I'm thinking about upgrading my home theater system and starting out by buying two M60's and a VP150. I'm looking for a good but affordable 5.1 receiver to use until I can spend a larger chunk of cash for a good 7.1 receiver.

Any suggestions, or would most any 5.1 work for now?

Around $200 would be ideal.

Wolf, welcome. The first point I'll make is that there are many fine 7.1 receivers available these days from makers such as Denon, Onkyo and Yamaha that are quite reasonably priced(around $300-$400)and if you think 7.1 may be in the not-too-distant future you might consider them at this time.

Nevertheless, if you want a simple 5.1 that'll do the job for now, there's an outstanding bargain available now at Shop Onkyo in the factory refurb 304. If you register for "Club Onkyo" the sale price is $99, but you also receive a $10 credit and shipping is free, so delivered price is $89.

Thanks for the help JohnK, I'll check out that Onkyo.

I'll probably use 5.1 for awhile and upgrade to 7.1 when I can spend more, figure by then I'll be able to get more for my money.