Just from hearing these in the past three years, but not sure of model numbers at the big box type of stores, I'd lead toward the Onkyo. They seem more musical than the Denon (Denon could get offensive), and more pleasant in the highs. Then maybe Pioneer, second choice. Most of them lack transparency. The power ratings they give might only be for one or two speakers driven at a time at 1 khz (fairly common). So IOW, a 100 wpc receiver might be in the 30 wpc range, and 8 ohms is usually the lowest they can handle. It's not the same as high end stereo amps more realistic ratings. I just wanted to give you a heads up so he doesn't use inefficient speakers.
HT and two channel receiver recommendation
A long time friend just emailed me asking for a recommendation between the Onkyo TX-SR309 and the Denon AVR-1312. He wants the best of both worlds meaning good HT and two channel performance, hence his question to me. I have to be honest, I dont know much about HT receivers. I noticed the Denon does not have USB inputs and that to me is very important looking forward. Anyone familiar with the sound of these two brands ? I noticed based on a quick query that these are also the companies lower tier components. Feel free to recommend any brand you think outperforms these two. From what I see his budget is around $300. Thanks.