I haven't been keeping up with new receivers over the last 6 months or so and I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions on upgrade paths.
My System currently consists of:
Fronts: Athena AS-F2's
Center: Athena AS-C1
Rear: Athena AS-B2's
Sub: Athena AS-P400
Receiver: Marantz SR4300
I should have done some more research on my Marantz amp at the time I bought it but I was brand new to surround sound and home theater. After a lot of research long after the fact I have found that the SR4300 has a crossover locked at 100hz even when speakers are set to large (I believe setting them to small sets the crossover to 120hz). Being limited like this makes having large tower speakers almost pointless. The subwoofer gives me a lot of low bass but it doesn't seem as natural as the sound you get from speakers covering the full range (I think I'm missing some midbass). While for movies it's not as critical, music is something I would like to listen to with as little reliance on the sub as possible. The Marantz is great in other regards, the remote could be much better but the sound is crisp and clear and gives me more volume than I could ever need with no distortion.
Does anyone have any recommendations for good budget receivers in around the $500 range that would be a good match for my speakers? Performance is the top priority but looks matter to me as well. I like simple/retro styling the most.
