Tightwad thinking about purchasing Onkyo 505. Need advice.

[burger]

Last week, my receiver quit. This bummed me out at first until I realized that I can now justify purchasing an AVR receiver with some new features that my 25-year-old unit didn't have...

That brings us to today’s dilemma. There are a lot of options out there.

A lot.

After a few days of hardcore surfing thru this message board, cnet.com, and some other sites, I haven’t been able to figure out the right receiver for my needs, which are not really that straightforward. So here they are:

1. Approximately 85% of me wants a killer stereo. The other 15% is a tightwad.

2. My TV has an HDMI input. I do not currently have any HDMI devices, but could see myself purchsing a new DVD player in the near future.

3. Try not to laugh at my speakers. I have two "mature" Pioneer floor speakers that sound great and two crappy bookshelf speakers that came with an Aiwa all-in-one. I do see myself upgrading these in the future with nicer bookshelves or in-walls and a center channel. Space is limited, so probably no sub and definitely no more than 5.1 speakers.

4. I kind of like the idea of adding a pair of in-wall speakers to the dining room. These speakers would not be powered and I would like to be able to listen to these at the same time as the main speakers, through I do not require different input sources.

5. I want to connect my computer to the stereo so I can play mp3’s through iTunes. Built in iPod capacity would be nice, but I can always connect the iPod with an RCA cable.

6. I’m mostly interested in music quality. Surround sound would be nice, but isn’t that important.

7. Room size is approx 22 x 12; hardwood floor, area rug, sparse furniture. I mostly listen to music and watch movies after the kids go to bed, so the stereo isn't often played loudly.

8. I’d like a decent remote that would eliminate the TV, VCR, and DVD remotes.


I’ve been looking at the Onkyo products, particularly the 505 and 506. I'm a little confused about the HDMI and what I really need though.


Does anyone have experience buying refurb units through shoponkyo.com? The 505 is currently on sale. Seems like it might be nice for the price and meet my simple needs?


Thanks,
Ed

PS- Also considering the Yamaha 363. Would consider any other recommendations though.

PPS- Both of those receivers can be had for $200 or less. I could probably spend $100-200 more, but would rather put that money towards a new DVD player or speakers.

 

[allargon]

If you don't need surround sound, the 505 can receive two channel lossless audio from DVD-A's, HD DVD's, SACD's, DVD's and Blu-ray's via optical/coax.

HDMI is only necessary for upconverting protected content on DVD forum compliant devices, bitstreaming high res audio codecs and 1080p transmissions since the content industry is paranoid. Component is perfectly fine for HD. However, the 505 will pass HDMI video (just not process HDMI audio).

No sub? Ever?

Check out a Universal Remote R7. It's not a Harmony, but it's not $150, either.

#4--you're looking at a second zone? That's not uncommon at all.

#5--plenty of receivers (e.g. Harman Kardons) have Ipod connectivity kits

 

[burger]

@allargon: thanks for the reply!

However, the 505 will pass HDMI video (just not process HDMI audio)

Now here's where I'm getting confused. Let's say I buy an HDMI DVD player. Does this mean that the DVD audio would not be played thru the stereo and only thru the TV speakers? If I'm understanding things correctly, since the 505 is PASS-THRU, I would need to connect a seperate audio cable from the DVD to the AVR to audio from the stereo.

No sub? Ever?

Maybe... but with the huge floor speakers I don't see why I'd need to add a sub.

Check out a Universal Remote R7. It's not a Harmony, but it's not $150, either.

Seems like a nice remote for the price. Thanks for the tip.


Thanks again for the reply,
Ed

 

[cfrizz]

Burger, I wouldn't call you a tightwad, but a careful shopper. I can relate to that.

So my suggestion to you is get a receiver that has all the bells & whistles you think you might need now & in the future.

Yes it will cost more, HOWEVER, since you kept your old receiver for 25 YEARS You will more than gotten your money's worth out of it.

Buy the best that you can up front & enjoy it for years.

This is precisely how I operate. My first real system stayed intact for 15 years. I only upgraded to get into HT. I still have my 18 year old main speakers as well as the tape deck that I bought with it!

So jump up to the Onkyo 705 or 805. You will get a lot more features & also have upgradability with them.

 

[djseafood]

I was pretty much in your shoes just a couple months ago. Some circuitry problem with a donated PS2 fried my left channel of my old HK and blew out my speakers.

I went with the Onkyo 506 from Shoponkyo.com and love it! Got it for $104 after discounts when it was on sale. Added a two year protection plan to that for $40, so for 3 years I'm covered. As far as it being a refurb, you could never tell. It looks flawless and performs perfectly.

I decided I didn't need all the whistles and bells and given the proximity of my TV to the receiver and other components, I don't need the receiver to pass through my HDMI. I can just as well hook them straight up to the TV and just run audio from the components to the receiver. It ends up being a convenience thing really, so I wouldn't get too hung up about the HDMI capability if you don't mind controlling your inputs to the TV from the TV and selecting the audio source separately from your receiver.

I say get the 506 and use the savings to pick up a nice center channel and surrounds.

My 2 cents.

 

[burger]

@cfrizz & @djseafood: Right now I'm pretty set on purchasing a Yamaha RX-V663. Using Microsoft Livesearch thru eBay's "buy it now" and paying via PayPal, I can get it shipped to my door for about $265. The cheapest receiver that I looked at is the Onkyo 505. That would be $125 plus shipping, which I assume to be somewhere in the $25 range. For all the extra features and power that the Yamaha has, it's easy to justify the price difference. I don't even think I could find a worthwhile set of speakers with the $110 price difference.