I'm about to move into the 2000's and update all my 20 year old stereo equipment. I have decided on the M60's to start and will also eventually purchase a sub, center, and surrounds to go to 5.1. Those purchases are in the not so distance future (less than a year), but as a teacher coming up to those lean summer months I'll have to do without for awhile. I know that in the house I am in I will never go to 7.1 so that is not a concern of mine. (If I move later, I'll get new stuff later) I do want the second zone functions as I hope to set up a pair of outdoor speakers through the same receiver. My listening will be about 50/50 with music and HT.
I am looking at different receivers and think I have narrowed down the choices to
Onkyo 601 - about $300, sometimes less refurbished
Denon 1803 - about $300 refurbished
Denon 2803 - about $400 refurbished
HK 330 - about $400 refurbished

Any opinions on those given what I am looking for and matching up with the 60's or are there others I should consider.

Also, I am not against purchasing refurbished or used equipment. Is there a good website for people who are selling used equipment besides ebay?

dan-

i have the ONKYO 701, and it is just awesome. obviously cost is your biggest drawback here, but the receivers you have mentioned will ALL serve you well. it really comes down to which one you can get at the best cost, and exactly what features you are looking for.

the denons are great products, but i know alot of people say the owners manuals are hard to understand, and the remote is usually considered a POS. but they do have plenty of features, and good wattage.

HK also makes good products, but the 330 is like their entry level HT receiver.. i think you could get much more bang for buck with a different brand.

ONKYO's are good to. great owners manual, and great remote. plenty of power, and lots of options.

the best to do is go check the specs and features of all receivers in your price range, and buy the one that best suits your needs.

you can go here for good deals on refurb and b-stock. i got my refurb 701 from macmall for $439.. great deal.

ecost.com
dakmart.com
macmall.com

good luck, let us know how the search goes.

bigjohn

Gotta correct you there on the H/K. It's their 4th from the top receiver. There's also the 130 and the 230. It's not terrible, but not fantastic. You also might want to see if you can get a refurb 525 for cheap. They're last year's model, but also more powerful and feature laden than the 330.

Mathdan,
it has also been mentioned a lot recently that Denon's newest model, the 2805 (to replace the 2803) is going to be released soon. That should result in a price drop on the 2803 and will trickle down to the refurb units as well. I would suggest if that's the one you decide on, try and wait 'er out a bit and see what happens to the price in a month or so.

i knew there was a 230, but i had never heard of the 130.. i would say it is still toward the bottom end of selection, especially if the lowest price he has found it for was $400.

that was my whole point.. for $400 bucks, you can find a different brand that offers a lot more.

i looked at H/K during my receiver search, and my dislikes were that they were priced MUCH higher than comparible receivers, and they dont have phono inputs. at least not in the receivers that were in my price range. they also seemed to have less wattage per channel, but i have since found that to be misleading.. they tend to undercut their rating, while others tend to over exagerate.

i have no doubt H/K is a fantastic product, they are just REAL proud of them..

bigjohn

Funny, in my comparisons the H/Ks offered the best value. I pretty much ignored the wattage question because of what you said. I miss the phono inputs, but since I don't have a turntable... I mean, you can always get an external preamp.

whats even funnier, is the fact that we are defending the products that we own.. you have an H/K 525, i have the Onkyo 701..

its a good thing that we have confidence in what we bought. when i was purchasing, my most important factor was price. i had to find the best bang for buck, and the 701 worked perfectly.

i have never heard an H/K receiver. so maybe i just dont know what i am missing.. but i know i like my 701.

at least we agree on speakers!!

bigjohn

I dunno, I'm probably gonna be defending those M50s against the M60s pretty soon now...

You're right, though, it is pretty funny.

kcarlile
The HK 525 seems to be a little above my current budget. What do you think about the 325? what am I giving up that I would actually notice considering all of this will be a huge upgrade in the first place?

specs on the 325
specs on the 525

specs on the ONKYO 701..hehe

ya know i had that put that one on there!!

bigjohn

Here's a brand-spankin' new Denon at $349:

http://www.costco.com/frameset.asp?trg=subcat%2Easp&catid=79&subid=80&hierid=3840&log=&NavTop=

Dan - you can't make a mistake with any of the units you listed. Just be sure you buy from and authorized site. Frankly, the 2803 is the pearl in the group you listed. More than enough power, great features list and it can act as a pre/pro.

Mathdan

Audioholics did a review of the Onkyo 601 driving M80s and they had some really nice things to say about it. I have one and drive M22s, VP150, and QS8s with never an issue.

Hehe. I guess I just love trotting out that URL. I seem to do so a lot.

jr

Thanks for the help. Let me throw one more into the mix. Reading one of the other av forums it seems quite a few are really impressed with the Panasonic xr50 digital amp. Anyone heard this or have any opinions.
Thanks

mathdan, here's that Denon 1604 for $299:

http://www.tweeter.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1334208