I am in the market for a new receiver. I am by no means a super-anal audiophile, I just want advice from a few ;). I just want something good, with 4 speaker output. It is not going to be used for any home theatre equipment, just a CD player and 4 speakers–So I can do without all of the fancy-dan bells and whistles. Between 40-75 watts per channel, and I want to spend $150-$250. Also, how about a used model? I poked around ebay for a bit but I don’t even really know what I’m looking for.
Thanks in advance for any info.
The Sony model STR-DE135. It has your minimum requirements & falls in the middle of your price range at a MSRP of $200.
At $250, the STR-DE345 is at the top of your price range. It has surround & subwoofer outputs, which will really enrich your listening experience. In my opinion, it’s worth the extra $50, as long as you already have a set of surround speakers to hook up to it (you shouldn’t use “regular” speakers for surround). Both models allegedly have 100W/channel output.
My next choice would be Technics, but that’s getting a little pricey; their basic model SA-AX530 is already at the top of your price range. It has somewhat less power output than the Sony models above, but you’ll probably never turn the volume up past 6 anyway unless you live in a stadium. You get a few more bells & a spiffier look for trading in the 20W.
I used to like Kenwood, but in recent years their home audio has become so much plastic that they don’t seem to be able to support their own weight sometimes. Kenwood car audio is still good.
Whatever you do, stay away from American made Phillips (which inclides Magnavox & Zenith) & RCA. They may be good products & may work just fine, but they are hell to service. Whenever I saw one coming, I ran the other way. They just aren’t made with the service technician in mind. They use oddball parts that aren’t generally available from generic parts suppliers and take weeks or months to order.
Manual sig line #50
thanks, Opus.
After a bit more research, I went today and bought a Onkyo model. get it home, hook up all speakers, ins, and outs, and the MotherF***** DOESN’T EVEN WORK!!! looks like it was beat up somewhere along the line, as there is something loose inside. Back to Circuit City I go tomorrow. Wasn’t there a recent pit thread about crappy service at circuit city?
::grumble::