What av amp/receiver for £200ish

[Stubby Pete]

Looking for a recommendation for a fairly cheap replacement amp. I currently have a Harmon Kardon AVR155 which was excellent until it lost the front right channel. I've tried a couple of places for repair (out of warranty) and no-one can source the parts.

I run a 5.1 Kef sub/sat system with "Eggs" and an active sub. I like the sound and really like the small inobtrusive speakers so won't be changing them for a while.

I have three HDMI inputs to the amp, using it to switch outputs to the screen. Currently using a combination of coax and optical connections.

A quick look on the Richer Sounds site has found:
Sony STRDH820
Yamaha RXV373
Onkyo TXSR309

Any suggestions or recommendations gratefully recieved.

[gbbird]

All much of a muchness really, but Onkyo often come out as the pick of the bunch. I purchased a £200 onkyo amp about 3 years ago. Still going strong and i have absolutely no need to replace, and when i do it will be with another onkyo

[Some Gump]

Op, i'm suprised you can't repair.
Try harman direct, 01727 278 100.

If i were in your shoes, on eggs i'd get something more oomphy from ebay for peanuts, not another little amp with lots of features. In the harman range of that era, the "right" amp for eggs was the 355, if you can get something that sort of spec amp wise, and your eggs will sound better than you've ever heard em before

[heisthegaffer]

I'd have a look here:-

http://www.avforums.com/forums/amplifier-receiver-...

Me personally, I'd avoid Sony (purely because I have had good and bad experiences with Sony equipment whereas I'm on my 3rd Yamaha amp with only very positive experiences). A friend has had a couple of Onkyos blow on him and they run very hot, maybe he's not allowing sufficient cooling or whatever, I don't know.

There's a nice Denon on there and a Pioneer. Another mate swears by Pioneer and has found them perfectly reliable.

[Grumpy old git]

heisthegaffer said:

I'd have a look here:-

http://www.avforums.com/forums/amplifier-receiver-...

Me personally, I'd avoid Sony (purely because I have had good and bad experiences with Sony equipment whereas I'm on my 3rd Yamaha amp with only very positive experiences). A friend has had a couple of Onkyos blow on him and they run very hot, maybe he's not allowing sufficient cooling or whatever, I don't know.

There's a nice Denon on there and a Pioneer. Another mate swears by Pioneer and has found them perfectly reliable.

Just to add some balance I've had the same Sony amp for 10 years, it's used daily and is still flawless, admittedly mine was top of the range at the time, however my dad has had the budget Sony amp for the same period, it's survived a move to Spain in the back of a Land Rover, is constantly covered in dust and his cat regularly sleeps on the top of it and it still works perfectly.

I've been looking at the cheap Sony at Richer as I want the hdmi switching, th-e only thing stopping me is my love for my existing Sony amp :-)

[heisthegaffer]

Grumpy old git said:

heisthegaffer said:

I'd have a look here:-

http://www.avforums.com/forums/amplifier-receiver-...

Me personally, I'd avoid Sony (purely because I have had good and bad experiences with Sony equipment whereas I'm on my 3rd Yamaha amp with only very positive experiences). A friend has had a couple of Onkyos blow on him and they run very hot, maybe he's not allowing sufficient cooling or whatever, I don't know.

There's a nice Denon on there and a Pioneer. Another mate swears by Pioneer and has found them perfectly reliable.

Just to add some balance I've had the same Sony amp for 10 years, it's used daily and is still flawless, admittedly mine was top of the range at the time, however my dad has had the budget Sony amp for the same period, it's survived a move to Spain in the back of a Land Rover, is constantly covered in dust and his cat regularly sleeps on the top of it and it still works perfectly.

I've been looking at the cheap Sony at Richer as I want the hdmi switching, th-e only thing stopping me is my love for my existing Sony amp :-)

Fair enough mate - there's probably some bloke cursing Yamaha amps right as well!

[nickfrog]

You can't go wrong with any of them really. I went for the Sony 820 2 weeks ago and I am really impressed with it actually, a bit more power and it has auto-calibration which the 309 doesn't have I don't think. RS tried very hard to make me go for the Yam as they make more money out of it I assume.
The Sony has 2 sub connections which in my case might prove useful for a second sub. It's 7.1 so you can also bi-amp front speakers.
You can get a £10 voucher by suscribing to RS VIP thingy.