Recommend me a receiver

[The Boston Dangler]

i'm looking for a $500ish receiver that has 6 (or 8) high-bandwidth multichannel analog inputs. a strong hdmi function would be good for future considerations, as would a phono input. usb flashing and other gadgets are ok as long as they work well. i'm thinking a rating of 60w per channel would be sufficient, but hey the more, the merrier

unfortunately, it seems denon (1st preference) and onkyo have dropped the 6-ch inputs from their current products. i found the hk 2600. after skimming the avs forum thread on it, i'm not thrilled. if someone knows otherwise, speak up.

thanks in advance

 

[slashbinslashbash]

Accessories4Less has a new (not refurb'd) Onkyo 706 for $400:

http://www.accessories4less.com/mak...Thx-100-watts-channel-7.1-Receiver-NEW/1.html

It's got 7.1-channel analog inputs and a phono input. It appears the x07 and newer models eschew multichannel analog inputs in favor of more digital stuff. So the x06 line is the best you're gonna get.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

i stopped at best buy to see what they had for demo units. they had a denon avr-2310 for $500, but i took home a 3310ci for $586

 

[CubanlB]

Good choice, I really like Denons but the 2309 especially was a piece of crap (scalers broke all the time, no user updateable firmware) and the 2310 was only marginally better.

Let us know how you like it.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

actually, i'm finding it a nice upgrade from my 2802. sound quality is as nice as ever, but user friendliness is at least 2 steps better. the transplant and basic setup was under an hour. i didn't even need to reprogram my remote. the audyssey eq accurately measured the speaker distance, but i think the sub is a bit too strong now. i made a half-assed attempt at connecting with the ethernet, which didn't work. the front panel usb can play .flac, which is awesome, but cannot flash the firmware. the 3310 runs considerably warmer than my 2802.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

stupid piece of crap! the power supply in my new receiver is buzzing quite noticably. i'm taking it back tonight or tomorrow.

 

[Bullhonkie]

stupid piece of crap! the power supply in my new receiver is buzzing quite noticably. i'm taking it back tonight or tomorrow.

That's too bad, you got one hell of a deal on it. Was it brand new?

 

[The Boston Dangler]

That's too bad, you got one hell of a deal on it. Was it brand new?

no, not new in the box. it's a demo unit. i didn't get a chance to go back today, but i'll ask them tomorrow if any other best buys have the same model. the only other one at the store near me was a return, and it was very dirty and had a ton of cat(?) hair all over it :\

 

[The Boston Dangler]

well, after going to 2 different best buys, i have my replacement. returning the 1st one wasn't a problem, especially since the buzzing had developed ever so faintly the unmistakable odor of electric death. it took a few minutes to find and pick out the best of the 3 they had in the store. oddly, the 2nd store had it marked as almost $200 more, so it took a few minutes for them to fudge the system to match my original price.

unfortunately, every model i've found has been 1st or 2nd generation, so i expect some ethernet diificulties that were addressed in the 3rd gen - if i even bother with it. a little windex, a small brush and a sharpie (for 2 small nicks) and this is looking new. i'm giving it a 5 channel workout now, and all seems well.