A\V Reciever.

millerm277

I happen to be in need of a cheap new one. ($200 max). My 20-30 something year old Yamaha reciever is slowly losing the right channel, and I'm looking for something to replace it, and hopefully simplify my wiring to my projector a bit (by handling the video as well)

Browsing JR.com for a few minutes turned up this, the specs look like what I'm looking for, anyone have any suggestions?

http://www.jr.com/sony/pe/SON_STRDG520/

BlackKoala

You don't want to post this here...

You honestly don't.

wafflesomd

Sony looks nice, but I've never used any Sony electronics.

I like Yamaha's receivers more though. I like the user interface the best out of any of the famous brands.

http://www.jr.com/yamaha/pe/YAM_RXV363BL/

WmAx

I have checked out that Sony before in stores. It is average quality build/construction for the price range. Also, Sony receivers do not usually measure well, unless it is the Sony ES (Sony's high end) line. But you can do much, much better for the same price range as that low end Sony you linked:

The best deal running I know of is factory refurbished Onkyo SR505 receivers. These things are made far better than the Sony(and most other comparably priced units) in every possible way.

You can get them for $150.00:

Black:
http://www.accessories4less.com/make...r-BLACK/1.html

Silver:

http://www.accessories4less.com/make...-SILVER/1.html

The Onkyo is unusually high quality for this price range. It has very good quality amplifiers, and you can be sure it will come very close to manufacturer specs when measured in 3rd party analysis, and the front is made of thick solid aluminum, and this gives it a much higher quality presence, as compared virtually most others in the price range, using low quality/cheap looking plastic construction.

I have used the above website, and this is why I recommend them, as well as they are also authorized Onkyo resellers, so you have full factory warranty support for your item(s). They have 1st rate customer service, as I have had problems with some products I have purchased from them before. They go out of their way to resolve issues - and they do what they say they will - unlike many other retailers that just tell you lies to get you off of the phone. You can also buy directly from Onkyo's USA web site; they often have the SR505 up for sale refurbished. It may even be cheaper than $150, as they often give a 1st time customer additional discount. However, be warned that Onkyo's customer service is known to be horrible when it comes to problems with their gear. If you use the authorized dealer I recommended above, they dealer will go out of their way to directly negotiate with the manufacturer and get things done, where as the manufacturer may ignore you on a personal basis. This is the same situation I had - and accesorries4less directly contacted higher ups and got my situation resolved quickly when the manufacturer basically ignored me directly.

-Chris

Blazin Trav

Check my response on the 'forum that must not be named' ... Yahama, Denon or Onkyo are good brands. I have plenty of bad stories about Sony audio. Also I would get new over refurbished with low end, but not necessarily with high end.

WmAx

Why is this? If it is factory refurbished(as opposed to some 3rd party refurbishment, and not sold with a factory warranty), then it is likely better than new in terms of reliability, as a factory/manufacturer refurbished unit has likely been through more extensive quality control/testing procedures before it is packaged and released for sale.

-chris

Shauk

in before obskvsumthinorother!

/ninjavanish

millerm277

Both the Onkyo and the Yamaha look good to me. I might be leaning towards the Onkyo, as it's got the S-video ports on it.

Blazin Trav

factory refurbished doesn't mean much to me as i haven't had good luck with those either (in terms of reliability)... despite what propaganda the company has told you about factory refurbished products.

BlackKoala

Propaganda?

Umm yeah... I know of several people who've bought factory refurbished products, all were completely clean inside and out and worked flawlessly. They actually do test them thoroughly and make sure they're up to retail standards, it's not just BS they spout.

But I guess if you truly believe that all the companies are lying to the consumers, I heard they found bigfoot!

Blazin Trav

yeah i guess you could take it either way since it was my OPINION and not necessarily something to completely deter using refurbished goods... but to expect that a refurb is going to last as long as a new product or be as reliable is laughable.

also take note i said that in jest... nevermind... if refurb and new is the same price at the $200 pricepoint why the hell would you buy refurbished? Yeah... you make a lot of sense in the context mentioned.

WmAx

Are you serious? How is going to last less time than a 'new' product? Do you think they purposely hide half-broken parts inside on purpose as part of a conspiracy?

