since you have to listen to it. If they sound the same to you then get the one that offers the most features for the money.

 

[MR.MAGOO]

The only reason I have a Sony big screen is it was on sale. Knowing now that Sony Pictures made that crappy Ghost Busters remake, I'd turn back the clock and buy something else.

 

[sterling shoote]

I'm a Sony Fan Boy; and, like any fan, I have a basis for my enthusiasm, a perception of Sony products being top quality entities and good values. So far, I have not been disappointed.

 

[lovinthehd]

The only reason I have a Sony big screen is it was on sale. Knowing now that Sony Pictures made that crappy Ghost Busters remake, I'd turn back the clock and buy something else.

I'm a Sony Fan Boy; and, like any fan, I have a basis for my enthusiasm, a perception of Sony products being top quality entities and good values. So far, I have not been disappointed.

Wow, 11 year thread revival! Brand loyalty? To which owners of a brand?

 

[PENG]

HK's wattage is lower than most because they rate their receivers when ALL channels are driven at the same time. Not so attractive when comparing the numbers but great build quality and very powerful! My personal experience is limited but I have been looking for a while now and know where the deals are. Takeereasy gives good advice on which receiver is worth the money.

That was true for their older products that you mentioned. The downside was that bench test data more often than not showed their 1 and 2 channel driven outputs were typically well below equivalent (price) products by others such as Denon, Yamha and Onkyo etc. That was not a good thing for real world applications.