Recommendations 5CH + Phono $350-450

[Dan]

My nephew is starting to piece together a system starting with my brother's quite good DIY speakers. I'm to take him shopping for a receiver with the above specs. A decentbass management system is a must. A phono stage pre included would be great since he is going to inherit a few hundred decent vinyl albums. If a phono stage is unavailable I know we can get a basic one at the Shack for about $50. I would appreciate fellow AH suggestions.

 

[jaxvon]

There are a lot of recievers in that range, such as the HK AVR235 and AVR335, lower end Yammies, etc. HK would be a great bet. I'm actually thinking of going for a Pioneer VSX-1015. You can find it online for <$400 (prolly no warranty though). The only bad thing is the whole phono stage thing. If any of these units even HAVE a stage, it's going to be junk. I would definitely recommend that you go for a stand-alone unit.

 

[Spiffyfast]

Check out the Pioneer 815 retails for around $300 or the Pioneer 1015tx at $500, both have gotten great reviews here at AH, but I dont think either come with a phono input