Round Up - 5 Best AV Receivers Under $600

When looking for AV receivers, the amount of choices can be daunting.  Mid range receivers offer solid to sometimes great performance for a price that won't put you in debt.  I rounded up the top 5 mid range receivers so you don't have to.  You can thank me later.

Round Up - 5 Best AV Receivers Under $600

  

 

Up first we have the Denon Avr-1910 which is priced at $550.  Denon is known for making very good mid to high range receivers.  The 1910 is no exception and has a excellent feature set.  The 7.1, 90 watt per channel receivers main draw is it's excellent analog to 1080p video conversion.  Around back you will find 4 hdmi 1.3 ports, along with 2 component inputs, 2 SPDIF, 2 coaxial, and more analog inputs then you will probably ever need.  It has Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD master audio decoding, along with a host of other common codecs.  The 1910 isn't perfect however, noted for having a very lackluster menu system and just average sound quality.  Check it out

Up next we have the Harman Kardon AVR 2600.  Known for there sound quality, there newest line of receivers is no exception.  Barely making the $600 dollar cut, the 2600 is a pretty sweet package.  It's feature set includes Dolby True HD, DTS-HD master audio, 4 hdmi ports, 2 SPDIF and 3 coaxial connectors.  At 65w per channel, some people may think that this would be underpowered, but Harman Kardon has always given their receivers much more accurate wattage ratings.  The 2600 maintains the sleek curves and simplicity of the HK lines, with the glowing volume ring intact.  The GUI is the same excellent user friendly system from their previous line, and the video upscaling remains excellent.  The knock on HK products in the past has been there tendency to be a bit buggy at times, but from the reports so far this seems to be a quality performer. Check it out.
 



 Our third receiver on the list is the Pioneer 1019.  This highly rated system, while only 5.1 offers up 120watts per channel.  The 1019 has all of the newer audio codecs including TrueHD and DTS-HD.  This receiver has been touted for having excellent audio quality and solid video upconversion.  It's connections include 4 hdmi inputs along with 2 component, 2 coaxial, 2 optical, a host of various analong inputs.  This package can be had for around $500, making it a great buy as long as you don't want a 7.1 capable receiver.  Check it out





The Marantz NR1501 comes in at number four.  This slimline receiver is a step away from the normal offerings by Marantz.  It is also the cheapest receiver they sell  at $599.  The Dimensions (17.4″W x 4.2″H x 14.5″D) are what set it apart from other full sized AV receivers.  It still offers the excellent sound we have come to expect from Marantz.  With its 7.1 channels at 50watts each, it has clearly not been designed to power huge speakers.  It is fully featured however, with Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD master audio.  If music is your thing, this is an excellent choice, not to say it doesn't handle movies well too because it does.  It has 4 hdmi inputs, and 3 component video inputs.  Which should be plenty , and is more HD inputs then any of the other products in the group except for the Onkyo below.  All in all this is a great little package for anyone look for audiophile level performance at a mid range price.  Check it out

Last but not least we have the Onkyo TX-SR607.  Priced around $450 this receiver has several innovative features including Dolby Pro Logic IIz.  Which adds two speakers in the front about your main left and right channel to add some staging or power to your music/movies.  It also has six, that's right six hdmi inputs!  It offers 7.1 channels at 90watts per, along with the newer HD audio codecs.  Now i know i know your thinking, why is this not ranked number 1.  while the receivers audio quality is excellent, it's video is where things start to get a little squirly.  The 607 can pass through 1080p, but can only upconvert signals to 1080i.  The upconversion has also been reportedly pretty terrible, putting artifacts and in some cases even black bars on the edges.  So if you are just passing the video signal through this is an excellent receiver.  If you need video conversion then you might want look elsewhere.  Check it out