I own a very large number of factory refurbished products, as well as many bought as 'new' items, staring since the mid to late 90's, and nearly all of them look like new inside and out, with NO evidence of ever even being used(inspecting things like dust on interior of vented items, micro scratches on polished acrylic surfaces/displays, rub marks/wear on plastic or rubber feet, ect.). I have not had refurbished equipment fail any more often than new equipment. In fact, refurbished gear has been better IME. I have only had one defect in a refurbished gear(a defect motor on a high end turn table which was promptly fixed under warranty), but I have had several bought as 'new' gear items fail over the years: a Pioneer A/V receiver, a Yamaha DVD/SACD 5 Disc Changer, a Sony DiscMan, a Behringer microphone, a Sony VCR Remote, A Pioneer Magazine Disc Changer(still works, but makes squeaking sound in main platter bearing), a high end Sony MDR-CD3000 headphone(drivers still work, headband broke despite careful treatment), a Wester Digital MyBook drive, an ABIT IS7 motherboard(poor solder joints - ports keep failing as a result - also very low quality fan that failed every few months).

-Chris

department76

in terms of quality of all areas, i think everything will be about the same at that price range. just get whichever has the inputs you need and the looks you like.

millerm277

That's what I figured, I wanted to make sure before I spent the money. (I've got a better Denon set-up upstairs, this is in the basement.)

WmAx

I don't know of any range of products, where "everything will be about the same at that price range" is true as a rule. You can always find stand out products that offer certain features ahead of most. In the case of the refurbished Onkyo 505 recommended, it is a stand out in terms or amplifier quality(the SR*05 line measures excellent in 3rd party testing) and in fit and finish, which is far higher than others in this price range. Not many at this level are using substantial solid metal fronts. Cheap plastic molded with simulated metal brush lines in it is par for the course in this price range. Also, the unit has individually configurable crossover points for the different speaker channels, along with a wide variability of frequency to choose from(many lower cost units are severely limited in this respect).

-Chris

obobskivich

refurb or thrift stores, lol, the 505 that's been suggested is good


a note on thrift stores, make sure you do a little research on vintage-esque stuff, or at least just buy a brand that you know (like Onkyo or Technics), sometimes you get really lucky with thrift stores, sometimes not so much

yamaha, as has been said, is awesome (i'm kind of a Yamaha fanboy, lol)

and with Sony, "ES is generally best", although i've seen a few units that are non-ES that perform well (think about ES like Pioneer's Elite series, the top of the line non-Elite units aren't bad, but the Elite units generally clean up when it comes to quality/features (they also cost, a lot more))

so basically, i'd be partial to yamaha if I were buying new, but new will get you nothing special (even from Yamaha, because in the $200 range, its the HTR series, which is kind of dinky vs the RX- series (or the Hi-Fi stuff)) refurb and used you can find quite a few good deals from Onkyo, Harman/Kardon (they sell refurb direct on their website (just browse around for it at harmankardon.com, its the Harman/JBL/Infinity Sys/etc vendor, and they do a lot of refurb)) theres also Sony that will be pretty common used, just do your homework before buying Sony products (same is true for Technics, both Sony and Technics have made some amazing products over time, but they've also made some fairly crappy products over time)

its obobskivich
and ctrl+c can be your friend

obobskivich

which post are you talking about? and if you're asking about my post, i have no idea what you're asking, rephrase or add the quote to your post maybe?

Auzner

These are useless posts. The posts are useless because they have no usefulness, so that makes them useless. Pretty useless. Definitely, yeah definitely, definitely...

So in those other threads it was about Behringer, but I guess we're all about used Onkyos now. I think Onkyo is great, the one I use is solid and does everything but DVI/HDMI. They also have nice remote controllers. Dell sent me a $500 refurb monitor, I could have sworn it was new just without cables, oh well I have like 10 of every cable there is. There are standards to refurbs, getting a ****ty refurb means some idiot on ebay doesn't know how to label an item used and was lying. Refurbished is like saying there's no guarantee you'll get the pretty box and 100% of the accessories, but you'll get a working unit with a full warranty. Of course if you buy it at Fry's that's a huge risk, Fry's is another one to ruin the image of refurbs.

wafflesomd

Wow, I just replied to the wrong thread.

obobskivich

hahahahahaha
ok, as long as we establish that you weren't talking about games or whatever in this thread, and hoping the rest of us knew what was going on, we're on the same page

and don't worry, it happens to the best of us sometimes