best site for affordable a/v gear reviews

[tno]

Ok, I'm a big cheapskate. I built my current a/v setup on a budget of less than $500 (old crt hdtv, htib speakers with scratch and dent str dg510, htpc with spare parts mostly) and I'm looking to upgrade. Trouble is I can't find reviews on stuff I can afford. Sites like soundandvision only review highend stuff and half the threads on avsforum end up being long flames with little concensus. What I need are high caliber reviews (a la s&v) on products on the lower end of the pricing spectrum.

While I wait for site suggestions, best tv under $500? Best receiver under $200?

Tia

Tno

 

[Tiamat]

what are your preferences? "Best" hardly means much especially when on a budget because the entry level is full of compromises in many areas, areas which mean different things to different people. This is why you have found little consensus on a site like AVS for the entry level. The entry level is full of different offerings each of which took different design and engineering compromises. Some of these compromises are more unacceptable to some individuals depending on what their needs and expectations are.

That is to say, "Best" really means "Best for me".

What do you want the TV to be able to do in order to qualify as "best" in your book for that price?

What do you want the receiver to be able to do in order to qualify as "best" in your book for that price?

As an example, when I look for a receiver, I might be interested in Audyssey MultiEQ-XT and Reon video processing. With these two constraints, I have found that buying new within a 500$ price range is impossible. So, I have to save up more money since I hold these two features paramount.

As another example, when I look for a TV, I might be interested in 1080P, 50"+ as first pass type constraints. These two constraints allow me to narrow my search.

 

[vshah]

perhaps, if you give us your room layout (including seating distance), and a list of the devices you want to hook up to your system, we could give you an idea of some products within your range. assuming your budget is $700 for tv and sound, correct me if i'm wrong.

 

[Rio Rebel]

There is very little information out there on products in that price range because there is so little interest. Very, very few of the people who purchase a sub $200 receiver are people who would take the time to research it and look for reviews. On the flip side, very few people who pay $1000+ on a receiver would make that purchase without getting more info.

I can't tell you much on a $500 television, but on the receiver, you can actually get a quality unit for $200, if you're willing to buy used. There are all sorts of people out there with high quality receivers that are a few years old, and lack some function (like hdmi switching) that would make someone upgrade. I was curious and did a quick look on some auction sites, and found some interesting things available. There was a Denon 2805 for $250. That's a hell of a receiver, if you can live without hdmi switching.

good luck.