Bought the TV - Surround Receiver just died :(

[The Law]

I like the setup microphone idea.  Use the same thing for eq-ing for our band.  Call it the Pink Noise of Death.

Are the ecost manuf. retreads reliable?

[gparris]

This brand has always been a pleaser, it is just a choice of what you like in terms of preference in control layout, asthetics and perceived value.

As far as the actual unit goes, there are sufficient connections for optical and coaxial digital inputs and it does have all the latest surround-field processing like Dolby Pllx for more an encompassing surround using a 7.1 setup.

I am not sure what the the component video switching is rated at, but I am certain this brand has it above the 35Mhz threshold....nice unit.

[The Law]

I am eyeing this up.  I can get a new one for $550 or a Manufacturer Refurb for $395.  I am unsure as to the reliability, etc. of a refurb.  Is this recommended or would the extra $150 for a new one be wiser?

[gparris]

Get it new and if there are any problems, you have the mfg. new warranty.
Circuit City has it on their website for sale for $449.95 - don't wait around and get it now (use in store pickup).

[The Law]

I ended up buying the TXSR702B instead for an extra $100 from onecall.com.   Should arrive next tues.

I am very stoked.  Now....on to replace the DVD player that she took......

[The Law]

If the receiver is THX certified - should the DVD player be, too?

[gparris]

Some might want to get one, but I never had felt the need.
A DVD player with Faroudja processing like some of us have in this forum such as the Denon 1910 offer superior performance and 720p/1080i upconversion with a DVI cable for under $249...I have one and it is excellent in terms of form and function.
Sony makes good players using their pure progressive de-interlacers, too.
Pioneer has a inexpensive one that does DVD-A and SACD for under $149 and I use that one for the sound discs alone, but has an excellent picture and sound for the price.
Hope this helps you "finalize" your new HT system.

[TPK]

Disclaimer:  This post might be slightly off topic...  I am only posting this here to follow up on an earlier post I made in this thread, as I figure it might interest some people reading this thread....  

Anyhow, I ordered the refurb unit (TX-SR602) from e-cost.com..  (I don't really care too much about the 7.1, I just wanted this unit because it has a lot more digital inputs than my current receiver, which only has 1 of each, and this receiver has component switching, and the price is reasonable)...

First of all, happily, this MAY be a new unit, not a refurb, but still at the refurb price..  I say this because on the 'order status' email that came (not the original order receipt email, but in the order status email that gets sent out when they ship the item) says for the item description: 'TX-SR602B HT RECEIVER NEW' ...  So perhaps this is a new item, and not a refurb, and I just got lucky or something (or, maybe thats just wishful thinking on my part)...  It hasn't arrived yet, so I will let you know about it when it comes....

Anyhow, one thing that you should be aware of when you purchase this unit:

The e-cost website says at the top banner that they offer 'free shipping' on orders over $25...  Anyhow, if you click on the banner, it will take you to the free shipping details, which says that its only $1.99 shipping on orders over $25, not free shipping.....   hmmmm...

Anyhow, if you look at those free shipping details, it tells you that free shipping only applies to orders under 40 pounds...   Before I ordered this item, I downloaded the product manual from the Onkyo site, and in the manual it says that the weight of the item is 30 pounds...  After placing the order in my basket, and getting ready to check out, I notice that the site is going to charge me $34.60 for shipping (plus $6.95 'handling and processing fee', ummm, ya)... So I called a sales representative (in e-cost's defense, they are pretty quick with the calls to customer service, almost no hold time) and asked him why am I being charged shipping for an item that weighs less than 40 pounds, and he told me that the shipping charges are based on the 'shipping weight' (Which includes the boxing and stuff) and not the item weight (which made sense to me), and that this item has a shipping weight of 42 pounds (which didn't make a lot of sense to me, for an item to be shipped with a full 12 pounds of packing materials)...   Anyhow, I accepted this and paid for the item with the shipping charge and all...

Anyhow, later that very same day, I get my order status email (the one that shows that a 'NEW' unit shipped) with a order status link, which took me to a page that had a link to the UPS tracking information...  Anyhow, upon looking at the tracking information I notice that the weight of the item is 35.4 pounds (uh oh)....  IT says that right on the tracking information, the true weight of the shipment...

So, again, I called e-cost customer service (Once I got through phone-prompt purgatory a customer service rep picked right up) and I asked her to look at my order and look at the tracking information and asked 'why am I not getting free shipping?' .....   She agreed that based on this I was entitled to '$1.99 shipping' (I kinda let that one slide) and that she would get her supervisor to issue credit for the shipping tomorrow..  So I asked her why the site advertises 'free shipping' on orders under 40 pounds, when clearly it doesnt..  She tried to pass that off as a 'glitch' in the system, after which I told her that it wasn't a glitch, and that it didn't offer the free shipping because their system has the shipping weight at 42 pounds, when really its almost 8 pounds less than that...  She agreed and said that the shipping weight would be 'updated' in the system (ya, right)...

Anyhow, I have purchased stuff from e-cost before and this is pretty typical of them.   That is to say, they like to hide fees on you until the last minute of your order and their web-site is a bit in-consistent...  But they DO answer the phones pretty quick with real people, and they do ship out pretty quick, and even with the fees and hidden charges the pricing still comes out pretty good...   So I guess I am willing to put up with that so I don't have a problem ordering from them...  Perhaps others might feel differently...

To sum it up, if you are going to order this item, then if you just do what I did and you can save yourself $30 bux or so...  Don't let them get away with advertising something that they aren't going to deliver on....

After I get the reciever and set it up, I will submit another post and tell you what I think....