Receiver, need help and info to buy

[Pghpooh]

Receiver died a few months ago and I have been using a old Sony stereo receiver to drive my speakers.
Now the last time I bought a receiver hdmi did not exist! LOL
I am starting the hunt all over.
My current speakers are the Ohm Micro Walsh Talls. I was driving them with e Kenwood unit of about 70 watts a ch.
After I buy the receiver I will add a 46 inch plasma or LED flat screen.
My listening is mostly fm radio for several hours a day.
But,,, that can change in the future. I have several hundred hours of music stored on my desktop pc.
Now,, my questions. For quality what would you buy? Denon, Yamaha, Pioneer, Onkyo, Those are the brands I would buy that are sold at Best Buy. Why Best Buy? Over the past few years I have been given several hundred dollars in Best Buy gift cards and would like to use them. I’ll consider other brands sold elsewhere if the had the features I wanted.
I would like to have some kind of external input such as a usb or slot for flash memory so I can copy my music and plug into the receiver and play it. Or,,, a wifi or Ethernet input would work so I can get the music from the pc to the receiver.
I would like to keep the prive to between $400 and $500. Will go higher to get the features I want.
For now I’ll start with quality and work from there.
What are your thoughts?
　

 

[s44]

Denon or Onkyo. The others give laughably low power with all channels driven.

 

[Pghpooh]

Found this.
Price is a good match for me.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882120166
Only problem I have with the unit is the push on fm antenna. I am going to install a rooftop or attic fm antenna this spring and prefer the 75 ohm f type connector... Antenna will be half wave dipole or folded loop using 75 ohm coax. Prefer to install without any transformers on the receiver end.
Does this receiver look ok on the specs, etc?
Thanks

 

[MagickMan]

Denon or Onkyo. The others give laughably low power with all channels driven.

Or Yamaha and HK, especially Yamaha.

 

[vshah]

i'm partial to denons...you should be able to find a deal on a 2310 in that price range. maybe not at best buy though. if at all possible, use your best buy cards for something else (like your tv) and get the receiver online.

here's a good one:
http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR2310C.../dp/B002AKKFPS

 

[vi edit]

Hang around and see when the Onkyo RC-270 goes on sale again for $400.
Best value out there IMHO. I've seen it as low as $380.

Amazing amount of features.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=2523773

 

[Creig]

Yamaha RX-V667 can be found around $400 and is highly rated by the audiophile crowd. I have a two generation older RX-V663 and have been completely satisfied with it. But the RX-V667 adds a few nice features that I wish my receiver had (five HDMI ports, discrete amp, etc)

http://hometheatergears.com/yamaha/yamaha-rx-v667-review/

 

[s44]

Or Yamaha and HK, especially Yamaha.

Especially NOT Yamaha. They're one of the worst offenders in exaggerated power rating.

HK, sure, but I dunno whether they're at BB.

 

[Creig]

Especially NOT Yamaha. They're one of the worst offenders in exaggerated power rating.

Yamaha receivers put out plenty of power for a home theater setup and are highly rated on features/performance. Unless you plan on using one at a night club, they do just fine.

 

[mrrman]

I only buy Pioneer Elite receivers...just picked up the newest Model for $529

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160529324787&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT


This is the 3rd unit that I bought from this vendor....no other receiver compares to this IMO

 

[IndyColtsFan]

i'm partial to denons...you should be able to find a deal on a 2310 in that price range. maybe not at best buy though. if at all possible, use your best buy cards for something else (like your tv) and get the receiver online.

here's a good one:
http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR2310C.../dp/B002AKKFPS

I went with the Denon AVR-2310CI a few months ago, as it was just under $500 and I had no need for HDMI 1.4. I'd advise anyone considering a new receiver to look at last year's models, as they are generally available at steep discounts and if they have the features you need, it makes sense to save the money.

 

[vshah]

^ i agree completely. 2011 denons generally just add 3d support

 

[Riverhound777]

I like my Marantz

 

[Imp]

I've only ever owned a Pioneer, and it's still kicking after 3, possibly 4 years.

The VSX-816 or -1016 (or whatever the last digit is up to now) are worth a look.

 

[thegimp03]

I've only ever owned a Pioneer, and it's still kicking after 3, possibly 4 years.

The VSX-816 or -1016 (or whatever the last digit is up to now) are worth a look.

My boss just bought a VSX-1020 off of Amazon and likes it a lot because he can plug his Ipod in directly rather than having to use a separate $80-100 adapter. He's not running full surround, just L, C, R and then a subwoofer.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I am sorta impartial to Yamaha, But I don't know what's good "now", my receiver is like 8ish years old I think, and I push it hard (lots of movies/music at loud volumes.)

That said, I'd certainly consider others...

Note: I don't claim to believe the 115W that yamaha claims per channel is true .... but, my speakers are all decently sensitive/efficient... so it's plenty of power to blast my ears in a 27x10x7.5 room.

 

[weez82]

imo the ONKYO TX-SR608 is the best value for the money at your price range. And as of right now (1-14-2011) newegg has an amazing deal on the Onkyo. One of my buddies has the SR605 and it is very nice. Great features and plenty of output

 

[Number1]

If you buy a receiver equiped with Odyssey make sure you get one with the MultEQ version at the very least. This will add low frequency correction to the sound optimization system.

You can find out more here and this can help you make an informed decision.

Audyssey

Let us know what you decide on.