Sorry for my somewhat misleading post, guys. looking back at it, I should have said I like the NAD themost out of the stereo receivers I've heard. I haven't heard the Outlaw receiver. I have heard their mono block amps and wasn't much impressed if that's worth anything. They sounded pretty good for home theater, but just didn't do much for me for music. A bit dull and grainy sounding to my ears.
Not sure about model numbers..
The last Marantz stereo receiver I heard was current about 2 years ago. Not sure if it's been updated or not. It sounded overly warm and smooth. Bass was a bit mushy, and the highs were rolled off. The mids were pretty good.
The Rotel receiver was the less expensive one - they had a large one that looked like their AVR and a small one, which was cheaper. I looked on their website and can't find any stereo receivers, so I'm not sure if they have them any more. It sounded pretty good. A tad bright, but no more so than typical Rotel.
The NAD 725BEE is a 325BEE with a tuner and a few other features thrown in. I couldn't hear a difference between the two side by side. Its a bit warm, but punchy and engaging. It's no Mira 3 IMO, but none of these will be.
Denon makes a pretty decent sounding receiver too. There's a few models, and I've heard the about $500 or so one. I think the difference between them is features, but I could be wrong. If your speakers are lower impedence, I'd pass on Denon. As a brand they've got a tendency to struggle with 4 ohm speakers.
Harmon Kardon makes a good receiver too. I haven't heard the latest, but they've traditionally been pretty good. I'd take an NAD over them, but they're another option.
The Onkyo and Yamaha stereo receivers are junk. Stay away.
I don't know your speakers and how loud you're planning on going. That's a big determining factor IMO. My old 320BEE drove my 6 ohm PSB T55s to pretty loud levels without any problems in a room about the size of yours. The 326BEE is an updated version.
Just my observations/opinions.
If you want to keep things very simple and feature packed, have you looked into a Peachtree unit? Not sure about what the various units go for second hand, and which would match up best due to not knowing your speakers' demands. But add a streamer to it and you've got a very convenient system that doesn't need any physical media.
Not sure about model numbers..
The last Marantz stereo receiver I heard was current about 2 years ago. Not sure if it's been updated or not. It sounded overly warm and smooth. Bass was a bit mushy, and the highs were rolled off. The mids were pretty good.
The Rotel receiver was the less expensive one - they had a large one that looked like their AVR and a small one, which was cheaper. I looked on their website and can't find any stereo receivers, so I'm not sure if they have them any more. It sounded pretty good. A tad bright, but no more so than typical Rotel.
The NAD 725BEE is a 325BEE with a tuner and a few other features thrown in. I couldn't hear a difference between the two side by side. Its a bit warm, but punchy and engaging. It's no Mira 3 IMO, but none of these will be.
Denon makes a pretty decent sounding receiver too. There's a few models, and I've heard the about $500 or so one. I think the difference between them is features, but I could be wrong. If your speakers are lower impedence, I'd pass on Denon. As a brand they've got a tendency to struggle with 4 ohm speakers.
Harmon Kardon makes a good receiver too. I haven't heard the latest, but they've traditionally been pretty good. I'd take an NAD over them, but they're another option.
The Onkyo and Yamaha stereo receivers are junk. Stay away.
I don't know your speakers and how loud you're planning on going. That's a big determining factor IMO. My old 320BEE drove my 6 ohm PSB T55s to pretty loud levels without any problems in a room about the size of yours. The 326BEE is an updated version.
Just my observations/opinions.
If you want to keep things very simple and feature packed, have you looked into a Peachtree unit? Not sure about what the various units go for second hand, and which would match up best due to not knowing your speakers' demands. But add a streamer to it and you've got a very convenient system that doesn't need any physical media.