Reliable Mid-Priced 7.2 Channel Receiver

Go to Crutchfield, see if there's anything of interest, and give them a call.

They're great to deal with, will answer any questions and have a very generous return policy.

I've had a Denon for a few years with no issues.

I avoid Yamaha like the plague after having one some years ago.

NAD if sound quality is important.

So, I am most interested in how to select a reliable 7.2 receiver in my price range.  

Uh, that said it’d be most helpful if you gave us said price range?

While I’ve not tried their top of the line receivers, I’ve had great luck with Denon as well.

What price range are you looking?

Fan of Denon but I'm well up the line from $599.

Fan of Denon AVR's as well. Can't seem to kill this thang ... so far 18 years of flawless performance and counting. 

Take a look at Pioneer Elite SC line.  They have nice quality Class D3 Amps and sound very good.  Big fan of Pioneer Elite AV Amps here.  Used are a bargain too!

Receiver’s Preamp Out: make sure it has Front L and Front R preamp outs for future options.

NO WAY are you going to use the TV’s speakers.

7.2? are you going to buy/install all those speakers and then use the TV speakers?

I recommend a simpler and effective 5.1 system (7.2 AVRs have 5.1 modes), with a real center speaker, horizontal, located just below the TV so dialog is from the TV.

Mine, no rear ports

https://www.klipsch.com/products/r-34c-center-channel-speaker

rear surround, just enough to add something, not aware of them until you turn them off, or, obviously rear content like helicopter in Black Halk Down, that sort of thing.

I use a small pair on their backs, using the space between the rear wall and back of sofa kind of like a horn. I stuffed their rear ports

Sub, not too big, but add some dinosaur stomp like Jurassic Park.

Now, the most important: Front. Efficency close to center channel’s efficency to easily balance their respective volumes.

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ARC is Audio Return Channel, so equipment works together  tricky to understand, but you want it. 

Some devices use two HDMI cables, one for viseo, 1 for audio. I got mine working, with help from Sony. Your maker will help you get it all working.

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Always Video? or sometimes 2 channel music? More to say about that if dual use.

Also a fan of Denon.  But for that matter, would not discount any of the other brands (Sony, Yamaha, Pioneer...) based on reviews you see on websites.

The totality reviews on BB's website of the S960H shouldn't give cause for alarm.  4.5 of 5 rating off of 605 total reviews?  If you look at the distribution, 445 of those reviews are rated five; you could probably consider the 1's (and possibly 2's) as outliers and completely disregard them.  I'm sure Denon's receiver (and the competitors mentioned) would perform just fine.

Also, I echo @elliottbnewcombjr thoughts on the speakers: definitely start auditioning now for a full setup, minimum 5.1.  While not electronics, and buying used is a viable proposition - speakers are the more subjective (but arguably the most fun) choice in setting up a new HT system.

The new Denon and Marantz look like a price/performace breakthrough.

I worked for Magnolia and got to audition several AVRs back to back driving B&W 804D3s, and compared to Arcam, Marantz, and Denon the Yamaha was by far the one that reminded me most of my $10k separate stereo amp/preamp.  Not even close.   Also, Yamaha is the most reliable of the bunch.  If you have the extra $$$ absolutely go for an Anthem AVR, but if not buy a Yammy, and you can get a huge discount if you buy from accessories4less.com.  Just my $0.02 FWIW.

I don't  use mine very often but I enjoy the nad I have and the arcam blu ray. 

Paul,

I have a Marantz SR8300 receiver I'd be willing to sell. DM me for details if you're interested.

Spend the extra money and buy the Anthem MRX 540 or MRX740 AVR you will be happy you spent the extra money.

Have a Pioneer that plays every day for over 15 years. Sounds great snd never any issues at all. It is class D amp and I do not use for two channel. My two channel is its own system!

