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Picking a mid-tier HT receiver for optimal audio

Budget won't allow for separates for a while, but in the next few months I may upgrade my HTIB Onkyo 7.1 100w/ch receiver (which sounds surprisingly good btw).

As long as it gets the basic job done on 7.1 HT duty, I'm not too concerned about HT features (I let my TV do the HDMI switching, for instance). I'm looking to get the absolute most out of the audio quality, since this is also my primary 2-channel listening system.

The systems I've been looking at so far include:

Denon 3806
Outlaw 1070
Sherwood Newcastle R985
NAD T773

I'd love to hear some recommendations for a system that will give me great sounding audio in this range...

Thanks!

fwiw the rest of my setup:

Audionote DAC 1.1
Amphion Argon front l/r
Gallo Nucleus surrounds
joncourage
summitav
163 posts
 
Did you mean the R965 or the R865?

I have used both
joncourage OP
185 posts
 
Guess I meant the R965.... whoops.

How about thoughts on:

Arcam
Anthem
Marantz

relative to the ones previously mentioned...???

Any clear leaders for 2-ch audio in the group?
stearnsn
89 posts
 
I have a Boston Acoustics AVR-7120 (same as the Sherwood) and it has proven to be very nice in many ways. The USB input is nice too.
rottweiler
21 posts
 
I think a used rotel 1056 for 800-900 or the NAD will be solid for audio performance.
joncourage OP
185 posts
 
Because I can't audition easily, based on the various online reviews and what I've read here and elsewhere, I'm starting to focus my search on (used):

Arcam AVR300 and the NAD T773.

I'd still consider the Outlaw 1070 and Marantz 8500 if I came across an exception deal, but it seems the quality on the Arcam and NAD consistently get rated just a bit higher.

So now, I guess it boils down to locating a good deal and pulling the trigger. Wish I had a way to compare these models directly.
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