[twitch54]

My sister and brother inlaw have put me in charge of finding them a new AVR. Any recommendations in the sub $500 range ?

I'm a two channel guy with limited knowledge in the AVR world. FWIW, they only need 5.1 capability.

[Phil A]

Look at accessories4less.com

[Phil A]

Here's just one example - there are more - http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/pionvsx824k/pioneer-vsx-824-k-5.2-ch-x-80-watts-networking-a/v-receiver/1.html

[Phil A]

If you want something a bit better for audio - http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/camb351rsla/cambridge-audio-azur-351r-5.1-ch-x-50-watts-a/v-receiver/1.html

[Nick77]

I have a old Harmon Kardon that has been flawless...

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_532AV1510S/Harman-Kardon-AVR-1510S.html?tp=179

[JLM]

I'd search for "recommend AV receivers" and go to toptenreviews.com at least as a start.

[twitch54]

I'd search for "recommend AV receivers" and go to toptenreviews.com at least as a start.

done that, I'm curious as to the opinions of those here as well.

Thanks guys for the suggestions thus far

Dave

[gregcss]

Some good options posted by others. Consider Denon or Marantz. Most modern AVRs have 7+ channels. You can filter the list below down to 4 AVRs if you only include AVRs with a maximum of 5 channels. The full url below is not fully linked. Please copy and paste the full text below instead of clicking.

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/category/avreceiver/home-audio/receivers-amps/home-theater-receivers/1.html?brand_f[]=MARANTZ&brand_f[]=DENON&&store_price[]=85-503

[jarcher]

You know - I used to really favor Marantz but now it seems less and less different from Denon with each passing model year. They've been part of the same group for a while, D&M holdings, with Marantz always the more musical sounding of the two.  But every year they seem to be getting cheaper and cheaper and lighter and lighter and sounding more like Denons (i.e. More bright and "hifi").  So now honestly I don't see much difference other than having to pay more for the Marantz brand.

 I was also always a fan of saving money on refurbished units from accessories for less.  But to be honest I've been seeing more reliability problems with newer generation Marantz receivers. For that reason I would be even less comfortable buying a refurbished unit which is likely to have even more probability of problems than a new one.  Sometimes I think the refurbished units from accessories for less are just returns.  On the other hand if they are actually repaired units, then you really want to avoid those.

 It seems with receivers there is a race to the bottom as far as long-term reliability. It's almost like they expect people to throw them away every 3 to 5 years.

 At this point it would seem that Yamaha's are slightly more reliable and have faster input switching.  You may want to put yamaha on your shopping list.

 At the end of the day for the under $500 market, I'm not sure there's going to be a big difference between one brand or another.  Just make sure you get one with some kind of digital room correction software, whether from Audyssey or whatever the receiver brand equivalent is.  That to me is perhaps the most important feature in a home theater receiver. The next one which is very nice to have is analog audio outputs so you can upgrade it with better external amplifiers. But this is becoming more more rare with the exception of Marantz.  And unless you plan to do that in the next 3 to 5 years before the thing stops working, it probably doesn't make much difference.

 Sorry to be so pessimistic, but just want let you know where things stand these days.   Modern receivers are amazing things but long term reliability seems to be worse than ever.

[ctviggen]

Darn, I just bought a Marantz:

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/marsr5010/marantz-sr5010-7.2-ch-x-100-watts-networking-a/v-receiver/1.html

For $500.  It was much less heavy than the Denon it replaced.  I can't tell whether it's more or less musical, and it does not seem that bright to me.  The Denon (had 1080p pass through, but wouldn't overlay the menu on HDMI) was old and also purchased from Accessories for Less.  I think the Marantz has less "oomph" for the bass, but without having the ability to hook both of them up, I don't know.  I also only have 2 channels and am using my old Linn 5140s in the corner of the room, so there's no real 2-channel listening.  It's more kids movies, TV, and background music.   The Marantz also does not overlay the on-screen menu on the resolution that's correct for my Plasma TV, 1024x768.  So, I either select 1080i or 1080p and get overscan (where the window/DVD actually go off the screen) and get the on-screen menu, or I select the best resolution for the TV and don't get the menu.  The TV has a blue column anyway, so I'm just waiting until right before the Super Bowl to buy an OLED TV, if they go on sale.  This plasma has always had this problem, and that resolution is not true 1080i or 1080p, so it's unlikely anyone else would have it.

Personally, I think these receivers try to do too much.  Both the Denon and the Marantz have network hookups, and I have yet to use these other than for updates.  However, I also use a computer to watch everything, so I would run everything through a computer anyway. 

[ctviggen]

I mean, since my plasma's resolution is so wacky, it's unlikely anyone will have this trouble overlaying the on-screen menu with the Marantz.

I also have a nice 2-channel amp just sitting in my basement.  I'm probably going to hook that up to the Marantz, which does have outputs.  So, I'll use my 2 channel amp to power my front speakers.  I will be putting some surround speakers into the walls, so we'll have 4 channels.  We'll have to see how the Marantz does that.  I don't think I need to hook up my 2 channel amp, but I don't think I'll be using it for some time.  I might was well get some use out of it.

[Johnny2Bad]

...

I was also always a fan of saving money on refurbished units from accessories for less.  But to be honest I've been seeing more reliability problems with newer generation Marantz receivers. For that reason I would be even less comfortable buying a refurbished unit which is likely to have even more probability of problems than a new one.  Sometimes I think the refurbished units from accessories for less are just returns.  On the other hand if they are actually repaired units, then you really want to avoid those.
...

