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Stereo Receivers.... need advise.

PC Freak

Golden Member
The JVC RX-7030VBK seems to be a good choice for ~$260.00 but i've seen a site or two saying they are now discontinued.

I don't know much about receivers and would like to find a good one for approx. $250 or less.

The RX-7030VBK is one a friend has and the only one I can really compare too.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.
 
If you really want a good receiver then spend a bit more and get a Harmon Kardon, Onkyo, Denon, etc. Even their lower end stuff blows away most Sony's, Pioneer's etc.

 
Yamaha also makes some pretty affordable yet high quality stuff.... They tend to under-rate their equipment as well.. Their 60w receivers make my ears bleed..
 
check around for a refurb onkyo txsr600/601...great receiver and they can be had for around that price
 
Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212
Yamaha also makes some pretty affordable yet high quality stuff.... They tend to under-rate their equipment as well.. Their 60w receivers make my ears bleed..
I concur. You might also want to look at two models higher than the one you're getting, for the possibility of expansion. Does it have enough Inputs/outputs, what decoding processors/modes does it have? Can you add more speakers to it later, if you want to. Sometimes, you spend a little more money, but it'll do you good in the long run.
 
I just got a Harman Kardon 525, but the price of the HK 525 is over your budget. I was in the same boat as you looking for a receiver under $300 but after reading the Home Theater Forum I decided to spent a little more. If you decided to buy online make sure you buy it from an authorized dealer to qualify for the manufacture warranty. A lot of receiver manufactures will not honor warranty from an unauthorized online retailer. With that being said check out the refurbished HK AVR125 form Souncity.com for $199. Since Soundcity is an HK authorized dealer you are qualify for 2 years warranty from HK.

HK AVR125 Review
 
Originally posted by: V00DOO
I just got a Harman Kardon 525, but the price of the HK 525 is over your budget. I was in the same boat as you looking for a receiver under $300 but after reading the Home Theater Forum I decided to spent a little more. If you decided to buy online make sure you buy it from an authorized dealer to qualify for the manufacture warranty. A lot of receiver manufactures will not honor warranty from an unauthorized online retailer. With that being said check out the refurbished HK AVR125 form Souncity.com for $199. Since Soundcity is an HK authorized dealer you are qualify for 2 years warranty from HK.

HK AVR125 Review

how much did you spend on the HK-- and how do you like it?

i'm in the market for a new reciever as well.

on about a 500 dollar budget
 
Originally posted by: Rallispec
Originally posted by: V00DOO
I just got a Harman Kardon 525, but the price of the HK 525 is over your budget. I was in the same boat as you looking for a receiver under $300 but after reading the Home Theater Forum I decided to spent a little more. If you decided to buy online make sure you buy it from an authorized dealer to qualify for the manufacture warranty. A lot of receiver manufactures will not honor warranty from an unauthorized online retailer. With that being said check out the refurbished HK AVR125 form Souncity.com for $199. Since Soundcity is an HK authorized dealer you are qualify for 2 years warranty from HK.

HK AVR125 Review

how much did you spend on the HK-- and how do you like it?

i'm in the market for a new reciever as well.

on about a 500 dollar budget


With a $500 budget, the AVR325 is another great choice.
 
Originally posted by: Apex
Originally posted by: Rallispec
Originally posted by: V00DOO
I just got a Harman Kardon 525, but the price of the HK 525 is over your budget. I was in the same boat as you looking for a receiver under $300 but after reading the Home Theater Forum I decided to spent a little more. If you decided to buy online make sure you buy it from an authorized dealer to qualify for the manufacture warranty. A lot of receiver manufactures will not honor warranty from an unauthorized online retailer. With that being said check out the refurbished HK AVR125 form Souncity.com for $199. Since Soundcity is an HK authorized dealer you are qualify for 2 years warranty from HK.

HK AVR125 Review

how much did you spend on the HK-- and how do you like it?

i'm in the market for a new reciever as well.

on about a 500 dollar budget


With a $500 budget, the AVR325 is another great choice.


is 50watts enough? my reciever now is 80watts per channel, but it was a pretty cheap JVC-- so i'm sure a higher quality one will do better. 50 still seems low though.

