New receiver advice for newbie

[lario]

Hello all,

Looking at upgrading my receiver and have set my sights on a few options:

Yamaha HTR 6050
Denon AVR 588 (or perhaps the 688 if budget allows)
Harmon Kardon AVR 147

My current set up is as follows:

50" Sony LCD
JBL E60's
JBL PB8
Design Acoustics Center
Energy Surrounds

(most of the above was inherited but performs nicely)

I am more concerned with DVD performance over music by 70/30 split. Although I haven't upgraded my DVD player yet (nothing special right now ) it is next on the list. Room is about 18x13. TV has DVI inputs only (although I believe cable is readily available for HDMI to DVI). My budget for a receiver lands in the $500 range-ish. Any and all comments/opinions/tongue lashings are welcome.

Side note: my fronts have bi-wiring but from what I have read this doesn't appear to provide any distinct advantage?

Thanks in advance

 

[Seth=L]

You can find the H/K AVR-247 for less than $500, I would consider it heavily. The Onkyo TX-SR605 and Yamaha RX-V661 (same as HTR-6060) are also popular votes around here for under $500. All these receivers have HDMI with audio processing for future upgrades.

 

[lario]

I looked at the HK 247 and Yamaha 6060 but they were both priced at $699 and $599 respectively (CDN$$). Perhaps I'm looking in the wrong spots? Thanks for the insight anyway.