sub 300 dollar reciever, which to get?

[magick_man]

i am looking for a new reciever to replace the wimpy philips one i have now and i would like to upgrade to 6.1 while im at it
i have been looking at 2 models in particular.
the ONKYO TX-SR502
or the PIONEER VSX D811S
or posibly the
HARMAN KARDON AVR 230-Z refurbished
all are under 300 dollars and all are 6.1
i am leaning towards the onkyo since it has good power and seems pretty good and i can get it locally and i would like to get it tonight.
but the harman is sitting there looking at me and i like it too.
is the 50 w/per cheannel of the harman better than the 75 of the onkyo?
if it is a better overall reciever than i think i will go with that one.

so please give me your opinions as soon as you can so i can decide what to do.
and this is for my b-day so the more expensive harman doesnt bother me since i am not paying for it.

~Magick_Man~

[punkgamingmaste]

HARMAN KARDON AVR 230-Z refurbished deffinatly the best reciever for its price range and kicks the **** out of recievers costing even $100 more.

[OCS911]

I got very good deal on ebay on Harman Kardon Signature 2.0 and 2.1 which is Amplifier and Preamplifier about $400 :)

[magick_man]

well darn my mom doesnt want to purchase it on the internet (she is buying it for me)
so i guess it is local stuff only and from that i think the ONKYO would be the best chioce.
it may not be as good as the HK but i bet it is quite a bit better than the one i have now and since i am not paying for it i cant complain.
thanks for the help anyways.
if anyone has any other recievers (6.1) that they would suggest under 300 that are from best buy, circuit city, ultimate electronics, or compusa then go ahead bc i am still up for suggestions.

~Magick_Man~

[zabomb4163]

I have the onkyo. i've had it since christmas and played with it enough to have a decent opinion on its performance. ill try to list the pros and cons of it. granted some of my cons may not matter to you.

cons
-volume is set using numbers 1-40. harman kardon uses a -dB system. i prefer dB measurement as opposed to an obscure number
-radio tuning isnt quite as good as HK, but good nevertheless
-HK looks a little better

pros
-level adjuster is very good. generates pink noise for calibration.
-greater power than HK
-better imputs than HK
-adjustable subwoofer crossover
-runs cool (relative to HK230)

for those that love fine tuning things i believe the Onkyo is the better receiver. if they had been the same price i would have had a hard time choosing between the two though. (lets just say i got the Onkyo at a bargain:) )

HK230 experience comes from a good freind that owns the exact same speakers as myself. so it makes it fairly easy to compare the two. before Ryan jumps on me.....yes, i use a dB meter to make sure the levels are equal :).

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/bballmadness/sound_cabnit.jpg

[magick_man]

cool thanks, i guess the onkyo is a good choice after all
i am gonna pick that badboy up tomorrow (well later technically)
and swap it out for my philips i have now and hope for the best.

~Magick_Man~

[magick_man]

well i went ahead and got the onkyo reciever and it is awesome.
although it runs quite warm, but i am comparing it to some el-cheaop philips 5.1 reciever i replaced with it.
it sounds great and with that powering just my front 3 speakers (pair of yamaha 8" 3-way bookshelf's and a infinity primus c25 center) i cant turn it past 65 and still be in the room.
and i am loving the 6.1 too, now i just need to find more movies that have dolby digital EX encoded on the disc for some sweet 6.1 action.

and zabomb thanks for the information on the 2.

~Magick_Man~

[zabomb4163]

i cant turn it past 65 and still be in the room.


jeez. mine is 120db at 55 volume. how big is your room??


although it runs quite warm, but i am comparing it to some el-cheaop philips 5.1 reciever i replaced with it.
~Magick_Man~

-HK receivers run MUCH warmer, at least in my experience.

[Mr. Chambers]

jeez. mine is 120db at 55 volume. how big is your room??



-HK receivers run MUCH warmer, at least in my experience.

Both the 335 and 130z that I've had experience with ran VERY hot. Especially when played at high volumes for long periods of time. Almost am to the point of adding a fan on my 335 it's worrying me so much, but I'm sure it's fine in reality.

[magick_man]

jeez. mine is 120db at 55 volume. how big is your room??
not entirely sure something 10 x 12 with 8 foot ceiling
so i am guessing you have better, more efficient speakers than i do
i am not running anything special
i have a infinity primus c25 center
a pair of yamaha ns-6490 3-way 8" speakers for front
some pioneer dual 4" for rear center
and a pair of aiwa bookshelf speakers for the rear surrounds
i want to get some speakers to replace the aiwas and eventually the pioneer and move the yamahas to the rear surround

and i actually have a pair of 92mm fans that i am running off a 4.5v transformer set ontop of my reciever to cool that bad boy down a little
i am sure it will work perfectly fine just like it was but i just dont like the idea of having that much heat in one area in my big ol case i got.

~Magick_Man~