 
50 watts from an H&K is a REAL rating unlike most manufacturers who quote numbers that are more marketing than anything else. There's quite a few receivers out there that claim 70-100watts but it's actually much much less.
 
Dont worry about the claimed watts rating, it will kick your JVC's azz!

Of course it helps to have some quality speakers that can hold up to the power.
 
just out curiosity-- if i'm going to be dropping almost 500 dollars on a reciever, how much per speaker should i be expecting to spend to get the most out of it?

right now, i've got a set of polk speakers, and a pair of older klipsches... they sound pretty good, but i'm definetly going to be upgrading speakers once i get a new receiver.... not sure exactly where to start looking yet though. (pretty new to the home theater thing... trying to get the best bang for the buck right now)
 

you can get a brand new JVC 8030 for 275 shipped at ecost.com...

i am upgrading from another JVC receiver for the component switching plus the extra optical inputs (having 6.1 channels doesn't hurt either)...

you definitely need to consider what speakers you will use...the top of the line HK will get its azz kicked if it was hooked up to radio shack speakers (the under $20 kind)....
 
Originally quoted by Rallispec
how much did you spend on the HK-- and how do you like it?
I paid $579 shipped from Onecall.com. If you are thinking about HK AVR325 I really suggest you spend the extra $100 for the AVR525. I haven't received the receiver yet but from what I have read I am sure I won't be disppointed. BTW HK receivers are under rated which means their 55 watts can stand up some receiver claiming to be 100 watts.

The price from Onecall.com is $599 -$20 coupon which you get when you click on the top of the page where it says "Click here for coupon details". The coupon will expire in 1 days so hurry.

Link to HK Oncall.com

As for speakers Axiom M22ti for $400 is best bang for the buck.
 
Originally posted by: faZZter
If you really want a good receiver then spend a bit more and get a Harmon Kardon, Onkyo, Denon, etc. Even their lower end stuff blows away most Sony's, Pioneer's etc.


Go to harmonaudio.com and search their specials. There are deals on closeout models and refurbs. I bought my receiver through their B&M outlet, but the website has the same deals. I spent $299 on mine, which retailed for $799.

 
Originally posted by: faZZter
Dont worry about the claimed watts rating, it will kick your JVC's azz!

Of course it helps to have some quality speakers that can hold up to the power.

I can't emphasize this post enough. I sold receivers at Circuit City for years, and customers thought I was crazy for trying to sell them a $500 HK with 50W when our 100W Pioneer was $149. Then I let them hear it, and they believed. It has to do with amps and ohms. Amperage is more important than Wattage. I could give an electricity lesson, but I won't. But an HK receiver with 50W (especially with 4ohm speakers) will blow away any 100W Pioneer, Sony, JVC, etc. It has to do with discrete circuitry vs. integrated circuitry. Lift a 50W HK and lift a 100W Sony, and see which one's heavier. That's because the HK uses huge capacitors and power supplies. I could go on and on. Stick with HK or Onkyo (for your price range).
 
Originally quoted by Rob9874:
Go to harmonaudio.com and search their specials. There are deals on closeout models and refurbs. I bought my receiver through their B&M outlet, but the website has the same deals. I spent $299 on mine, which retailed for $799.

This is true before Harman Kardon has an Ebay store. Now there refurbished prices are higher than new one. Their Ebay prices are ridiculous high too. Check it out at
Harmanaudio

 
I don't know much about the current state of Harmon Kardon, but I have a 1969 HK reciever that I got from my dad as a hand me down in '96 when he bought a new sony bookshelf setup. The HK is still running strong and the sony is dead, and the HK sounds better than the sony ever did.
 
Take a look at how H/K tends to rate their receivers:

Real 5 Channels Driven receiver output

The AVR325 is an absolutely excellent receiver. Logic 7 rocks too, especially with TV audio. I went from an AVR8000 to a Lexicon MC1 to a Lexicon MC-8b. I use Logic 7 more than any other processing.
 
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