Cheapest name brand HT receiver with HD Radio?

Why is it HD Radio is fairly prevalent in car stereos but practically void in affordable HT receivers? Crutchfield tells me HT receivers with HD radio start in the $800 range or so, but their prices aren't exactly low. What is the lowest price HT receiver you guys know of in a reputable brand?

I'm looking for a decent brand to upgrade my flat sounding Yamaha RX-V371. I want built-in calibration, preferably MultEQ XT. I'm considering Denon, Pioneer, Onkyo, or even Marantz if I can get a good deal on one.

The VSX-822 I set up for a neighbor sounds better than mine, but I don't like Pioneer's software or echo laden surround modes. It's very un-intuitive as far as trying to set it up to display the audio format. I've also yet to find a way to manually adjust EQ.

The plan was to switch to something like an AVR-1713 when prices drop after the Superbowl, but I don't like that the 1713 lost some wattage for net features I don't need. I actually use Slacker Radio's free version currently through my PC, which even sounds better than my Rhapsody Ultimate account, which claims to stream at 160kbps vs Slacker's 128kbps.

The AVR-1712, though having more channels than I need (speakers are 5.1), is more what I'm looking for, but they're getting harder to find. I found one top rated eBay seller that has one for $300, but I don't know if Denon honors warranty on eBay purchases.

Should I jump on an AVR-1712 now, wait for after Superbowl prices on the 1713, or wait until under $500 models have HD Radio? My living room is pretty small, but still, I don't want to be under equipped power wise. I've seen tech reviews on 75w Denons that have a 100w plus actual output across all frequencies at 8 Ohm though.
Edited by Hi Def Fan - 9/7/12 at 1:06am

The salesman in the Magnolia Hi Fi I visited today said the same, yet when I argued that plenty people listen to internet radio on their PCs, which is worse sound quality and costs to use, he had no rebuttal, so I beg to differ. HD Radio is just not well marketed, but if it was, people would be paying for it like XM, Sirius, etc.

They had a demo 1712 for $300 they said they'd put a 3 yr warranty on with in house repair, but it wasn't set up well for listening, so he demoed the 1713 for me in the HT room. I actually preferred the sound of the Pioneer Elite VSX-42. They really like to push the Denons, claiming better manufacturer relations with stores and customers, more PC integration, better user friendliness, etc.

The Pioneers just sound more natural to me though, and without losing clarity and liveliness like the Yamaha low end units have over the years. Seems the low end Elites are the poor man's Marantz. Same DSP and discrete amplification, but the software, user friendliness and surround modes make me hesitant.

Yeah I found that out when I went looking at Onkyo's lowest priced model that is HD Radio "ready". I wasn't aware you had to buy a damn expensive HD Radio receiver to make it work. So the question I guess becomes, will it catch on like HDTV tuners did back when TVs were just "HD Ready"?

Only time will tell. Everything in technology changes eventually. I used to forgo trying to watch the extra content on my Blu-ray rentals, but more rental discs are allowing access to it now. I rather enjoyed being able to watch the making of extras on the Prince of Persia BD I just rented the other night, and it's one from Sept 2010 I forgot to put in my cue some time ago.

Yeah I think the internet really spoiled a lot of people's appreciation for music sound quality. The convenience of quick streams/downloads and small file sizes to allow lots of songs to be stored on tiny devices was almost more of an Eve's apple than the PC itself.

I haven't even checked yet what stations if any broadcast in HD Radio in my area. It's a bit ironic that Detroit is a leader in it since they are in such economic decline. The price of the receivers and the need to add on an HD receiver kinda killed my enthusiasm.

You made some solid points, and I'll add that music is a very personal preference thing and more subject to trends than TV. Personally one of the things I hate about standard analog radio broadcasts is the carrier signal and intermittent static. I was wondering if HD Radio is subject to either of those.

LOL, with the public conditioned to crap speakers and mp3. I got talked into going into a high end hi fi store to look at a demo model of a Denon 1712 the other day, and all they had it hooked up to was a TV sound bar.