wuzzzer

Honestly, reading that makes me want to get rid of the Monster Cable that I have.

The weakest link in my home theater is my DVD player ($30 Magnavox unit I won at a work party) Anyway... I'm wanting to replace my player with something that will go well with my current system. Options like HDMI and HD upscaling aren't really important to me. Just looking for something that sounds good and looks good. I've been looking at the harman/kardon DVD players that the h/k factory store is selling on eBay. Looks like they're selling anywhere from $50-$100 depending on the model for players retailing in the $299-$349 range. The style will match my HK3480. Are there any other brands or players I should be considering? Would brands whose receivers/amplifiers are considered 'warm' also be true with their DVD players? Oh, looking to spend $100-150 tops.

As far as differences in DVD players, someone on here recently reported on their findings of 3-4 different players. He found that the biggest improvement from an el cheapo ($20) DVD player to a $100 or so player was the sound quality. Better bass, better clarity all around. Stepping up from there, the $300 or so player he tried had a definite improvement in picture quality, but the sound remained the same. At the $500 or so level the sound quality was better but this time picture quality remained similar. I may be a little off on the above, but it was something to that effect. A new DVD player will be my next upgrade as it currently is the weakest link in my system. ($30 Magnavox player)

What Duke is trying to say is that at the output terminals of a receiver the speaker wire is receiving the full range of sound, 20Hz to 20kHz or some variance of that. You can connect 50 speaker wires to that terminal at the same time and every wire will be sending the same full range signal to the speaker. Wires do not have anything even remotely close to an internal crossover in them to be able to direct any frequences through one set of wires as opposed to another set. I use Monster Cables only because I bought them all years ago when I believed they were the best there was. Ironically I also used Bose speakers back then. I guess you can say I've come a long way. []

Its an exciting adventure when you're looking to get new gear. Take your time and make an informed decision. I reluctantly retired my Sony receiver because I loved the parametric equalizer and could adjust about 15 frequencies with it. Since I got my H/K I just leave the bass and treble flat in the middle and it sounds fantastic! I just saw the eBay auction of the AVR 70 you're looking at. I like how the guy props the receiver up with his foot for the pictures. [:^)] Looks like it has pre-outs for every channel including a subwoofer. If you can pick it up for around the minimum bid you'll always be able to sell it for what you paid for it. Great choice!

I'm not sure I understand exactly how you have it hooked up. Do you have the speaker wire going from the receiver and then the speakers and then the sub? Or do you have the speaker wire going from the receiver and then the sub and then the speakers? In any event, since your subwoofer does not have any outputs of any kind you shouldn't have it hooked up either of the above ways. The correct way to hook it up would be: Speaker outputs to main speakers ONLY, subwoofer RCA out on receiver to RCA input on subwoofer.

You are correct in your description of the '4.1' feature of this receiver. Unless you really need an equalizer, don't do it. They introduce a lot more noise and problems than they many times correct. If you look at the THD % and S/N ratio of most EQs its horrible! Better to look for a unit like my old Sony receiver that has a built in parametric equalizer or one that has separate bass, mid and treble controls.

I've been slowly replacing my components with better built and better reputation equipment and I've experienced the same things you have. My new receiver makes my Cambridge Audio CD player sound that much better. Right now my weakest link is the Magnavox DVD player that I won at a work party a few years ago. My Sony DVD player had just bit the dust so I was glad just to get something to play DVDs on. I have quite a few concert DVDs and the sound is much poorer compared to anything played on my CD player. I can't wait to get something decent in the way of a DVD player and hear what I've been missing.

Some say Yamaha is too bright, some say it isn't. I personally have only heard Sony, Denon and Harman/Kardon with RF-7s. The RX-V series seems to have quite a few fans on here.

That's the nice thing about going with pre-owned equipment. You can get some great deals on things that some would consider outdated, but if you don't need the 9.1 with hdmi/dvi/upscaling/quisinart features why pay for them? My harman / kardon 2 channel receiver is only a couple months old, yet I was able to buy it for $175 with MSRP being $450.

Be aware that the receiver does not have dolby digital processing, only dolby pro-logic and dolby 3 stereo. No matter how much they sold for originally, dolby pro-logic receivers are usually selling for very very cheap these days. So, when they say 4.1 what they probably mean is that since the rear surround channel is in mono it only counts as 1 channel, then add the front 3 channels and a subwoofer output and you have 4.1

MSRP was $1100! Got a 4.58 out of 5 on audioreview: http://www.audioreview.com/cat/amplification/a-v-receivers/harman-kardon/PRD_118581_2718crx.aspx?TabID=1 Nice thing about harman / kardon is they are very accurate about their stated wattage. When they say 80 watts, they MEAN it! As long as it has a remote, I'd say its a good start to a system you can build on in the future. Strengths (from audioreview): crystal clear sound throughout, Power. Sleek looks, Very good sound and stereo image, Crystal clear highs and sufficient lows. It easily powers a set of vintage Dahlquist AudioPhile speakers as well as all the surrounds and center and all that jazz. I have been nothing but impressed since I purchased this a few years ago. I was skeptical in buying this unit, but will never again buy anything without Harman/Kardon''s tag on it. Has undoubtedly been the best receiver I have ever owned, Crystal Clear Sound Stage and Incredible Response and Dynamics. Looks like a lot of people have enjoyed their AVR70!

