[Doublej]

I don't need anything fancy just an AVR to switch between the cable box and blu-ray player and sound great. I'll be using it for 2.0 or possibly 2.1.

I am thinking of going with the Marantz SR5009. A refurbished unit is a really good price at the moment. Any alternatives I should consider?

Also under consideration is a Yamaha RX-V479 or a Pioneer Elite VSX-45 (not sure what make this particular model elite.)

Thoughts...

[JLM]

Years ago picked up a Harmon Kardon factory refurbished receiver.  Great price, sounded better than my Rotel gear, beefy power supply, but kept blowing diodes, so I'm wary of refurbs.

Now I have a cheap Sony 6.1, about 8 years old, sounds good, included a simple volume balancing feature, but I think it's blown the subwoofer output (don't care enough about A/V to dig into it or replace it).  Unfortunately it doesn't have HDMI connections, so it's rats nest of cabling back there for just cable box and DVD inputs with of course 5.1 speaker outputs.

So my advice: buy a new cheap AVR with HMDI.  Brand?

[mresseguie]

Hello, Doublej.

Do you want actually want an AV receiver (AVR), or a pre/pro model?

I ask because I originally bought an AVR (Denon 2113ci) about three years ago. It was rated at 90w/ch except that was into a single channel. The wattage dropped as the number of channels increased!  I never liked how it sounded - partly because it was underpowered for my HT room. After a year or so of a lot of reading and research, I replaced it with a Nuforce AVP-18 pre/pro and a three channel AVA 240/3 SS amp (120W/ch). There was a huge improvement in SQ, power, bass, soundstage, and no more ugly brightness that I suffered with the Denon.

Since my upgrade to the Nuforce, I normally only use 3.1 channels mostly because of WAF issues, but also because my dedicated 2/ch amp is in another room. My HT room is hell on 2-ch sound quality, but it is adequate for HT if I adjust things a bit. Anyway, I could add a 2-channel amp to the mix to complete the 5.1 if I wanted it.

I'm not necessarily trying to sell you on the AVP-18, but it worked very well for my situation. It's been out for a couple years now, so there must be both refurb and used units available.

My son has the Denon and he's content with it, but he hasn't discovered 'audio nirvana' like the addicts....er...enthusiasts that we are. I'll likely never even so much as glance at a Denon again. I've read good things about Yamaha AVRs, but haven't actually heard any myself.

[PMAT]

I have owned that marantz and liked it a lot. Very musical for an avr. Pretty darn powerful too.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

Go with the Marantz.  Well made and typical Marantz house sound.

[Phil A]

I'd go with Marantz.  The slightly older models are better built (I just bought a 5010 refurb for a back-up system and not nearly built as well as my old 6003, which by the way I rotated to another back-up system which I had a Denon X1000 and the Marantz was much better sounding - the Denon is in my office now and when I upgrade the main system receiver, the Denon will likely go to a spare computer that sees little use).

[Mr Peabody]

I have a 3.0 system in the living room with in-wall speakers around a wall mount LCD.  I'm currently using a Marantz 1603 which replacing an Onkyo 515, I was really surprised how much better the Marantz sounded.  I think you are on the right track.  I will say the Audessy EQ makes a huge diffence in sound for my set up.  The Onkyo sounded like a receiver, the Marantz has a fuller sound with more natural timbre and more transparency.

I hear good things about the Yamaha Avenge models.  My friend had an entry Yamaha receiver and moved to the Marantz 1403 for a feature upgrade.  I helped him set both up and we both thought the Marantz was a nice improvement in sound.

[RDavidson]

I bought a Yamaha Aventage RX-A1000 about 4-5 years ago. It gets daily use in the family room in a 2.1 setup, for TV, movies, etc. It has been nothing but a pleasure to use. I don't know much about the current Aventage line, but as long as they are as good as they were when the line was first introduced, I recommend taking a look. I also agree with the rec's to look at Marantz.

[asliarun]

I don't need anything fancy just an AVR to switch between the cable box and blu-ray player and sound great. I'll be using it for 2.0 or possibly 2.1.

I am thinking of going with the Marantz SR5009. A refurbished unit is a really good price at the moment. Any alternatives I should consider?

