Guest Anonymous Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 have any of you ever driven the sl500, my neighbor across the street has one and that thing is pretty fast, well at least for me seeing how i drive an explorer, but its still a great little car, i guess it has some regulators on it so when you floor it it won't pin you to the seat till you hit about 60 mph then it will go to the passing gear and just scream Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champagne taste beer budget Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Not our average car here in the garage, but as far as I know there are no type of "regulators" on em. They do, however, have variable valve timing, which will act like a kick in the pants. More of a push, actually, since it's more like a volume knob than an on/off switch. He may have just had the throttle 2/3 down till that point too, then gave it 100%. Nice car none the less. My wife would like one, until I told her what they cost. Then I made the mistake of telling her how fast they depreciate; I know where there's a loaded 2000 model with 16k miles for $42K. Same as a new loaded pickup, or close to it. Less than a Suburban. I started showing her ads for 3,4,5 year old, low milage, high end cars and I could just hear the wheels turning in her pretty little head. Yeah, there's the spendy maintainence end of em, but like she likes to say, "She sleeps with her warranty." Oh Yeah!! Listen to what's said about quality of your electronics, not just the specs. Let your ears decide what sounds good. If you like the sound of one component over another, does it really matter what the specs are? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockets Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 I know that HK's are not under powered. I'm on my third one and I used to think they were under rated. Lately after cranking them full tilt and hearing not the slightest snap, crackle or pop I can't help but wonder if they're not really rated as to their maximum 'clean' output and they won't let you push them any farther. Ok, this probably isn't true, but it sounds good to me! LOL! Maybe I should rephrase the above as saying HK rates their amps as to the actual "usable" watts. Just go buy one, you'll be happy you did! Just don't expect much out of the remote contol... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer1 Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 I bought my AVR 230 on the internet (JR music and computer world) (great price by the way.and excellent service..!) and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE my receiver...it's rated as 55 watts per channel but it doesnt matter, it's clean power, pure, it sounds fantastic with my system. H/K are really conservative with their power ratings and Klipsch speakers are really easy to drive, so no problems. I'm sure my receiver can produce much more than 55 watts...but don't really care about the numbers, it sounds pretty good to me...and I didn't even crank it...too loud... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdmarsiii Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 I have an AVR 125, and it drives the Heresy's with ease. Gets loud enough for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Read the fine print. I ONLY trust power ratings that are. => All channels driven => 20 hz to 20,000 hz => Suitable for 4 ohm loads One of the less advertised, underappreciated, but very well built HT receiver lines is Sherwood Newcastle. Very conservatively rated like the Harmon Kardon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psg Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 ---------------- On 1/5/2005 5:48:22 PM Spkrdctr wrote: I would say to buy the Sony or Pioneer 100 watt per channel recievers. They have always given me good service and they work quite well. They drive Klipsch speakers very well. One of the main features I would look for is the recievers bass management controls. It is irritating to find out that you can't control the bass to each speaker, when you have fantastic full range Klipsch speakers all around in your home theater! Check out the controls for each speaker and see if you can control the bass individually. I do not have the capability now and if I have to buy again, it will be my most important buying point. Good Luck and enjoy! ---------------- Actually, the HK receivers have very nice bass management: pick 40, 60, 80, 100, 120 or 200 (as I recall) separately for mains, center, surrounds and rears. Plus, you an do so differently on each input if you want. I fully agree that this is a very important feature! And they drive 4-ohms easily (high current amps) and are rated with all channels driven. I have an HK-325 and love it on La Scalas. I don't miss the extra 2 dB or so since I usually listen to movies at -25dB or so, and music often lower. I cranked it up to 0dB for a party recently and kept the neighbours up (110 dB or so in the room). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Some amps used to state "headroom" at rated output... but most people didn't realize that 75-watts with a 3db headroom represents more available transient power than 100-watts and 0.3db headroom. http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Hollow/3401/ratevsac.htm The only manufacturer, which has all of their amplifiers showing higher output at clipping than their stated ratings, is harmon/kardon! vintage HK330B sounds better with horns than any new receiver I have heard... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhawk92 Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Minn- Thanks for a cool page. Pretty neat to see my Denon AVR-4800 do as well as it did. I always liked how it sounded in my system. Now it's acting as my preamp, with a Denon POA-8300 and a pair of POA-5200s doing the actual heavy lifting. Wish I could find similar stats for those amps. I would think they'd be pretty close to spec (120W) if not over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arfandbark Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Fletchkane, It'd be nice if you could a/b compare some of these HT receivers. It appears from the the responses to this thread many others are very happy with thier H/K systems. I wouldn't rule them out due the "apparent" lack of wattage. I don't have a HT system, but I CAN tell you this much: Last week my son and I compared our receivers on my Cornwalls. He has a Sony DE 697 and I have a 70's vintage Twin Powered H/K 730. His is 100w x 7, but it should have lotsa nads in two channel. My 730 is rated @ 40watts per side, I think. The Harman Kardon won hands down. Headspace, reserve power, call it what you want... Not to mention the fine tuner section that Colin mentions. I'm sure it's just as handy in HT receivers as it is in two channel receivers. Again, if you have the opportunity, listen to as many as you can. WOOF! