Personally, I prefer to do business with real Hi-Fi shops and avoid big box retailers all-together. This isn't some audiophile snob reaction, but out of support for the guys who know and care about good sound. I'd like to see them around for the next generation of guys who care about sound.

Since you have a Circuit City in your location I am also assuming you have at least one good Hi-Fi shop. Do yourself (and everyone else) a favor by giving them a call before you throw down money on generic electronics that will likely be wasted on the fine speakers you are considering.

Seriously, at least hear good sound once in your life and let that determine who deserves your money.

If you shop, you can buy a lot of Denon for $600.00. The 2805 & 3805 provide a lot of bang for the buck. Although I have not been a fan of Yamaha, there is the new Yamaha RX V657 in that price range which has garnered good reviews. All of these models I believe would provide far superior audio quality than the Onkyo or HK's.

RG

The HK is a fine stereo receiver. In fact that what's powering my Magnepan 1.6q speakers. In fact a similar model was c rated in the latest edition of stereophile.
In fact I have no qualms in recommending them over any other receiver.

Marantz makes a very nice two channel only receiver in this price range. Not a lot of bells and whistles, but very good sound. I have observed that the few remaining two channel receivers tend to be very good values. Not long ago they would have been at the top of the line costing much more. Since surround has taken over,two channel receivers are not as expensive since they are no longer in vogue. They have inherited much of the technology found in higher priced products. The new Outlaw receiver looks great. Sherwood-Newcastle makes a good product. HK, Denon, NAD and Yamaha also produce very nice sounding receivers and have sounded impressive when I have auditioned them with a wide variety of speakers.Hey, half the fun is going and listening and finding the one you like the best. It was good to see Stereophile give the HK receiver a good rating. Perhaps they should look as some other less expensive two channel receivers.They may be surprised at what they find. Good luck!

The Denon's have a sub out which can be very nice if you use bookshelf speakers and later want to add some real bass.

Hi, I'll give an internet answer.

Head over to Audio Advisor, Music Direct, Audiogon, or Ebay (watch for an Ebay pro seller with lots of feedback, or go right to the Harmon/Infinity auctions at Ebay where the manufacturer sells) and look for a model going into liquidation for change of model year or change of model number and get whichever known brand has the features you like.

I think you'd be hard pressed to find a large margin of difference between Marantz, Onkyo, Denon, or Harmon, or some of the other mainstream manufacturers in your price range.

This is one time where your desired features will probably make a bigger difference than the sound between those receivers.

I'd also recommend looking at a brand called Newcastle, they are made by Sherwood and seem to offer good features at that price point.

I've bought from Harmon at Ebay, Audio Advisor, Music Direct, Audiogon, and other places and had great experiences.

Check these for being stone cold bargains, right from Harmon!

If this one stays at the 600 dollar mark, please buy it!
http://cgi.ebay.com/Harman-Kardon-AVR-7200-7-1-Channel-Receiver-DTS-Dolby_W0QQitemZ5843135055QQcategoryZ39794QQcmdZViewItem

Here's some others:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Harman-Kardon-AVR-635-7-1-Home-theater-receiver_W0QQitemZ5843792361QQcategoryZ67799QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Harman-Kardon-AVR-630-7-1-Receiver-DTS-Dolby-Digital_W0QQitemZ5842301347QQcategoryZ39794QQcmdZViewItem

Here's a link to all the current receivers being sold by Harmon:

http://stores.ebay.com/Harman-Audio_Harman-Kardon_W0QQcolZ2QQdirZQ2d1QQftidZ2QQtZkm

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I bought some Infinity Intermezzo 2.6's for almost free and I love the service, warranty, and quality I received through Harmon.

I can't say enough about how positively I regard their Ebay sales.

QM,
I second Monty's advice to talk to an independent audio store owner. They are much more experienced and can get you very nice sounding products. I would urge you to consider looking at an possibly buying an integrated amplifier and sticking with stereo rather than wasting money on inferior surround sound stuff. Integrated amplifiers are typically much better sounding and often more reliable than receivers, especially the surround sound type. Another great feature is the lack of features! You might not understand that at first, but the less garbage there is on the unit, the less the signal passes through and thus the cleaner the sound, and they are much easier to operate. Many customers report frustration with surround receiver's complexity and many of their wives who simply want to be able to turn it on and use it andre angered by how stupidly complex they are and that they cannot even operate them. Lastly, you get three times the quality from stereo as you do from a six channel system for the same money. Do the math, you only need two speakers vs six, two channels of amplification vs six. So for the same price as a mediocre 6 channel system, you can get a very nice 2 channel system. If music is important to you, this will pay off big time. The same is true for speaker brands. Don't be sold on a big brand name at a big store so easily. At least go and listen to a few speakers and amps at a local independant shop and you will be pleased by what you hear!
-Bill

Quote:
If you shop, you can buy a lot of Denon for $600.00. The 2805 & 3805 provide a lot of bang for the buck. Although I have not been a fan of Yamaha, there is the new Yamaha RX V657 in that price range which has garnered good reviews. All of these models I believe would provide far superior audio quality than the Onkyo or HK's.

RG

I have to second that recommendation - my Denon AVR 483 has impressed many a music lover. I like the way the circuit can disable tone controls. Should be a solid performer. I also like Onkyo's units and Yamaha's but, I find their offerings to be geared more towards movies than music. Denon's more expensive offerings have been reviewed as a viable alternative to separates.