Recommend a receiver around $250?

[repete66211]

I finally sold my Polk RM6750 speaker set to a buddy. I got him talked into a home theater of his own, so I'm helping him buy items and set it up. We're going with the Panasonic 60 Blu-ray player from Newegg, cables and such from Monoprice, so now I'm just stuck on the receiver part.

HD audio decoding isn't what I'm looking for so much as something that handles everything via HDMI. I have been happy with my Onkyo, so I'm looking at the TX-SR507 (since the 607 is probably more than he needs). Yamaha, Pioneer, Denon, Sony, whatever... The 507 is around $300. Can that price be beat by the other brands?

I see the Yamaha 663 for $330 on Amazon, but that's beyond the budget. I've already told this guy to budget $250 for the receiver (my bad!), so I think even the $300 is pushing it a bit. Yes, I know, you get what you pay for. But this guy really doesn't need much.

[HiDefRev]

I think he'll more than happy with the Onkyo 507. It will definitely be the most "bang for the buck".

[KASR]

Harman Kardon's AVR254 via Harman ebay store usually go for under $250 and has all the headroom you'll ever need (pre-amp outs, two zone and a nice warm sound)

[McGarnigal]

This site needs a section on receivers with HD audio codecs by price range.. thatd be awesome...

[Zman2k2]

Originally Posted by KASR

Harman Kardon's AVR254 via Harman ebay store usually go for under $250 and has all the headroom you'll ever need (pre-amp outs, two zone and a nice warm sound)

Now there's some sound advice. Sure, you're getting a refurb, but it's essentially new parts, in an old box.

[callas01]

The Sony STR-DH800 is on newegg.com for about $279, it is 7.1 channels as opposed to the 5.1 on the Onkyo and really at this price level all receivers are about the same. He should listen to them, BB usually has both Onkyo and Sony now, they may even have the Pioneer 919 if he wants to listen to that also. Yamaha 565 is another one to try.

[repete66211]

Thanks for the recommendations guys. I have forwarded all suggestions to my buddy.

[csab]

Originally Posted by KASR

Harman Kardon's AVR254 via Harman ebay store usually go for under $250 and has all the headroom you'll ever need (pre-amp outs, two zone and a nice warm sound)

This. I have one and it works beautifully, the only reason I didnt post it when I first saw this thread was because they haven't put any up on ebay since I got mine a few weeks before christmas.

[jpho3nix]

So the AVR254 is recommended from what I'm seeing. Trying to decide between Onkyo RC160 , Denon AVR590 and the HK. Budget around 300ish

[Junior1683]

denon 590 is gonna give you the most true power than the rest. im picking up the 590 to run my polk rm75's and ps3. Yamahas this year suck, pioneers are great and are very cheap. there base model does true HD and has multizone

[Imamuppet]

HK will meet or even exceed specs and will sound good too. It weighs 27lbs and has a max power consumption of 540Watts which is about twice the other receivers mentioned except the Onkyo and the Denon. The only caveat is it has a lot of issues. Check the forums over at AVS. There's a large thread dedicated to just problems and fixes/workarounds.

The Denon which weighs 20.5lbs and a max power consumption 4.3A (520Watts) will probably get closer to its specs (closer than the lower end Yamahas, Sonys and Pioneers). It's considered a solid receiver but I doubt, looking at its weight, is comes anywhere near the HK in power output.

The Onkyo weighs 19.6lbs and a max power consumption of 4.9A (600Watts). Again, looking at its weight, there is no way it can keep up with the HK despite the power consumption numbers.

The Yamaha 663 weighs 26.25lbs and has max power consumption of 400Watts. This receiver is comparable power wise to the HK and has less reported issues. Of the receivers mentioned here, this would be my choice.

If you're going cheap the Yamaha HTR 6240 is a good bet. It will be comparable power and weight wise and has similar options to the other low end receivers and can be purchased on ebay for $182.