on a side note: i was able to hear the vsx 520 playing iron man 2 at some appliance store which was the reason for me dumping the speaker bar idea
That's good to know.
That's how you shorten a list.
btw, how do you make an audition and have a valid comparison from different shops (different listening environment) and with different setups (different speakers). i'm just starting to get into this hobby so whatever i sink my teeth into should last me a while. and based on reviews online, i think i should be satisfied with either choice. but as you say, gotta hear them perform live (parang rock bands lang)
That's a good question. The ideal audition would be to test the gear in your own home, but it's unlikely that shops would allow us to do that.
Auditions under different conditions would naturally give you wide variations, but we'll have to make do with the options available to us.
However, you can still have a good idea about how the receiver performs even if you auditon in different shops. Notice that you haven't actually tested a speaker bar in your own home, yet you're already sure you're not going to like it.
After googling in 2002, I was sure that I was going to like a Onkyo-B&W combination. I auditioned them at the B&W showroom (which uses Onkyo receivers). Surprisingly, I didn't like them. Personal preference, I guess.
Sometimes, mistakes are unavoidable. If you think you made a wrong receiver choice, just sell it here and try again.