Friend of mine was goin to get a crappy "1000 watt" Sony HTIB with a bluray/receiver combo and some sucky speakers.

He's got some surround speakers already so have convinced him to get a receiver now, make due with his speakers until he can upgrade them later.

Any suggestions for a budget friendly 5.1 receiver? Needs to have a least 2 HDMI ins, preferably around the $300 mark if possible.

Onkyo 508

If it was me and I had $300 budgeted for this, I'd go up one more and get the Onkyo 608.

I've never dealt with accessories for less. Are these refurb or new? IS there tax or shipping?

Can't go bad with Onkyos. I have been using them since '91 and would not go anywhere else for solid state. The 508/608 is a good starting point

I didn't pay tax but yes they do charge for shipping. They sell factory authorized refurbs.

Thanks for all of the info. I'm a denon fan myself but think there are other options that offer more bang for your buck at the lower price points.

For Denon I like eCost

David, A4L is highly reputable and I've dealt with them with great satisfaction. The factory refurbs have been inspected and should be at least as reliable as brand-new units.

To keep well under the budget, I'd suggest the 508 which Rick linked. In my view the 608 doesn't have enough more to justify the jump in cost. If there was a willingness to spend more, I'd suggest the RC180 for about $400, which has among other upgraded features the superior MultEQ(rather than 2EQ)version of Audyssey.

I've purchased 2 items from 6ave and had great luck, plus normally if you mention your a member of AVSforum they usually give you a little more off the already great price.