Hey all, I know this isn't studio related, but you all are pretty smart and might have dealt with this kind of situation before. I've wired our house to use a multi-zone audio system, with 5.1 in the room with the TV, plus another stereo zone in the living room. I'm trying to find a receiver/amp to bring it all together now (so essentially a 7.1 multizone system with an additional line-out for zone 2) and there are, like, a million of these things out there in the price range I'm looking at ($500-$800 preferably). Unfortunately, looking up reviews online hasn't turned up any current articles with the currently available models, and even in one brand (yamaha, for example) there are sometimes more than 10 different models with very similar features and it's hard to tell the lineage from older models to the newer ones.
And the few stores with possibly knowledgeable salespeople are so caught up in their own sales lines that they can't seem to look beyond the few models that they happen to have in stock, which of course are the best available, and vary from store to store, and of course I should buy Monster cables to get more extended lows....
Anyway, I guess my question is if anyone knows if there is a good site or resource for finding current information on basic useable home audio equipment, that's not too audiophile and snobby. Likewise, if anyone here knows a lot about this stuff, I'd be curious of your opinion. Thanks!