Thanks for the comments, everyone. Regarding questions raised, I plan not to exceed $700. I have a better setup in the den / movie room. The living room setup would use the 7.2 Denon S960H, with 5 speakers there, plus 2nd zone of 2 on the patio. The living room speakers are B&W towers and center, plus some Polk 8" ceiling speakers behind the sofa. I would like to use the receiver as the source selector, to use the 5.1 aspect watching TV, hoping the switching will work properly with a new Samsung TV. I only would use the TV speakers for normal TV watching (e.g., news) if the switching using the Denon remote did not work properly. If that problem occurs, I would have to separately start the TV, plus the Denon, messing with 2 remotes (e.g., for movie, sports, concert, etc.). Or find my Harmony remote and see if that accomplishes what is needed.  I would love to have the Denon remote be all I need to watch TV or play a Blu-Ray. I think I will order the Denon S960H, at only $549 with the coupon.

I know that you specified your budget, but the build quality and reliability might be better in the 1K range.  My advice would be to look for a bargain in the used markets.  AVRs generally don’t have high resale value.  If you get something cheap and it goes bad after a couple of years it won’t sting as much

Congrats. the Denon has a lot of nice features and they are reliable. You may want to consider an after market power cord with any budget you have left, maybe Pangea or Signal cable for around $100.

You can get the Denon for $500 from accessories4less.  You might also take a look at the Yamaha RX-A780 from their higher Avantage line for only $450. 
https://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/denavrs960h/denon-avr-s960h-7.2-ch-x-90-watts-8k-a/v-receiver-w/heos/1.html

https://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/yamrxa780bl-rb/yamaha-rx-a780-7.2-ch-x-95-watts-a/v-receiver/1.html

denons typically do NOT have front pre-out

Yamaha's typically DO have front pre-out.

Always check the back panel, pre-out

I have an OLD Denon 5.1 AVR in the den and it does everything I could hope. Yeah, my old TV is only 4K, not one of the newer 8K models. 

I can only comment that the Denon just works and this after more than a few firmware updates where I held my breath and hoped it never got bricked. 

Yeah, when playing FLACs or ALACs from a USB flashdrive I have had it act a bit flaky, but unplugging it for an hour seemed to resolve that. 

Just wish more 7.2 AVRs (less than $1500) had preamp outs for each channel on the back so we could add outboard amps if we ever wanted. Good luck. 

I agree with the above statement regarding amp pre-outs. Future proof so to speak. During covid I bought a Denon AVR 2700. Awesome receiver. At the time I didn't think about pre-outs or the fact that a almost $1000 receiver wouldn't have them. Now I've got into running amps and the Denon just sits in the storage room. Had to buy a used Onkyo TX- RZ 810 for half of what the Denon cost. I also agree with the 5.1 set up over the 7.1. actually I'd personally go 5.2 depending on the size of your room. 

denons typically do NOT have front pre-out

Yamaha's typically DO have front pre-out.

Always check the back panel, pre-out

Hmmmm... this had me scratching my head, thinking it was untrue.  But it is indeed the case - interesting; learned something today:

You get Front Pre-Outs on the Yamahas at a much cheaper price point.  Same with the Multi Pre-Outs at $50 difference (don't really count the X4700H as it's discounted due to phase out).

Denon AVR-X4700H $1500 Multi Pre-Out ($600 Discount, model phasing out)
Denon AVR-X3800H $1700 Multi Pre-Out

Yamaha RX-V6A $850 Front Pre-Out
Yamaha AVENTAGE RX-A2A $1150 Front Pre-Out
Yamaha AVENTAGE RX-A4A $1650 Multi Pre-Out

If the sound of your system is the most important thing to you, get an Anthem, they have a great seven channel system and its very reasonably priced, I have had mine for three years now and love it, powers my AV123 GR Research LS6 Line Source speakers perfectly. 

I would suggest Anthem but may be a bit above your price range. Maybe a used one or one on sale ? I think the build & sound quality is the next level from most of what has been mentioned & it has an excellent , proprietary sound correction system. 

I third the Anthem, but it’s definitely above his price range