Make sure you mate the speakers with quality components. The receiver/amp doesn't need to be a zillion watts, but whatever watts it does have need to be clean and real watts. The nicer your components, the better you'll enjoy the Klipsch experience.

I used to get some nasty hum from having all my cords tangled around each other, too. I solved the problem by separating the power chords from everything else as best as possible.

I just bought a harman / kardon HK3480 2-channel receiver on eBay for $175 in brand new condition. It has really smoothed out the horn of my RF-7s compared to the old Sony dolby pro-logic receiver I was using before. Great dynamics, very detailed sound especially when matched when a high quality CD player or other source. Denon makes at least one 2-channel receiver too that may be worth taking a look at. The HK and the Denon usually sell for around $250 on eBay unless you can stumble upon a great buy-it-now deal like I did!

R means its a Replacement woofer.

Will do. Haven't been able to crank it up too much yet, my wife has been home. Doesn't seem to run out of steam whatsoever at the volumes I've had it at. Its interesting with the treble, certain instruments such as cymbals and horns seem to be louder and more detailed, yet the treble itself is very smooth. Voices are projected more naturally and live recordings especially sound great. I can't wait to purchase and configure some acoustical foam so I can enjoy my system even more!

What do you think? The idea popped into my head yesterday.

Forgot to attach the pic I took of the amp. Also forgot to add that the mail carrier that dropped it off was talking to me about the unit and he said that he had an old harman / kardon amp that he bought in the early to mid 1970s and still has it. I told him to write down the model...who knows, it could be a Twin Powered x30!

Very happy to open the box today and see a 100% mint condition HK3480 along with every accessory it came with (antennas, remote, manuals, etc). I really like the cool blue on the volume knob, display and power button. The remote seems a little cheap, but I already programmed all the functions into my Brookstone LCD remote so I probably won't ever need to use the h/k remote. First thing I did was connect the FM antenna and listen to the radio. Definitely has a tuner that is 100% better than my old Sony receiver. Picked up all the local stations with ease. Of course FM radio isn't anywhere near a reference of sound quality, so I next hooked up my CD player and all other audio inputs. I think I remember someone on here saying that when they switched to a nicer quality receiver it 'smoothed out' the horn a bit. I'd say that's the case with the h/k. In my Sony receiver I'd always have to back the treble in the parametric equalizer a bit to tame the high frequency harshness, and as a result lost a lot of the dynamics of sound. I'm running the bass & treble completely flat on the h/k and the sound is more detailed but very natural sounding. No sharp sibilance unless I'm using my cheap Magnavox DVD player. Guess a new DVD player is the next item on the list. My wife is going to hate me! [6] Stereo separation seems to have increased some, and voices and instruments seem to be coming from behind and around the speakers instead of directly from them. The vMax virtual surround setting is just weird. It adds odd reverberation and phase shifts that make the sound come from all around you. I'll have to try it with movies, but for music I don't really care for it. The speaker connections in the back are really cheap, the screw-in kind that I see on really inexpensive equipment. Probably the only design feature I didn't care for. That's it for now. Going to have to go enjoy the new setup. Oh, and the next project is setting up some acoustic foam to treat my basement. I've researched different options quite a bit and I think I've come up with a game plan that should cost only $50 or so and really improve the acoustics and sound quality in my theater.

Point taken.

My receiver does not have a digital input, and in listening to the different CD players I've had through the years its obvious that there is a noticeable difference between different DACs. I would imagine that the DAC in your McIntosh is very nice considering the McIntosh name. As with anything, some people might like the sound of certain DACs or equipment better than others. My cheap Magnavox DVD/CD player sounds very bad with CDs compared to my Cambridge. I wish I did have a digital input on my receiver instead of having to rely on the Magnavox's DACs.

Found one at http://www.audiomn.org/

You could always go on the AVS Forum or this forum and post a thread titled "Attention Minnesota audio enthusiasts" and then type what you did above. BTW, I'm just a little south of you in Saint Cloud and my Dad's home town is Crosby!

They sold either the same speaker a while back or for some reason they are the resellers of heavily damaged Klipsch center channels! I personally don't see why that seller is allowed to continue on eBay. Their feedback rating is only 89.4% positve and they have 20,849 negative feedbacks!!