What's the best entry level AV receiver

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post #1 of 4

2/20/13 at 10:57am

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Hi guys!

I'm on a budget and am looking for an entry level AV receiver to replace my old Sony non-HDMI AVR. My budget is around $200 and no more than $300.

With these features:

5.1, True HD, DTS-HD, DD+, DPL2
4HMDI in/1 out
auto/manual settings of speaker, delay, distance, etc
sub pre-out & front height/surround back pre-out
speakers A & B (if possible)
90-120w per channel at least
at least 2011 model and up

Brands I prefer are Sony, Pioneer, Onkyo, Yamaha and Denon.

Hope to see some suggestion real soon. Thanks in advance.

Edited by AVbyJoe - 2/20/13 at 11:04am

post #2 of 4

2/20/13 at 11:09am

4DHD
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You are not likely to find any cheap AVRs with pre outs, especially for height, back. Some Marantz units have pre outs for L/R only.
The top o line HK, Yamaha have pre outs, the cheaper ones do not.

post #3 of 4

2/26/13 at 8:20am

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Quote:

Originally Posted by 4DHD

You are not likely to find any cheap AVRs with pre outs, especially for height, back. Some Marantz units have pre outs for L/R only.
The top o line HK, Yamaha have pre outs, the cheaper ones do not.

Well I got a very mint condition and very seldom used VSX-521-K for $190. It has almost all the the features I listed above except for the B speakers. Not bad for this cheap AVR. Sound is very decent too. This is my first upgrade form my old, 10 year old non-HDMI AVR. I can say that there is a huge leap in terms of technology.