Also under consideration is a Yamaha RX-V479 or a Pioneer Elite VSX-45 (not sure what make this particular model elite.)

Thoughts...

I had the exact requirements - I basically wanted an HDMI switcher and volume control, but only cared for stereo. Unfortunately, no such product exists. Went through a painful journey starting with a 4 way HDMI switch with remote with optical out to a DAC and all that. Was too complicated for the family to switch on and operate.

I ended up getting a Marantz NR1403 Slimline (although I regret not getting NR1504 for its inbuilt Pandora and Spotify and smartphone app support).

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/marnr1504/marantz-nr1504-slimline-5.1-network-av-receiver-airplay/1.html

This is probably the slimmest AVR in the market. Sound is quite decent / actually quite good for the price. Best of all, it has 2.1 out. I initially used it to drive my Carnegie Acoustics CST1 floorstanders but I felt the power amp section was quite weak. I ended up using it as a prepro and I now feed it to a stereo poweramp. The sound quality improved leaps and bounds and I highly recommend it. Working reliably for a couple of years now.

I also recently retired all the remotes (cable, TV, AVR, Roku) and got a Logitech Harmony 650. Massive WAF improvement - this single remote now controls everything.

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Harmony-650-Remote-Control/dp/B004OVECU0/ref=sr_1_4?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1453311955&sr=1-4&keywords=logitech+harmony

[youravhandyman]

I can support the Marantz vote.  My NR-1605 sounds noticeably better than the previous Denon.  It has been too long since I had a Yamaha in there to compare though my clients love them and I never had an issue with it.

Matt

[Dan Driscoll]

Another vote for the Marantz. At the price point for the refurb there really isn't anything that can beat it. A4L has it for $430 right now.

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/marsr5009/marantz-sr5009-7.2ch-100wpc-4k-receiver-wi-fi/bt/airplay-sale-reduced-70/1.html

[ArthurDent]

I'll cast my vote for the Yamaha. 4 or 5 years back I finally decided I actually wanted to hear the 5.1 sound of movies, as opposed to 'surround sound'. Loved my Yamaha RX-v590, but surround is not 5.1, and being it's almost ancient now (18 yrs) I replaced it with an RX-v471. It's worked like a champ, and wasn't that expensive at the time. The old receiver is in the BR now acting as a radio & integrated for CD play. Have never had a problem with either. Just another $.02. Happy hunting.

[vonnie123]

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/category/avreceiver/home-audio/receivers-amps/home-theater-receivers/1.html?brand_f[]=YAMAHA

I like Yamaha Aventage.  I have an RX-A3010 that I use as a prepro (only use the two presence channels) with an integrated amp with HT bypass and external multichannel amp.  Yamaha is durable and is well made.   

Accessories4less link above has several models, including deeply discounted old models.  I have bought from them and they are easy to deal with.

If you need AirPlay, you have to go the Aventage RX-A__20 models for that feature.

[jarcher]

Id also vote for a refurbed marantz from A4L.

Or else route the HDMI through your tv with rcas to any receiver or integrated amp of your choice. Then you can do switching and volume control through your tv with its remote. Maybe not the highest quality option, but it does make life simpler.

Or the last option would be just to do a Sonos soundbar with or without the Sonos sub and save the $ for your 2 channel system.

[murphy11]

Did you make a decision yet and if so are you happy with your receiver? I'm in the same boat and am close to choosing the Marantz 5009 from A4L.

[pocomo]

I'm very interested in how this turns out as well. I am in a similar boat and just put in an order for the Marantz SR7009 at A4L, mainly to try out Audyssey XT32.   I'd never tried room correction auto-setup systems prior to going to a sub/satellite setup and was surprised that the Yamaha YPAO system did a better job than I was able to do on my own.  I'm interested to see if the top Audyssey version can do any better.

I'm using an older Yamaha receiver currently with a powered subwoofer and the pre-outs connected to a Yaqin EL34 tube amp.  I'm looking to simplify as @asliarun mentioned and planning to try out the well-regarded internal amps in the receiver for a while.  My family members are always leaving the tube amp on when they leave the house, which wastes 160 watts and is likely the #1 electrical fire risk in my home right now