best receiver for ~$300?

[shikikanzero]

hello, im in the market for a new receiver and was wondering what would be my best bang for the buck. i dont need any of the new HDMI 1.4 features, so 1.3 would be what i want, so i dont mind looking at used receivers. i do have someone who can get me a employee discount at bestbuy, (discount is bestbuys cost for the item+5%) and if at the worst case i do have those 12% coupons. i will most likely be buying the receiver from bestbuy or amazon.com.
i also do have someone willing to sell me a yamaha rx-v3300 for $250, but it lacks HDMI so im wondering if i should go for the once almost top of the line receiver or a more future proof one. main source will be a PS3, output to sony SS-TL4 (older higher end sony speakers) and a sony KDL40EX400. any input appreciated!

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

hello, im in the market for a new receiver and was wondering what would be my best bang for the buck. i dont need any of the new HDMI 1.4 features, so 1.3 would be what i want, so i dont mind looking at used receivers. i do have someone who can get me a employee discount at bestbuy, (discount is bestbuys cost for the item+5%) and if at the worst case i do have those 12% coupons. i will most likely be buying the receiver from bestbuy or amazon.com.
i also do have someone willing to sell me a yamaha rx-v3300 for $250, but it lacks HDMI so im wondering if i should go for the once almost top of the line receiver or a more future proof one. main source will be a PS3, output to sony SS-TL4 (older higher end sony speakers) and a sony KDL40EX400. any input appreciated!

I couldn't find much specs about SS-TL4, but they seem to be highly regarded despite their none-audioholic brand... Best stuff I found yet is this 5 year old forum post:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=74586
I think the rated impedance is 8Ohm, not sure, check the label on the back of your speakers.
If this is in fact right info, 2nd piece of info I'd need to provide avr recommendation is approx size of your room.
For smaller spaces it'd would make sense to get newer refub lower-end model like Onkyo TX-508/608 for AC4L.com
For much larger space you'd really want to get better amps (and discrete) like on rx-v3300

 

[shikikanzero]

correct, theyre rated at 8ohm. this is going to be for a small bedroom, 12'x10'. looking for more musical audio performance than raw ground-shaking power.

also, another hurdle i have from buying online other than amazon is that i live in hawaii. amazons shipping rates seem to be pretty flat rate, but other places seem to like to only give me the option of UPS instead of USPS which would cost $70 to ship something that heavy here.

i actually sold a vintage sansui qr-6500 that my neighbor gave me before moving (he didnt want to carry it over with him to his new place, and hes had it in the closet for so long he actually even forgot about it) and ive preveiously owned 2 sony receivers and didnt like them much.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-SR508-7-1-Channel-Theater-Receiver/dp/B003BEDQQW/ref=sr_du_1_map?ie=UTF8&qid=1298559775&sr=8-1

 

[zumbo]

best receiver for ~$300?

A used one.

Seriously.

 

[zumbo]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Yamaha-RX-V1700-/230588278948?pt=Receivers_Tuners&hash=item35b021e8a4

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampsmult&1303662789&/Yamaha-RX-V1700-outstanding-13

 

[rnatalli]

The Denon 591 has my vote. I prefer it to the Onkyo 508 since it uses MultEQ instead of 2EQ.

 

[mattsk8]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Yamaha-RX-V1700-/230588278948?pt=Receivers_Tuners&hash=item35b021e8a4

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampsmult&1303662789&/Yamaha-RX-V1700-outstanding-13

Dang, thought I got mine cheap ! Mine was new but wow, that's a good deal!

 

[shikikanzero]

hey everybody, thanks for the input so far. ive decided to just go with my friends bestbuy employee discount, so my choices will be:

Marantz NR1501
Pioneer VSX-820 or VSX-1020
Yamaha RX-V467
Denon AVR591

i can get any of these for a little under $300. which would be the best out of those 5? thanks!

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

hey everybody, thanks for the input so far. ive decided to just go with my friends bestbuy employee discount, so my choices will be:

Marantz NR1501
Pioneer VSX-820 or VSX-1020
Yamaha RX-V467
Denon AVR591

i can get any of these for a little under $300. which would be the best out of those 5? thanks!

Denon AVR591