Harman Kardon, Denon or Yamaha?

[cyclonecj]

I would wait on the new Onkyo line. Back in Febuary, I bought a new Onkyo 804, only to find out it had a bad hum in the sub channel. Research told me it was a known problem, & it is now going on 7 weeks in the shop. There are also many complaints of a drop in quality over the last few models.

This was my 4th Onkyo receiver, & the sound quality was far inferior to any of my older units. Unfortunately, it seems I am stuck with it.

[BC Canuk]

I own the HK AVR 525 and as one of the other fellas said it is a beast and gets plenty hot. That is the only thing I can complain about. This reciever has performed flawlessly for me and in combination with my Klipsch RB-81 it sounds beautifull. I have no reservations in reccomending Harmon Kardon to anyone.

[Fish]

Anyone know how well the newer onkyo line mates with klipsch?

I'd like to mind my own biz but somebody has to speak up.I've got an Onkyo 702 in my garage,I've owned several others,656,777,898 in past years.I bought the 702 for $200 with factory warranty several months ago,for 200 bucks it's just ok,I already had a rear channel fixed.The channel problem has nothing to do with the fact that the Onkyos are my least favorite with Klipsch.They just sound thin and sterile,a little cold and not much authority.The HKs are for sure my favorite of the mass avr bunch,I've owned several in recent years( 6xx series) a was happy with every one.The Denons are also ok but a little flat,not offensive in any way just boring and not too musical,imo.

I'd really suggest listening to them all in your price but buy based on sound,if you care about sound,not just for features and gizmos(although they're nice too).

[bommai]

I have the Klipsch RF5, RC7, RS35, and RW12 setup as 5.1. I used to have a Denon AVR-2803 and the sound was good. However, I bought a PS3 and wanted to get lossless sound from Bluray disks and SACDs. So, I sold the Denon on craigslist and was looking for a replacement. I have never tried a H/K. So, I bought a 247 from Best Buy. Wow. What a difference. After doing the EzSet/EQ, the sound from the H/K was great. Much better than the Denon 2803. The bass was tight. The imaging was better. The speakers just loved it. I however returned the 247 because of some design issues (there is no way to turn off video scaling from 480i/p sources). Since PS3 sends SD-DVDs at 480p, this receiver was upconverting it to 720p automatically using Faroudja DCDi but my TV is 1080p and the TV scales too. The multiple scaling caused the picture to distort. I returned the 247 and looked around and found the 645 for $694 free shipping from Amazon. I bought it and have been very impressed. This receiver has no scaler. It has two HDMI 1.1 inputs. I use it with my PS3 and my HD-DVR. The sound is great through my Klipsch Refs. I have been listening to some SACDs too. Wow..

[Mikekid]

Just replaced my Yamaha RX-V3000 with an RX-V2700.

Our brilliant local power dept decided (with-out notice) to re-route some of the main power circuits last week. They jacked the power on/off repeatedly, seconds apart blowing the main left/right amp in my 3000. I have no idea what they were thinking....My surge protector did not trip right away letting these voltage spikes through while the receiver was on. Anyway, needless to say, I was MADDER than H#@*. I will never again buy a middle of the road surge protector. Partly my fault....MOSTLY theirs.

On to the RX-V2700.

I purchased this at BB. They DID go ahead and match the Amazon price for me. Excellent sales person too. Can you believe it? I am still learning many of the features of this receiver, so far this thing is INCREDIBLE. Even better than the RX-V3000 which, when I bought this one, I figured it would at least match, not surpass.

The old Yamaha being "bright" issue is dead with-out a doubt. Never could understand that one. The Yamaha has always put out silky smooth, clean, accurate POWERFUL sound. This one is so precise. I am not one of those audiophiles with the fancy words....this thing is a KEEPER!

http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/productdetail.html?CNTID=451511&CTID=5000300

A bit spendy.....but HIGHLY recommended.[Y][Y][]

Take care

Mike (The Yamaha Underdog)

[oldbuckster]

If you like AUDIO REPAIR shops, by all means buy the Onkyo...................

[HarryO]

Do some research and you'll find most surge protectors are useless except as a terminal strip. Power conditioners are better but nothing is perfect except not having them plugged in. I'm running through a couple of Variacs. Still not totally safe.

From a dependability stand point I'd stay from the HKs and Onkyo. Ask around at some of the service desks about models coming in for repair. Even under warranty. I like Denon but they're getting the same reputation lately. It's simple, but use VERY GOOD SPEAKER WIRES!!!!!!!!!!! It helps.

HarryO

[Groomlakearea51]

MHO & $0.02, etc., ad inf., ad naus., etc.

After much research, etc, etc. finally went with Denon-2807's. For the first 6-8 hours, crappy, tinny sound; was going to box them and demand my money back, but I left them on (not standby) at about volume "1" with DTV's XM radio input for two days. Came home and "Lo and behold.... The sound was completely different. Warm, rich, excellent bass from the Klipschorns, Corwalls and LaScalas, switched over to the Heresy's, same results, very very different (read that as good). Almost "tube" like. Cranked up, cranked back, etc. Same results, very good. Shut them down, waited for 24 hours, just to make sure it was not my ears playing tricks on me, etc....

Heat from units did bother me so I slapped on a couple of 5"x5" variable rate fans and brought the temps down to "warm". No change, still good quality sound. I checked the manual (page 5321, section c, part 2, para 455... - just kidding, but it's not a manual, it's a book!!) and the manual specifically refers to "high volumes" and heat, and that the amps will shut down until they cool off. That, at least to me, is an indicator of a potential problem when driven hard for long periods of tme. Just for S&G (poop and laughs...), when we left for work/ school, etc. yesterday, I turned them on to godzilla volume with an Allison Krauss CD set on "repeat". Came home at lunch, etc. Other than getting blown out the door..., no overheating. They were warm, but the fan was doing it's job.

Called a couple of techs & SS specialists and discussed this initial start-up "sound" change with them. They advised that a large number of "clients" have experienced this so called "break in". They said it could be related to the protective coatings on the circuits heating up for the first time and then "settling in". In any event, I would guess that this is probably a similar effect on many of the new AV amps and so I would advise to try to"borrow" one and when first turning it on, leave it on and running for 24 hours before deciding if it "sucks".

I would suspect that the Yamaha's, HK's, Onkyo's, etc., are fairly similar, so it going to be a matter of taste, preference, and price more than anything else.

As far as protection goes; From the wall the A/C goes to a Minuteman Pro-1500 with twin batteries; it's a true isolated power with the corrected 60 Hz sine wave, and from the MM-P, the A/C goes to Furman Rack-Riders (sort of like wearing two bags in public with an ugly chick - you have the second one in case the first one falls off), then to the equipment. Massive storms with tornados last night; power "poops", so I had more than enough time to shut down and turn the MM-P off which, essentially, isolates the equipment from the wall.

I know they are "pricey", but a UPS system, especially the more high end ones that, in substance, are isolated power systems, are a good investment. You only need enough power for about 30 seconds (just long enough to shut down). Other than batteries about every 4-5 years, they are relatively maintenance free. Surge protectors, except certain high end units, simply cannot "clamp" down fast enough. Spikes are bad, but sudden "drops" can also be very bad. You gotta' do what you "gotta do", but it's like racing - "speed costs money - how fast do you want to go?"