Please tell me which is the best receiver at $500

[shaolin95]

<font color='#000000'>The most important thing for me is SOUND QUALITY not bells and whistles so please let me know. My mind is going to blow up trying to figure it out by myself.
Regards</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>Have been researching off and on for a few months: &nbsp;Checked out the following,
under $500:

Panasonic, Sherwood, JVC, etc.: cheap.
Kenwood: almost as cheap. Unreliable.
Pioneer: &nbsp;Unknown, not interested, maybe ok.
Sony: Good; pay extra for name.
Yamaha: &nbsp;Good; has extra features; well-built,
&nbsp; &nbsp; sacrifices sound.
Onkyo: &nbsp;Big bang for buck; good sound, few
&nbsp; &nbsp; features. &nbsp;Has OSD. &nbsp;Well-built. &nbsp;Prefer
&nbsp; &nbsp; over Denon and Yamaha for bang/buck.
Denon: &nbsp;Big bang, very well-built, but very
&nbsp; &nbsp; user unfriendly. &nbsp;No discounts.
Harman-Kardon: &nbsp;biggest bang for buck. &nbsp;(Bigger
&nbsp; &nbsp; bucks.) &nbsp;Many features; good power, THD;
&nbsp; &nbsp; more user-friendly than others; &nbsp;lacks some
&nbsp; &nbsp; small features but has many terrific
&nbsp; &nbsp; build-quality features not seen in
&nbsp; &nbsp; others of similar quality/feature/price.
&nbsp; &nbsp; For example, (CMIIW) no timer, no THX.
Was leaning toward Onkyo TX-SR701, but now
&nbsp; &nbsp; very serious about HK AVR-525.</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>P. S. : &nbsp;TX-SR 701 was over $600, last I checked.</font>

 

[austinbirdman]

<font color='#000000'>For under $500, I second that great analysis and the final Harmon/Kardon recc from Marc. If you have time, the Denons and Onkyos are worth auditioning, but you're not going to hear major major differences, and in fact the auditions could be very misleading unless you can hear the receivers in the same precise location with the same precise speakers, because otherwise you'll hear the variations in the listening rooms and the speakers WAY WAY more than the receivers. If you can get over $500, then the Yamaha 1400s and 2400s are definitely worth adding to the pool on features, sound and power.

But it sounds like you want peace of mind and a good price. Those H/Ks are a great deal. I would buy the most powerful one you can afford in the H/K AVR X25 or X30 series (myself, I'd go for more power and the X25 series, like the 525 specifically) and never look back. You'll be set for years.

Birdman</font>

 

[neznarf]

<font color='#000000'>Birdman,
Thanks to your reply, and after much waffling and forum-searching, I finally bought AVR525. &nbsp;No feedback yet; tomorrow is Saturday...</font>

 

[nm2285]

<font color='#000000'>let us know your experience! &nbsp;im looking into a 525 also</font>

 

[neznarf]

<font color='#000000'>See posts by neznarf.</font>