A/V reciever advice


Hello,
I just finished building an office in the basement and looking for an AV receiver. What this will be connected to is my PC, and Satellite receiver, TV and a 5.1 system of speakers. The Speakers are nothing special, 4 in Ceiling speakers and 2 In wall Speakers a sub and a Center channel. The ceiling speakers have two different configurations, depending on if i am watching TV or using the PC (Mainly Gaming and iTunes). I do not want to spend a a lot on the receiver at most 500 since this is not my main system.

The probelem is there are so many brands out there and some of the brands I am familiare with the quality was gone down.
For my main system I have Denon A/V reciever, Anthem Amp, and Paradigm Speakers. But I have heard the Denon's quality has gone down. If not Then I will stick with Denon.

The brands I am familiar with are Yamaha, Onkyo, Denon, NAD, Sony.

So looking for advice on these brands and other that might fit the criteria.

Thanks.
iahawk
I just bought a Yamaha DSP A-1 (gold w/wood sides) from another online site. I really didn't need it but... anyway, I bought it. It's like new and included the manual and remote in mint condition. The point is that technology has moved very fast and many owners of quality receivers have felt the need to upgrade due to simple connection issues, i.e. component video, HDMI, USB, etc. Let there loss be your gain and buy one used. I recommend Yamaha and Marantz, and especially the gold (champagne) colored ones. They will sound good when you listen and look good when you don't. Just be sure to demo it before you hand over the money.
Yeah to me, with any average in ceiling/wall speaker system, I think simple and reliable, with latest is fine. I'd look for deals on used, couple/few year old -but still relevant -Yamaha, Marantz, Pioneer, or Harman Kardon. And Problably, I'd recommend the Yammi or Pioneer, based on past experience with simplicity of use and descent built.
I would concur, that my last couple Denon's had problems, that weren't so prevalent some 15 years ago. Still, I loved the sound for the money.
Yamaha has been getting good reviews. They seem to have better than average sound quality, good reliability, and decent ease of use. If they have the features you need I'd go that way, and if you upgrade your center or other speakers at some point you might appreciate the sound quality.
I have a new Denon.....so I don't know about its longevity, however, I delighted with its performance, ease of setup, and capabilities.

Denon AVR X3100 W
I'm ready to pull the trigger on Motiva. Looks up to speed with tomorrows tech. AMB Danmar