oldenough Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 (edited) A couple of months ago my H/K avr 3600 went on the fritz, took it back to Futureshop where I had bought it as an open box item for a great price, now they say it can't be repaired and are offering me a choice of three receivers, none of which seem to me to be of the same calibre as the 3600. My choices are : Pioneer vsx 1029, Onkyo Tx nr535, or Denon Avr 700w Anybody have any experience of any of these, or have any advice to offer, I have to go there tomorrow so time is of the essence....Thanks. Edited December 4, 2014 by oldenough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Pure sound wise I'd do the Denon, Bass output,I'd do the Pioneer, and then the Onkyo last. If the Onkyo does work past 2 years (due to the HDMI Issues) it has a more hollow sound to me. I've owned 3 Onkyo's that all crapped out on me within the last 2 years and they all sounded hollow and were different model numbers ranging in the 100 watts per channel, 110 watts per channel, and 130 watts per channel. I've owned 2 Denon's the AVR E400, and the AVR X-4000 which I have now and the sound quality is much better in my opinion than Onkyo's is. Pioneer I have listened to only in big box stores but every one of them didn't have the clarity that Yamaha,Denon, Marantz, and even Onkyo had, they were muddled and did have much more bass to them though than the others. Just my opinion. Is the Onkyo 535 the new model? Does it still have Audyssey? I thought they did away with it. I'd definitely stay away from them then if that is the case,and until they can prove the HDMI issue is fixed I'd have nothing to do with them. The older models were well built, but these newer ones.............nope. Not for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted December 4, 2014 Moderators Share Posted December 4, 2014 Sorry to hear about your problems with the 3600. I haven't had any experience with any of those receivers. Hopefully they can replace it with something equivalent. I'm pretty bias to HK though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 How are the Harmon Kardon's sound? I've heard they used to be an awesome receiver but their newer stuff lacked a lot.At least that's what I've read in reviews. I've also seen only ones that were very low wattage rated though.What type of sound do they have? Are they similar to Marantz, or Yamaha? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 I don't know all those models, but I agree on what to scratch; the Onkyo. At the very least it is a 5.1 AVR compared to your current 7.2 in the HK 3600, at about half that power. FWIW I own an Onkyo TX-NR717, and mine has been good to me so far, but the HDMI problems with Onk's the last 3 years is well documented. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 I don't know all those models, but I agree on what to scratch; the Onkyo. At the very least it is a 5.1 AVR compared to your current 7.2 in the HK 3600, at about half that power. FWIW I own an Onkyo TX-NR717, and mine has been good to me so far, but the HDMI problems with Onk's the last 3 years is well documented. I had the TX NR609, 709,and 809. They supposedly "fixed" the issue after *1*'s but I've seen them on Ebay with the HDMI' needing to get fixed on those as well as the *2*'s series. I liked their amenities they offered vs Yammies and other receivers, but the sound left me wanting more fullness and richness. I've seen on forums that the Onk's are all concking oput right after the 2 year period, and unfortunately for me 3 died in a years timeframe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldenough Posted December 4, 2014 Author Share Posted December 4, 2014 Well thanks everyone, seems like the Onkyo shouldn't be considered, and my preference would go to the Denon due to other reports of their suitability with klipsch....I may have to see what I can swing in the way of an up-grade as I don't see any of these comparing to the nice sound of the H/K 3600, I have always owned H/K avr's and do have another 3600 that I use in the bedroom, so all is not lost. BTW Futureshop no longer sell Harman Kardon so that was no longer a choice, and was the reason I got the 3600 on close-out for $349 a couple of yrs ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 I was actually looking at a HK AVR-254 and was going to come on here for advice on it. But wound up getting something else. They don't even sell HK by where I live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldenough Posted December 4, 2014 Author Share Posted December 4, 2014 I've noticed that the Onkyo tx nr 636 has some good reviews, and no mention of the hdmi issues, and a couple of mentions of it being fixed now. Maybe I can step-up to that model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 It's still new so there won't be any issues off the bat, it usually is progressive over time due to the heat transfer on the boards. I for one think it will be a few more years before they can get all the "kinks" out of the system on HDMI for not only Onkyo, but other brands also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Pioneer is a smaller company than Onkyo and some others but, they make great avr's. They have a very clean sound and seem to have very few problems. I am partial to that brand! