February 28, 2006

An A/V receiver is at the center of the center of any serious home theater, but when you add in the price of a decent set of surround speakers and a DVD player, you're talking about a serious investment. Fortunately, there are plenty of midrange receivers that will do justice to a starter home theater without putting you in the poor house. We've rounded up six models we've reviewed that you can pick up for less than $600. Prices and features vary--the Harman Kardon and Onkyo models don't convert composite- and S-Video sources to component output, for instance--but all of these are contenders for switching between three video sources (such as a DVD player, a cable/satellite box, and a game system) and powering a capable surround-sound speaker system. Also, note that some of these are 2005 models that are approaching their end of life. The spring and summer should see newer models with some additional bells and whistles--if you can wait that long.