Need quick help on final AVR decision

SR707 or AVR2319CI.

Those will give you the best bang for buck.

What are your main speakers?

ROHfan wrote: »

My mains are Polk R50s but I will eventually upgrade to TSi's in the future and put the R50s in the rear. I'm looking for warm, natural sound in an AVR but can't decide. I was leaning towards the HK but the others' features are hard to ignore. I guess my biggest consideration is sound quality.

Looking for warm, I would say HK or Denon but I have never heard the particular models you are looking at. Go for the features you need, with some thought of future growth in mind. Sounds like you are doing your research so see if any of those have a large amount of negative comments. There are probably some unhappy owners of all, but the internet being what it is, you will be more likely to find the negative stuff than the positive, so unless you see a large trend take those with a grain of salt. Good luck and enjoy the rest of your Christmas.

ROHfan wrote: »

At this point it's down to the Denon AVR-791 and the HK. The Denon has more bells and whistles like the GUI and the video upconversion but to keep the price in range I'd have to get the refurbished model.

Don't let the fact it's a refurb disuade because I've owned a H/K 635 for 4 years with zero issues except the remote seemed to have problems that I later discovered were batter related. If I had a recommendation I would say refurb over new more times than not because refurbs have their common problems fixed before you ever get them.

I have an HK stereo receiver and a Denon AVR-2807...and frankly, I don't find the HK that much 'warmer' than the Denon, and I thought that I would? (since the 2807 there have been the 2808, 2809, 2810, and the 3311 (they discontinued the 2800 series and the 3311 is the lowest model that has the pre-outs now).

I bought mine as a Demo for less than half price 3 or 4 years ago and its performed flawlessly! As mentioned above, Denons seem to sound good with a number of different speaker brands. Nothing has been bad on it!

I think the HK is similar. Surprisingly, though, I've found the Denon to be warmer on some speakers than the HK stereo receiver? WUWT?

cnh

If the funds allow, SC 27. The owner replaced it with the gorgeous SC-09, my goodness I'd love to own that bad boy.

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?miscrcvr&1295743540&/Pioneer-Elite-SC-27-3-year-ext

I'd go for the Onkyo 707 myself. Onkyo's just have a much smoother and more natural, realistic sound to my ears.

stangjason wrote: »

How do these receivers compare as far as power and sound quality to the H/K AVR 635? I'm considering an upgrade but I don't want to sacrifice power or sound quality just for HDMI or the latest bells and whistles.

I'd take an Onkyo over an HK any day of the week. I've listened to numerous HK receivers, and I've never really been too impressed with them. They're decent receivers, but I've never heard the warmth and musicality from them that some people refer to. To my ears, Onkyo's are generally much more musical and more balanced. HK's are definitely "warm" sounding...if that's what you want to call it. To my ears it wasn't so much warmth, as muddy, inaccurate coloration though. Onkyo's have a very warm tone, but are much more balanced sounding overall.

Denon's are very nice receivers too...but I've found that with Denon you end up paying extra for a lot of different bells and whistles that, odds are, you'll never end up even using. That said, the 2319 would be my second choice after the Onk' 707.

FWIW, I'd recommend stepping up to the Onkyo 807 if you can swing a little extra coin. It shouldn't really cost much more than an extra $100 or so.