I have a friend who, like me, is a total skin-flint/cheap skate/etc (we're both CPA's
).
Anyway, after much online research he purchased a panasonic reciever for a couple of Studio 20's he found on Audiogon. He'll never claim to be an audiophile type but he likes the performance of the unit. I can't comment on it since I haven't heard it either.
That being said, my opinion (not held by all) is that pretty much every receiver in the same price range will sound pretty much the same as any other receiver in the same price range. This assumes we're not talking about no-name brand receivers. Just find the feature set you like from one of the brands listed below and I think you're good to go.
Brands I'd look at:
- Yamaha
- Denon
- Onkyo
- Outlaw
- Pioneer
- Marantz
- Sherwood
- Panasonic
I'm sure there are others, but I can't think of any right now. The one brand I've had problems with in the past has been Harman Kardon. Very likely, just a fluke, but I've had 3 units fail me in the past.
JCD