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tromprof Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 I have a 2 year old Pioneer VSX-1122 which should be similar to the Pioneer you are looking at, but a bit higher up the food chain. Sounds good in my LR with my KG speakers (KG 4s and 3.1). No problems to report either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldred Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Try one of the new Pioneer Elite's.....wasn't sure at first.... But then I heard it with Klipsch ...and said ......yes!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 (edited) No avr is gonna sound like a HK, they just sound good, was my avr of choice for almost a decade. Then they fell behind in features and quality a little and charged more. Onkyo sounds about as good as any of them except HK and kills em for price vs features. As to hdmi issues, its well known they had em mine all work, for now.... So..unless you get a HK or step up to separates just pick the one that is the best deal within your budget.Of course ALL opinion. Edited December 4, 2014 by Fish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldenough Posted December 4, 2014 Author Share Posted December 4, 2014 (edited) I'm going to take on Futureshop over these replacement "offers" , it doesn't seem as though I am being offered an equal product to the one I purchased, but instead being offered one equal to the price I paid originally. I don't see myself getting too far with this but hey you never know till you try... Thanks everyone for your input. Edited December 4, 2014 by oldenough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Have you thought of contacting HK directly to see if it can in fact be repaired? If it's that good maybe it's worth the fix. Again, not having ever heard any of their receivers,I wouldn't know how to compare them to Yamaha, Denon, Marantz, Onkyo, and Pioneer. I can only go by what i have heard on my end for my opinion. If you were ranking sound quality,where would you rank each of the receivers? I know Marantz has a much warmer sound than Yammies,with Denon following as they are basically the same company,then Yamaha, Pioneer and Onkyo in my opinion with Onkyo being the brightest sounding and Pioneer being the most muddled.Yammies in my opinion are better at instruments playing but not as clear on vocals and Marantz is the opposite to me, clear on vocals, but not as good with the instruments. Maybe it's just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 what's your price point OP?... I just got a NIB Pioneer Elite Sc85 for just over $1,000 shipped. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 (edited) I just got a NIB Pioneer Elite Sc85 That sounds sweet Schu! I would like to hear your opinion on the difference in the DAC and additional phase control. Sounds like a beast of an avr. Edited December 4, 2014 by derrickdj1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldenough Posted December 4, 2014 Author Share Posted December 4, 2014 (edited) An interesting story unfolded when I got to Futureshop.... Seems my pristine, as in like new, H/K AVR 3600 had suffered from a gravitational occurrence, ie. someone dropped it before it got to the service centre for repair. They tried to blame this "accident" on me, and said they had neglected to notice the damage when I brought it into the store under warranty. Apparently the service centre felt it was beyond repair. Not sure where I am going to go with this....Any advice? Edited December 4, 2014 by oldenough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 (edited) I just got a NIB Pioneer Elite Sc85 That sounds sweet Schu! I would like to hear your opinion on the difference in the DAC and additional phase control. Sounds like a beast of an avr. Phenomenal... really. technology changes so fast. at this price point I can not imagine getting much better... until you step up in cost. I run pre outs, so the Pio only runs the center channel right now, so amplification is something I wasn't that interested in... but a pre/pro of my liking would have a much higher cost (almost twice the cost) so I compromised. the DAC has been really interesting. I would call the upgrade significant between the internal 24/192 of old and the new ESS DAC in the sc85. still only 4-5 hours on the set p so far. interestingly, the sc35 was much beefier... neatly 8 lbs difference between the Ice based unit and this new D3 class D amp. not sure where the weight is from though, whether it be chassis or amp. Phase and room correction seem much upgraded, and much more modern with a handful of additional features... but truth be told, the SC35/37 is a tremendous integrated amplifier and anyone would be lucky to own one... specially at the prices they are going for now, used... IF YOU CAN FIND ONE. Edited December 4, 2014 by Schu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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