J Antero wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...

J Antero wrote:
I know this is like inviting flames, but what are the best receiver(s) in
the below $150 price zone?

Looking at the following, I see plenty of new and refurbished receivers
well within your price range:

http://www.jr.com/JRSectionView.proc...amount&N=10946

I haven't heard any of them, but I assume they'd all work fine for your
needs. You could just shop by features. I might go with an Onkyo,
because that's a popular brand.

I'd be tempted to get one of the refurbished Onkyo Dolby 5.1 receivers
for $100 shown at the above. You could use that for a stereo receiver
now, then use that for a Dolby 5.1 home theater system later, if you
ever decide you want to do that.

I've bought several things from J&R over the years and never had any
problems with that dealer.

Another question: What brand of CD or DVD player do you have?

I ask because some brands have special features that make most gear
from their brands operate in convenient ways. For example, if you have
all Sony gear connected with the Sony S-Link feature, you can press
"Play" on your CD or DVD player or remote control and all the Sony gear
will automatically power up and switch to the correct settings. JVC,
Pioneer, Onkyo (I think), and other brands have similar systems. They
all work only within each brand.

Stereo or Dolby receivers?

I have stereo speakers on hand, but my next question thread was going to be
about speakers - the ones I'm using now are late '70s Marantz "4G's".

I'm not familiar with these, but generally speaking, newer speakers are
much, much better than older speakers from the 1970's.

Also, on many older speakers, the foam surrounds around each speaker
driver have rotted and fallen apart. If you pull off your speaker
grilles and have that problem, it'll be easy to see.

Any competent repairman can fix this, but it'll cost some money and may
not be worthwhile for older speakers.

What is your speaker budget? Generally speaking, speakers make the
biggest difference in sound quality, so it's best to put the largest
part of your budget towards speakers.

Of course, if you prefer your Marantz speakers, keep on using 'em.

New and/or used?

Open to either. Let's say something that has a high probability of working
for a minimum of 5 years.

Most any receiver should last that long or much longer. BTW, another
tip when buying new gear is to check with your credit-card company and
ask about extended warranties. Some credit-card companies will
automatically double the warranty on anything you buy with your credit
card.