Budget AVR with preamp outputs?

Denon X3500H will be the cheapest with preouts.

$200 price increase from the X1500H if I remember correctly.

The 1500 does not have a full set of pre-outs. (Neither does the 2500.) I'm not sure what you could do with the two Zone 2 outputs.

The 3500 has them. It also comes with Audyssey XT32 (the best retail version), and SubEQ (semi-independent equalization of 2 subs).

Unfortunately, the 3500 is much more expensive than the 1500. (On Amazon, 2X the price.)

I'm less familiar with other makes. In the Marantz line, the SR6013 is the lowest end model with XT32/SubEq. It doesn't exactly match any Denon model. (It processes 11 channels, but has 9 onboard amps. Similar to an AVR-X4500H, although the SR7013 is supposed to be more like it.)

I hope this helps.

Thank you both. that is exactly what I was looking for, unless there was a cheaper option of course.

Deaf-Forever said:

I apologize if this s a noob question in advance. Ive got the Denon AVR-X1500H on my shortlist but dont see any preamp outputs? Can you add an external amp to this receiver? Sugestions for a different AVR? My goal now is for 3.1 moving to 5.1/2 in the future. DCM TP series speakers on the way but pondering others due to the current LSiM sale

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You can't add an external amp to your current AVR.

If you only need pre-outs for the front channels, you can get a refurbished Marantz NR 1609 or Yamaha A-780 which would be your cheapest options. If you need full pre-outs, Denon X3000 series or higher, Marantz 5000 and up, Onkyo RZ730 and up.