Recommendation for REALLY inexpensive receiver

Jaru:

The Class A/B/C/D amplifier design discussion is not one to get too worked up about, when considering an HT receiver. Essentially the designation refers to how the amplifier is "designed and works." What intrigued me about digital amplifiers is that they utilize digital crossovers ... ergo, they should be quieter. Plus they run much cooler ... which should lead to an amplifier that should last longer. This year, for example, Harman Kardon's TOTL HT receiver is a digital amp design. Good luck with whatever you decide. Regards, Rich.

I've had the Outlaw 1050 for well over a year and am still very satisfied. Their website currently shows that they have "B"-stock units available for $439 plus shipping. That would save you $60 off the regular "A"-stock price.

If your budget is really limited and the $500 is seriously stretching, there are other options. Out on ebay and here at Audiogon you can find new, refurbished, or used gear in your price range. Granted, it might not be brand spankin' new gear from Outlaw, Onkyo, or Denon, but you might be satisfied with something else if you're just getting started. Also, you could consider a receiver that is a little older and simply ProLogic (or digital ready) instead of having Dolby Digital or DTS decoding on-board. From just doing a brief scan on the receivers here, I note some receivers from Marantz, Yamaha, Denon, and Onkyo with the most expensive listed at $289.

I still stand by recommending the Outlaw 1050. If however, you could get into serious spousal trouble by spending that much (as I've almost done), then I think that you can still get a good used receiver on this site at a more comfortable price.

Chris

I owned a Denon AVR-3300 for about 2 years and sold it about 8 month ago for about the price you are looking to pay. For a receiver, I thought that it was pretty good (especially if you pick one up for $450).

What annoyed me most about the AVR-3300 was that damn fan that I could always hear. Now, my unit wasn't defective - the fan was operating as designed. I'm just hypersensitive to fan / background noise (I live about 8 miles north of the Dallas / Ft. Worth airport and the noise from the planes drives me mad).

Also, although it's rated at 105 watts per channel, you're only going to get about 80 usable before distortion really kicks in. I never really had a issue with that for movies, but if you drive the 5-channel stereo surround mode hard with music (especially with lots of bass), it begins to become more noticable.

I know that this sounds discouraging, but it really isn't meant to be. Like I said, for a $450 receiver, it's not a bad buy.

Would I take it over an Outlaw. Hmmmmmm. I don't know. I've never used the Outlaw, so it wouldn't be fair for me to say.

However, Outlaw has a 30 day money back guarantee. So my advice would be to go with the Outlaw, and if you decide you don't like it, send it back for a refund.

Just so you all know, I am still reading your comments, and I really appreciate them. Thank you. I am 99% sure I will be ordering an Outlaw 1050 within the next few days. Thanks again. Will

You could get a new Onkyo SR600 for $500 even. It has DTS ES Discrete, and Dolby Digital EX (not THX) with 80 watts by 6. My close friend bought one a few months back, and it sounds pretty good. Never heard the Outlaw though, but the Outlaw does not have DTS ES Discrete (at least).