Receiver for a college student on a low budget?

[cloud_171]

Hi. I am a collegee student on a tight budget of around $200. I am totally new to this and so I am not too sure what to look for except for the inputs and the wattage. So far I am looking at the Sherwood RD-6105, Onkyo TX-SR502B, and the Sony STR-DE697. Main reason for the Sherwood is because it is cheap and it seems like it would do the job, and I am even close to an audiophile. I am mostly going to use this system to watch movies and play games from my comptuer. Any other reccomendations and does the reciever have to specifically say THX for it to work with THX games? Thanks.

 

[gregz]

The THX rating on a product is kind of like the "Good Housekeeping Seal," it means they paid to have their product evaluated for approval, and pay royalties to put THX on the front of their receiver. Don't sweat that one.

As for the receiver choices, out of the three you listed I'd go for the Onkyo. The only difference between the cheap receivers and the mid-priced receivers is how much real power they can put out before they run out of steam at higher volumes. The cheap brands seem to give you more watts per channel for the price, but that's only because they're squeezing the numbers to look good.

 

[marky]

for that kind of budget i would look at the logitech z680. it can be hooked up to your computer and u can hook up a dvd player to it. i know it is a computer system but with 200 u cant really anything decent. the z680s can get pretty loud and with plenty of bass in a small to medium room. its about $280 now. it comes with everything u need.

 

[cloud_171]

Well its not only for the computer, I am mainly having it hooked up to the TV and having my game consoles and also having my computer to output to it. I am planning ot get two Polk R50s for the front speakers and get the rest of them from my dad and get the Polk R15s later on for the back. Think that would be a good idea?

 

[JohnA]

Go for the ONKYO

 

[marky]

i think u should save up and get a better receiver. tell u the truth, 200 dollars for a receiver is a piece of crap, unless youre buying amps in the future. if you really want to get one now, then i suggest u get one with preouts so u can get amps later on.

 

[Leprkon]

you can get really sound good quality at that price, if you're willing to give up some bells and whistles. take a look at this one.

http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk_code=yamhtr5740&store=&catid=4118

 

[marky]

although the 5740 have lots of bells and whistles, the amp is not up to par. i own the rxv 2400 and i think the amp is good enough for speakers that is efficent. it will have a hard time pushing speakers that are less efficient. i still say save up some more money and get a decent one unless youre adding amps in the future.

 

[cloud_171]

at what price would get me a decent one?

 

[DSMCasey]

Since you're a college student and on a tight budget I say go for the onkyo or the yamaha mentioned above. Stay away from brands like: Sherwood, kenford, Rockwood, Kenwood, and Sony. Although Sony and kenwood make some good stuff I just don't think their receivers are up to par.

Onkyo, Dennon, and Yamaha seem to make the best Receivers IMO.

However, if you decide to save up for a good one you could get a really good receiver for around $700-$800.

-Casey

 

[cloud_171]

Theres no way I could bring myself to pay $700 for a reciever or at least until I get out of college. I've decided to get the Onkyo, in terms of sound quality it seems pretty good from reviews and I'm no audiophile, I can't tell the difference between 15$ speakers and 100$. Thanks for your guys help.

 

[marky]

trust me if you'll be able to hear the difference between a good receiver and a bad one. sound quality has to do with a lot of things like room acustics, speakers, etc... but one of the most important thing is to get enough juice into the speakers youre driving. y buy something that is so so and then having to upgrade later?

 

[Mudcat]

y buy something that is so so and then having to upgrade later?

Because he said he's on a 200 dollar budget. Don't make him break his bank- at least until he graduates and gets a credit card. My first stereo was a lafayette that had a tuner, cassette, 8-track, and turntable all in one chassis and pre wired speakers. Total cost brand new from Korvettes (one of those surburban northeast New Jersey department stores that went out of business in the 70's). My college stereo was a significant improvement consisting of "seperates", being a Technics receiver, Technics Turntable, Technics cassette deck, and technics speakers. All in one box - Total cost $200 (of course that was 79.

Have you tried eBay or even Pennysavers (they're everywhere I think)?

 

[topjimi]

i would go for the Pioneer VSXD514K, 500w and best buy has it for $159. looks like a sweet deal

 

[SQ Kid]

being a college kid, i know what you're goin through. i decided to go on ebay to pick up a reciever. you can find older quality recievers (maybe a year or two old) for much less than a new cheaper model.

 

[cloud_171]

hmm well I reserved onkyo for a $150 refurbished for pick up and seems pretty cheap compared to the regular price of $300. Should be good enough to last me a few years and the svideo it has is a plus, not many models around this price range seem to have this feature. From the cnet reviews it is good for small rooms and seems to be like my faith for the next few years anyways.

 

[toquemon]

He asked your opinion about entry-level receivers, not what kind of receiver do you have that gives you the right to say other people receiver is a piece of junk.

Personally, i would go with the Onkyo. My first receiver was an Onkyo like 12 years ago; it lasted more than a $1000 Nakamichi AV-10 flagship receiver.

 

[WooHoo]

Need to be new?

If it doesn't have to be new, you can find some pretty good deals on a model a couple of years old that might have cost $400-500-600 new back then.

A win-win for you and the seller. Try Ebay, etc.!

 

[marky]

I'm not trying to bash anyone. its just that ive gone down that road b4. my first receiver was a aiwa av-d70. it served it purpose but i wasnt happy with the sound i was getting. my cousin had a older HK that sounded cleaner and more powerful. thats y i gave my opinion that it might be worth his while to wait a little to get a better receiver.

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

I'm currently researching home theater components and my budget is limited so I'm going more expensive with the speakers and subwoofer and spending less on the receiver. I'm of the mind that as long as the speakers are of very good quality, the receiver shouldn't be that critical as long as it isn't underpowered.

That said, I'm looking at a Sherwood RD-7500, 6.1, 100w per channel and MSRP of $300, but I've found it for $159 on Amazon.

I remember when Sherwood was the premiere receiver brand, so that sort of prejudices me toward it.