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ifrag Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Im using an avr330 with my sf3s.. no complaints here.. plenty of power. I turned it up to say -10db just as a test.... scene was from the Matrix, revolutions.. when the sentinels just broke into the dock and the apcs start to shoot.. lots of punchy bass.. I played the scene for say 1.5 minutes.. very loud.. very clear. My upstairs neighbor came down and commented on it.. said it was vibrating/rattling all the stuff in his condo. thats with a rated 55w-65 per chan. I just upgraded my mains with a Nad 2200.. 100w per channel with 6db of head room..... BOOM! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doudou Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 ---------------- On 1/5/2005 10:15:37 AM Frzninvt wrote: Don't focus on the specs, focus on the sound! Specs mean nothing when it comes to how a receiver or amplifier is going to sound. Go listen and see what sounds best to you! Everyone hears and interprets things differently. ---------------- in my opinion the spec could help to choose an amp, but unfortunatly manufacturer give us some "false" spec(giving max power instead of average, bandwith at +/-6db instead of 3, ...), so they mean nothing. but of course, eventually Frzninvt is right, what is the most important is the way the equipment sounds to you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fletcherkane Posted January 6, 2005 Author Share Posted January 6, 2005 Thanks everybody for the replies. This is truly one of the best forums on the web. I think it is awesome to have a place to talk about AV stuff and not be bombarded with profanity and crude language. What a great place to hang out. My young son is just getting into music and speakers and stuff, and I would have no problem with him hanging out here and reading the posts (most of them anyway.. saw a pretty scary picture on Jenninfers "weird question" thread...) I am bouncing back and forth right now between the Pioneer 1014 and one of the Harmon Kardon receivers. Before this thread, I really had moved them to the background because of their "apparent" lack of power. Thanks for the insights! Also, is there anyplace that lets you bring in your speakers to hook up to a couple of different receivers to see how they compare, or am I just dreaming. Maybe I'll just buy three, and take back the ones I don't like...(Yeah right!) (Fletch) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minn_male42 Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 The pioneer 1014 is IMHO the best receiver in that price range. Good power combined with the MCACC auto calibration/room equalization system make it better sounding than anything else for the same amount of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcoker Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Most specialty Audio store will let you bring in your speakers. A Best Buy or Ultimate Electronics probable not. I have heard of people buying both and trying them at home and returning one. Good stores will let you do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 As soon as I saw the title of this thread I thought to myself... The better question is, why do all these other receiver manufacturers overrate their power specifications? If you need proof of this phenomenon, take a trip down to your local Best Buy, fire up the flagship Pioneer (100Wx7) and the Yammy 5750 (80Wx7), set them both to the same volume level (both use -xdB as a volume setting) and switch between them. Which one's louder? I sold Yamaha receivers like they were going out of style when I worked at BB just by performing this simple comparison. No one ever walked away from one of my presentations thinking that watt ratings meant anything at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fletcherkane Posted January 6, 2005 Author Share Posted January 6, 2005 Thanks for your reply. I haven't listened to the the Yamahas yet. Besides power how do they compare sonically? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Griff, how does -xdB on a dial equal the actual SPL? hell, I am not sure exactly what -20dB on the dial really means! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popbumper Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Colin: I would THINK that -20dB means "20dB DOWN from the maximum volume level" (0dB). Given that a 3dB absolute value interprets to a "doubling" of power, I would think that you would have a reserve of almost seven times the existing power you are using to get to the 0dB point. ...or, I could be COMPLETELY off base with my limited knowledge, and someone here will kindly inform both of us as to the right answer. Popbumper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q-Man Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 When I first got into home theater I did all my reading and research and decided to buy a Pioneer AV/receiver. My price limit was $1,700.00 for one. I went to the store and just told the salesman to give me one. He asked me if I was sure about my decision, and I'm glad that he did. He demoed the Pioneer, Sony, and Yamaha receivers that were selling for around $1,600.00. They were all rated at 100 watts per channel. The Yamaha sounded like it had about twice as much power as the Pioneer and Sony units.I went home with the Yamaha RX-V2092. He said "See,Pioneer and Sony sells under powered receivers." It's always best to give a listen if you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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