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eCost.com has the refurbished Onkyo TX-SR605 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver for $260 + $29 shipping = $289 shipped. [BizRate]
90 Watts per Channel to 7 Channel Surround, AM/FM Radio Tuner
Preprogrammed Remote Control, iPod playthrough option, XM Ready, HDMI
Excellent receiver. Have one. Love it.
Question for those that may have already made the choice.
I want to get a new Receiver to take advantage of the Blu-Ray's HD audio(True Dolby, DTS MA, etc). Since I am a ghetto dog and want most bang for the few bucks I have. What would be the best receiver for the money. New or Reburbed does not matter to much unless New is only a few bucks more than the refurbed, then I will go new.
The Choices are:
Onkyo TX-SR605
Onkyo TX-SR705
Yamaha RX-V663
All can be had for $300 - $500 give or take a little. I know new Onkyo's get 2 year warranties versus the 1 year on the deal above.
What would you buy if you were/are in the market for a new HD receiver? Seriously, thanks for your input.
#2, I vote for Onkyo TX-SR705.
#2, if you need a 3rd HDMI in, go with the 705. It's in your price range brand new. (See above)
I got a 605, but if you can afford a 705 then spring for it.
The extra HDMI ports and 1080p upscaling over hdmi (the 605 caps out at 720p from component to HDMI, 1080p passthru from hdmi to hdmi) will make it future proof for years to come.
Read up on the SR-606. JR.com has it for $450 on preorder. http://www.onkyousa.com/model.cfm?m=TX-SR606&class=Receiver&p=i
* HDMI v1.3a Repeater (4 inputs, 1080P compatible)
* HDMI Video Upconversion
* 1080i Upscaling powered by Faroudja DCDi Edge
* TrueHD, DTS-HD Decoding
#5, 705 does not upconvert to 1080p, only 720p. In this respect new gen Onkyo's are better since they upconvert to 1080i and TV processes signal to 1080p.
Oops doubleposted!
Don't buy this from eCost. You'll have immediate buyers remorse when the pre-broken item arrives at your home and eCost refuses to issue an RMA.
According to avsforum, the 605 can't take a 5.1 pcm signal (like from ps3) and matrix it out to 7.1 speakers. The two rear back surrounds would get no signal. Depends if you are a purist or want to use all 7.1 speakers.
The 705 and new 606 can. Still a great deal.
#1 it really depends on what you are going to be hooking up to this. If you have any 1080i sources that have to run over component you may want to be aware that this will downconvert them to 720p if you send it out over HDMI. For that matter anything you convert from composite, s-video, or component can only be sent out at up to 720p. Also, this cannot take a 5.1 PCM input and apply ProLogic II to take advantage of the 7.1 speakers. The higher models can.
I would recommend picking up the 606 instead as it has the same MSRP of $499 and will eventually have refurbs offered around the same price.
I've heard alot of bad comments about ecost. Are they a nightmare to deal with?
Yahh, don't go with any thing that doesn't have Prologic IIx. It makes a huge different in movies that only has 5.1 or even high quality 2.1 signal. It will split off the signal and distribute the ambient/surround audio to the surrounds speakers and give you that simulated 7.1 audio. I have a Denon 2808 at home and always using prologic IIx with all my movies
I'll never buy from eCost again. A lot of refurbished items and their return policy is a nightmare. You have to order a new product first...which means place another order. If you get multiple defective items in a row like I did, you have to buy 3+ of the one item... it's like digging yourself deeper into a hole. Issueing an RMA number takes weeks, getting a refund even longer. I currently have 2 disputes on my credit card with these guys from a single product.