Yeah, plus that Sonos box is a ridiculous $500. Makes the Q seem like a steal considering all the additional stuff it does.

Ahh, then perhaps you'd like the bottom-of-the-line Onkyo HT-RC460?



Seven channels of real beefy terminals, eight HDMI inputs (one in front), two HDMI outputs, and they even have room equalization. All that, and more, for the really quite remarkably low price of $250. So tell me again why somebody might want to buy a $2000 receiver?

Anyway, since I'm apparently on a roll here, one other gadget caught my eye. Samsung makes a $600 receiver with integrated Bluray player -- probably a good thing if you're setting up a home theater for somebody who hates boxes.

Otherwise, it seems the world of the low-cost receiver has contracted remarkably. Back in the day, you had tons of vendors competing to sell craptastic receivers. If you go to a place like Crutchfield, you won't see much at all at low prices beyond what used to be the second-tier fancy vendors (Onkyo, Yamaha, Denon), who have apparently moved down as others have abandoned the market segment. (Notably unfortunate: Panasonic used to make some great, low-cost receivers with class-D amplifiers. Gone.)

It's all very sad.

I happen to have just purchased a Yamaha RX-A3020 for a friend of mine. The primary reason is the 4 zones with Zone 2 & 3 being amplified. The other option would have been a cheaper multi-zone receiver without built-in amplification. Once you add an external amp to the mix, the price gets up there along with the operational complexity.

Other plusses to the Yamaha are built-in AirPlay support and an app for iOS and Android that looks nifty.

Playing with other people's money is fun.

Where is that machine sold for USD$250 ?

Edit: I see it on Amazon.com (USA) for $300, domestic shipping included. But not (new) for $250 anywhere.