# Need help finding a decent receiver for <350$



## Felras (May 1, 2017)

Hello everyone ! New user here.

As stated in the title, I'm in search of a decent receiver under 350$.
I currently have a LG BH6540T Home Audio System for my surround needs (Blu Ray Player + 5.1 Speakers), but it severely lacks in connections, with only 1xHDMI port and 1xOptical Port.
It was enough until now for my PS4 and PC, but I will soon add a Nintendo Switch or One S.

The receiver should have something like at least 4x HDMI ports (one being ARC capable), and 1x optical : I don't need other types of ports like RCA, none of my devices uses these. Support for 4k would also be a nice addition.

I've searched websites like Amazon and ebay and found a bunch of fairly good receivers for that price but with a lower watt per channel output than my current setup. According to this website : LG BH6540T,
my speakers support 167w per channel, but all the receivers I've found output only 75w-90w per channel. 
Will this be a problem ?


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## Caring1 (May 1, 2017)

If you are happy with your current Amplifier, add a HDMI switcher, to allow for more inputs.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0049S6ZUS/?tag=tec06d-20
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01L8LLP2G/?tag=tec06d-20
Just two examples from Amazon.


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## Deleted member 67555 (May 1, 2017)

I own this receiver...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CZW7OD6/?tag=tec06d-20

It's not top notch but it does sound good if you set it up manually.
I'm powering 2x 210 peak watt 8ohm, 3x 97 peak watt 8ohm surrounds plus a powered sub... Plays nice with the PS4, Xbone S, PC and a Android TV MiBox and it's HDMI 2.0 HDCP 2.2

The power specs for what you have now is PR bullshit....just saying

Oh and with the purchase of a decent 10" subwoofer for about $130 and you should be within budget
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002KVQBA/?tag=tec06d-20


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## WhiteNoise (May 3, 2017)

I have used HDMI switch boxes and they work fantastic. Much cheaper than buying a new receiver.


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## Deleted member 67555 (May 3, 2017)

He's not going to get the features he wants with 4k on the receiver he has on any HDMI 2.0 HDCP 2.2 certified switch...

With legal 4k absolutely everything has to be HDCP 2.2 unless you are willing to settle for really crappy Optical or RCA sound.


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## timta2 (May 3, 2017)

Felras said:


> Hello everyone ! New user here.
> According to this website : LG BH6540T,
> my speakers support 167w per channel, but all the receivers I've found output only 75w-90w per channel.
> Will this be a problem ?



Yeah, 167 watts at 10% Total Harmonic Distortion at 3 Ohms.  

You would have to put some effort into finding an inferior receiver or speakers. Wattage in this case means little, other than LG's marketing trying to convince you that it's much better and powerful than it really is (e.g., 1000 WATTS!). Wattage is not a measurement of sound quality and is easily manipulated for marketing products  to people who don't understand.  Most of the normal receivers, that you are looking at, are meant for driving an 8 ohm load with lower distortion and will outperform that LG unit by a mile. You also have to be careful, as a lot of receivers aren't made to drive anything less than a 4 or 6 ohm load. A lot of user's manuals will state that and that you might be voiding the warranty. 

My advice would be to junk that system or wait and save up until you can buy a receiver and some real speakers.


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## Deleted member 67555 (May 3, 2017)

Parts-express.com 
They have a solid staff to answer any questions you have....
Dayton Audio has some really good speakers for the price..


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## Felras (May 4, 2017)

Hello again everyone and thank you for taking the time to answer my post.
I apologize for the late reply, I went through some busy days.

Yes, I had a feeling the Wattage indicated on the pages I linked couldn't really be trusted, but I had to know for sure, hence my post.

I don't think HDMI switchers will work with my current setup : I'm actually already using an Optical switcher and I found that it can be a hassle to deal with at times, which is why I'm looking at receivers.

I plan to eventually replace that whole system as suggested above, but I'd prefer to proceed in steps if at all possible (need to watch those expenses !)

What you've all been writing basically is that I could buy pretty much any 5.1 receiver and it should work with the speakers I currently have (which I will eventually replace at some point in the future).
So, the Onkyo linked a few posts above, as well as the Denon S510BT , Marantz NR1504 , or that Harman Kardon 1510 , should work with my speakers right ?


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## Deleted member 67555 (May 4, 2017)

Just my honest opinion...
Denon, marantz and Harmon Kardon all make some of the best receivers.... Starting at $500 and up.

Yamaha and Onkyo however are fairly good for whatever price they are..

I think the sub you have is powered from the receiver whereas all the receivers you linked require a powered subwoofer..
So when you buy a receiver buy a sub too.

I don't think you will be disappointed with anything you linked or the Onkyo.... They are all in a different class than what you have and all of them will impress you...
And if they don't.. It's likely because of the speakers...


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## Vayra86 (May 4, 2017)

Felras said:


> Hello again everyone and thank you for taking the time to answer my post.
> I apologize for the late reply, I went through some busy days.
> 
> Yes, I had a feeling the Wattage indicated on the pages I linked couldn't really be trusted, but I had to know for sure, hence my post.
> ...



When it comes to the wattage of receivers, the best number you can extract is to just look at what the receiver typical draws from the wall socket, or the sizing of its power supply. Generally has about 10-20% overhead so reduce it by that much and divide by number of speakers at the recommended Ohm. This generally puts you very close to reality.

Another really easy way to 'rate' a receiver is its weight. Its a real basic way to measure quality, but with sound, size and weight matters.

Beyond that, unless you're an audiophile, almost every receiver can give you a flat EQ curve, which is ideally what you'd want, can always adapt to your personal taste from there. Brands don't really matter too much, all the big names are virtually identical in this price segment. That being said, I would avoid LG / Samsung altogether. I have good experiences with Harman Kardon (got an AVR137 that's been doing the work for over 16 years now!) and Onkyo, they're robust and do the job. Yamaha is very much all over the place. Marantz and Denon are generally a tad more expensive. Marantz tends to sound a bit 'warmer' than most other brands, Denon I have little exp. with.


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## Inle (May 29, 2017)

In case I'm not too late to the ball, I urge you to consider the Yamaha RX-V581:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01DUALKFK/?tag=tec053-21

I liked just about everything about it. And the "Titan" version looks like it could survive the Armageddon 

If you need a phono input, you'll have to go with RX-V681 though, which falls outside of your budget.


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## Konceptz (Jun 23, 2017)

jmcslob said:


> I own this receiver...
> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CZW7OD6/?tag=tec06d-20
> 
> It's not top notch but it does sound good if you set it up manually.
> ...



I second this. Whatever you do, don't get a HDMI switch, they are known to hinder audio/video quality. If your gonna spend the money, might as well get as future proofed as possible. I'm shopping for a receiver as well. I'm considering this one personally. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DMW90SA/?tag=tec06d-20


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## WhiteNoise (Jun 23, 2017)

He doesn't want an HDMI switch so no worries there. Though if you buy a good hdmi switch it works very well with no loss in visual or audio quality.


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## Jetster (Jun 23, 2017)

First are you in the  US?  Ask bumblebee


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