Please help me choose. looking for something to replace my Onkyo SR606

Hi!, i've been an avid reader of this forum for quite a few years now. i don't believe i've ever posted.

but now i really need your help.

my current Onkyo TX SR606 -which i've had for almost two years- is showing serious sign of death. i've done my research, and it's the infamous HDMI switchboard defect. i call it a defect because that's what it is, Onkyo should've treat it as a defect and repair all the defective models regardless of warranty. but since that's not the case, i am left to choose another new receiver.

i've done my homework, and have limited down to three receivers that'll replace my 606, and fit my price range. they're the Denon AVR791, Pioneer VSX 1020-K, and the Onkyo 608.

as i am REALLY put off from buying another Onkyo receiver, i am really disgusted by them after owning this Onkyo TX SR606 and them not owning up to their mistake. all three models above are in the same price range, except Denon, which is a bit higher.

can you guys help me choose. my current dilemma is that the Pioneer seems to provide the most power, at 110watt per channel; as my two front speakers are 110 watt, center is 90watt, and rear are wall mounted 75 watt. and seems to run the coolest. but i've heard the Pioneer's remote is awful, and switching input takes a long time, and powering on also takes up to 50secs. The Denon seems to be pretty good too, but is probably least powerful of all three, comes at only 90watts per channel. The Onkyo 608 seems to have all the best features of the other two but i really don't want to throw my money away to another pre-mature death like the current 606 model. i've heard several onkyo models suffer from this infamous HDMI switch board defect.

any help would be deeply appreciated. i don't know how much longer this receiver will last.

fyi, my current setup is mainly an HTPC with ATI Radeon HD5850 output both video and audio directly through HDMI as passthrough to the receiver. it has worked out marvelously in getting pure Blu-Ray Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master. i also play games on this HTPC which does so in HDMI PCM Multichannel mode, as well as using win7's Media center to watch TV/record/DVR function, and music listening. The TV is a Samsung 46" LCD in 1080P.

the amount of responses is really underwhelming. am i invisible?

thanks guys.... for the inputs.

the more i looked at the Pioneer 1020 K, the more i am leaning towards the Pioneer VSX "1120 K". it's got eveything the 1020 K has, with extra power and THX.

i've decided against the Onkyo, or any onkyo.

so now it's down to the Pioneer VFX 1120 K and Denon AVR 791.

ouch!... i just pulled the trigger last night on a Pioneer VSX 1120 K. it was an open box item and only priced at $439, $150 less than what i could find online.

I hear what you're saying, Pioneer does have some weird power rating scheme. they have a rating for 1Khz band, and separate rating for 20hz~20Khz band. their 1Khz rating is 135 watts, and 20~20K is 110. i believe 20/20 is the band that you're suppose to go by. i just really wanted to give this Receiver a try, consider it's closest to the Elite series' Elite VSX 32. i already did a bit of research, "apparently" the 1120's Marvel chip is suppose to be slightly better than what's in the Denon 791/Onkyo 608. i don't know. i just hope it'll all turn out well.

thanks for the link. that was quite informative. so does that mean i made the right choice? lol.

on a separate note, since this 1120K receiver is THX certified, does it have a similar feature in Onkyo's "Cinema Filter", where it filters out excess high pitch sharp frequencies that's meant for theater listening. because i find the onkyo's Cinema Filter feature to be quite useful in filtering out sharp frequencies that to a point hurt your ears. My Home Theater speakers are JBL Venue series, and as you all know, JBL tend to be on the bright side.

and how come this receiver has 9 channels? are the extra two channels meant for Zone 2? does that mean i can bi-amp the two Front speakers and Two rear speakers?

i am so excited, this will be my first mid range-ish receiver, i consider the onkyo 606 to be entry. i really can't wait to play with it.