You DO want factory refurbished units. You seem wary of refurbished products but broadly speaking they are much better candidates as far as future reliability goes compared to new, factory fresh units. The reason is they do not fully test units as they leave the production line, whereas if the unit actually did go back for refurbishment, it was fully tested and bench run by an actual technician, before being repackaged and sold. In terms of attention, the refurb has had minutes to hours, versus seconds, of bench time. So a refurb is more reliable than a new-in-box.

By far the most common failure mode of any electronics product ... regardless of it's pedigree ... is referred to in the industry as "Infant Failure". That is where some component fails in the first 24 hours of operation. That accounts for the majority of warranty returns. A smaller percentage ... perhaps 10% of all warranty returns  ... will fail in the next 30 days. The balance ... less than 1% ... will fail sometime in the reasonable life of the product. Broadly speaking if an electronics device works for a month it will probably work forever, or as reasonably close to forever as it's capable of.

Even if it was simply a repack ... a unit returned for some reason besides function or operation ... it was still fully tested on the bench before being repacked, something a new-in-box unit has probably not experienced (they pull and fully test some % of the run ... maybe every 40th unit, for example ... while the rest simply experience a basic function test, performed by a trained production line worker, not an Electronics School graduate).

I owned a Hi End store and we serviced every single item we sold. I know how and why things fail and how often. There are above average and below average reliability products, but all products are subject to the warranty failure rate I outlined above. I always purchase refurb items if they are available. I have never had one fail. Ever. And I cannot say that for new-in-box products I've owned.

[JLM]

Picked up a factory refurbished Harmon Kardon stereo receiver years ago for about half MSRP.  Great sound, heavy build, out performed my Rotel stereo receiver in FM reception and overall sound quality.  But several months in it developed a horrible distortion.  Took it into a local repair shop that HK paid for, but again several months later it happened again.  As it was used in the kids room, I just let it go.  But HK wanted to know which of their technicians had worked on it (there was a small green sticker on the back with illegible initials).

[ctviggen]

You DO want factory refurbished units. You seem wary of refurbished products but broadly speaking they are much better candidates as far as future reliability goes compared to new, factory fresh units. The reason is they do not fully test units as they leave the production line, whereas if the unit actually did go back for refurbishment, it was fully tested and bench run by an actual technician, before being repackaged and sold. In terms of attention, the refurb has had minutes to hours, versus seconds, of bench time. So a refurb is more reliable than a new-in-box.

By far the most common failure mode of any electronics product ... regardless of it's pedigree ... is referred to in the industry as "Infant Failure". That is where some component fails in the first 24 hours of operation. That accounts for the majority of warranty returns. A smaller percentage ... perhaps 10% of all warranty returns  ... will fail in the next 30 days. The balance ... less than 1% ... will fail sometime in the reasonable life of the product. Broadly speaking if an electronics device works for a month it will probably work forever, or as reasonably close to forever as it's capable of.
[cut]

When I was in engineering, we called that the "bathtub curve", as electronics tended to fail almost immediately or at some period way in the future. The failure rate started high, went very low, then after some long time period, went high again. This is generally true. 

[OzarkTom]

Check out the Denon refurbs on Amazon. I have had great luck with refurbs the last 25 years, knock on wood. My 6 year old Denon came off of Ebay.

https://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVRS510BT-R-Refurbished-Receiver-Bluetooth/dp/B017AECEJI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482155358&sr=8-1&keywords=denon+refurbished

[Doublej]

If you yearn for the Marantz sound of old this model may work for you.


http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/marnr1504/marantz-nr1504-slimline-5.1-ch-x-50-watts-networking-a/v-receiver/1.html

P.S. The network capability on receivers is for vtuner, updates, controlling the receiver through apps, playing content stored on your network (DLNA) and likely a few other things I have not mentioned.

[jarcher]

I'm currently working at a high end store as well and always believed the sane logic as johhny2bad. But it seems like I'm seeing the same post initial failure rate on new vs refurb. You can always get lucky -e.g.  both my friend and I bought the same Marantz receiver from accessories for less at the same time, and mine has never had any issues and his had two major failures and has now been replaced. It's possible he used his more than I.

In any case, I do actually still think  the refurbished  Marantz from accessories for less may still be the best choice. But at this point I'm also considering more & more advising people to consider a  Yamaha instead  if they are more concerned about long-term longevity.  Being on the sales side it's very frustrating to suggest a purchase only to have it fail in a year or two, even if it's not your fault.  That's one reason why I won't even consider suggesting an Integra which for older models is known to have a 100% failure rate.

 It will be interesting to see if some of these new generation of receivers that  are being assembled in Vietnam (e.g. Anthem / Arcam) have any better quality control.  Sometimes these new plants actually are better than the original ones. For example BMWs south Africa plant supposedly has one of the least  fault rates of any  automotive plant in the world.

[jarcher]

I mean, since my plasma's resolution is so wacky, it's unlikely anyone will have this trouble overlaying the on-screen menu with the Marantz.

I also have a nice 2-channel amp just sitting in my basement.  I'm probably going to hook that up to the Marantz, which does have outputs.  So, I'll use my 2 channel amp to power my front speakers.  I will be putting some surround speakers into the walls, so we'll have 4 channels.  We'll have to see how the Marantz does that.  I don't think I need to hook up my 2 channel amp, but I don't think I'll be using it for some time.  I might was well get some use out of it.

A  standalone two channel amplifier  should definitely help things.  Marantz  receivers have  typically had a nice mid range and sweet top end,  but bottom end slam  has not been a strength. That's why I have a Marantz preamp processor but a krell showcase  amplifier.  I tried the Marantz multi channel amplifier but even despite it supposedly having the same power rating as the krell,  The transformer on the latter was more than twice as powerful and you could really tell. If I  I was doing it all over again though I would probably get an ATI amplifier.  The krell amplifier  is still just a little too dry and brittle.