Matt said:

If Denons produce a better bass sound, and Yamaha have a better surround
processor, are there any of the same comparisions that can be made with the
low end Onkyo and Harmon Kardon receivers? Since the other 2 mentioned here
have areas that they are better at, I was just wondering if these 2 brands
have a "trademark" area.

My comment about the bass response and surround processing was a
subjective opinion, not a well-known fact. Same for the other guy
who agreed with me. Personally, I'd favor the Denon on just those
two characteristics, but there are probably other factors you value.

That said, my experience with inexpensive HK receivers is they sound
"soft", i.e. much less chance of a glassy or tinkly sound in high
frequencies. Also, I've found that deep bass that sounds jarring on
some systems is also a little softer with an HK. However..... it's
been at least 2 years since I spent any time with one.

No opinion about Onkyos.

P.S. My strongest opinion is to ignore everything you hear from
Sommerdork. He's a twerp, an ideologue, and a total git. His claim
that Yamahas have a bad rep is a case in point. They don't have a
bad rep; quite the reverse.