First off, first post, sorry for the newbie message. I just bought my axiom home theater set (M60s, VP150, EP350,QS4's) and am now on the market for a new receiver. Im not looking to spend much (500 or so) and just want something that wont be useless in 6 months. Any recommendations?

Welcome,

If you are in the US, I am sure you can find this for about $500. Based on my experience, if you are in a 4,000 cubic foot room or less, this should work just fine for you.

Remember to stay away from Sony .

I cannot find whether or not this amp allows for bi-amping or bi-wiring. Does anybody know if it does? Im only running 5.1, so that would be nice

You may want to read this as posted by Sirquack about two months ago. Or maybe you don't want to read it. Sometimes a little knowledge is a bad thing in audio .

Don't worry about Buy-Amping or Buy-Wiring, just get a receiver that has the bells and whistles you want and sit back and enjoy. Don't take the path others have.

If you're willing to buy a refurbished receiver, this Onkyo TX-SR703 would be a good choice. I've purchased 3 refurbished units, including a 703, and never had a problem.

If you felt you needed, or wanted, HDMI ins and outs, the Onkyo TX-SR674 might satisfy. This is not a refurbished unit.

If you would be willing to spend a little more than your $500 budget, this refurbished Onkyo TX-SR804 has it all.

I apologize if it seems like I'm an Onkyo salesman. It's just that I've owned Onkyos (and run M60s/VP150/QS8s with them), and feel qualified to mention them. I honestly don't care what receiver you end up purchasing as long as you are happy with it.

Biwiring and biamping are controversial subjects. Here is a Biwiring and Biamping article by Alan Lofft, Axiom's resident expert. The cogent comments are, IMHO:

Biwiring - "Will it sound any different if you biwire? Some users think it does, but I've never heard any differences, nor have any of our laboratory measurements or scientifically controlled double blind listening tests ever demonstrated there are audible differences. Axiom includes the extra terminals as a nod to those enthusiasts who believe that biwiring results in audible benefits and for the bi-ampers."

Biamping - "Bi-amping, or biamplification, is used mainly in professional sound reinforcement applications, where extremely high levels of loudness are required.....but such systems have no place in domestic home theater systems in normal rooms. Additionally, it puts control of the relative smoothness and tonal balance into the hands of the sound system operator, a dangerous tool for all but the most experienced sound reinforcement experts."

Thank you all, you have been very helpful, Ill let you know what i went with and how it sounds when i get everything

I second what Sirquack said .

Check out the new Onkyo TX-SR605 receiver. It is around $500 and it has the latest HDMI 1.3, HD audio formats, and 1080p/24 video passthrough. You should be future proof for at least a while with the receiver. Not sure about the audio quality, but should be pretty good.

Wow, that's a good find. Here's a CNET review.

i was JUST looking at a review for that exact (605) receiver...that looks like the winner

AO, welcome. Yes, biwiring is of no benefit and the type of "biamping" that is sometimes suggested with a receiver doesn't add any more power. There's just one power supply section in the receiver and feeding a speaker through two sets of output transistors(one being previously unused)rather than one can't create more power; the output transistors just act as valves to measure out the required amount of power.

The new 605 would be a fine choice for a receiver. The best deal now appears to be at J&R , but they're out of stock because of the large number of orders they got at that price. So, you might have to wait a month or more there if that's important to you. The best price reporting it in stock appears to be $460.