Which receiver for RF-35?

[Guest srobak]

Greetings all,

I have finally broke down and bought the RF-35's from Sound Distributors on ebay - they should be arriving soon. I am now looking for a new receiver... HDMI and up-conversion are a must. I have narrowed it down to the following models and would appreciate feedback on opinions from those who have first-hand knowledge of these particular units. The room is about 24x24 with brick on the wall behind the mains/tv/rack, medium density carpeting, plush leather couches, a couple small glass tables, and drywall on side and back walls.

My top two picks seem to be the Yamaha RX-V661 and the HK AVR-247 - both of which I can get for $440. Spec to spec - they are very similar in most ways, and I have read several reviews which show strength for both - so which one would I get - and why? Also if you know a cheaper price/place - post it up

In reserve consideration - I have the Onkyo TXSR605 and the Pioneer VSX1016. I really wanted to consider NAD, but they are way out of price range for an HDMI capable unit. I'd like to keep it under $550 at this point.

Feedback? Thanks all.

[wsu99999]

The AVR 247 IMHO will not be enough to fully power the RF35's. I own the RF-35s and use the AVR745 which is a SIGNIFICANT step up from the 247.

I did, however, audition the 247 in my home before I purchased the 745. With the 247, the speakers sounded OK, but just OK. To be honest, I was a bit dissapointed and considered getting a different set of speakers. LUCKILY I ended up trying a more powerful receiver and WOW, the RF-35's are all the speaker I need. I love them. Sure, I could probably be happier with some RF-7's, but hell, I get complaint's with my setup now, my neighbors would kill me if I upgraded any more - BTW - Sound Distributers is a great outfit!

[Guest srobak]

The 745 is also a significant step up in price - almost double - from the 247 & what I am looking to spend.

So if the 247 is under-powered, then I guess that makes my decision for me... Yamaha 661

[oldbuckster]

www.vanns.com

[wsu99999]

Actually, if you watch Ebay, you can get one for under 700 bucks. Not a big step up in price, and it beats the piss out of the 661.

[Guest srobak]

www.vanns.com

Is 15% more expensive than even Best Buy

As for Ebay - I have been watching there lately, and I think that a refurb hk 645 might be within reach. I have to wonder why it is refurbed though :|

[dblue]

I completely disagree the 247 is not enough. HK's amps are very conservatively rated...unless you have a huge room, the 247 is more than enough to power the EXTREMELY efficient 35's. I know 2 guys with this setup, and the sound is great. Goes very loud, nice rich sound, not distortion.

The HK has more real wattage than any of the other receivers you listed. Just check the weight specs. HK rates their wattage 20Hz-20Khz, all channels driven.

Just my 2 cents. I've got an HK AVR525 (65 watts by 7) powering an RC-3 II, 2 RF-3 II's, 2 RS-3 II's, and 2 RB-25's, and it is WAY more power than I'd need, and I like things loud.

[wsu99999]

All I'm saying is that it wasn't enough for me. For the extra money the 745 sound's way better, and like I said, we're not talking thousands, just a few extra hundred bucks.

[wuzzzer]

Harman/Kardon tends to be a slightly warm sounding amp which is perfect for Klipsch speakers. I've bought many factory refurbished items and have never had a problem with any of them. If I were you I'd check out Harman/Kardon's factory eBay store and see if you can't get a step or two above the 247 for the same price.

[Rockets]

Go here

http://www.amazon.com/Harman-Kardon-AVR-645-Receiver/dp/B000E7GDTG/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4/103-0068225-2611801?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1189708647&sr=8-4

for a HK AVR 645 $570

I just replaced my AVR 510 with one and couldn't beleive the difference in power. Superior sound without spending a mint. Have to love Harman Kardon amps.

[Guest srobak]

Welp, did the ebay bit. Just bought a 645 from their factory store for 485. Sorry if any of you were who I was competing against... So I went up 3 notches for about $50. Works for me.

I will fill you all in after things all get here and are properly broken in.

I do have to agree though. HK has always been under-rated on their power delivery - kinda like NAD - of which I still have an old amp, even though it is just sitting on the shelf.

[wuzzzer]

Great job, I hope our advice helped!

[Guest srobak]

Oh it did for sure... I mean - besides the fact it got me looking at a completely different level of amp, it also kinda forced me to find the best deal possible... and yeah - I'll take a factory refurb piece with full warranty for 50% MSRP for a fresh one

The only thing I am not exactly happy about is no availability of an extended warranty, which I did plan to purchase with the 247... but if you want deals, sometimes you gotta roll the dice.

[wsu99999]

I'm telling you that you will be very happy. That's a good price, and like I said, the difference is going to be worlds apart. I'm glad that I could offer the advice. I almost run the same setup (i got an extra 10wpc with the 745) and I LOVE it. So does my girlfriend (aside from the size of the speakers).

On a side note, let me know how the rs-35's work for you. I upgraded mine to the RS-62, and never heard the 35's.

Regards!!

[Guest srobak]

*sigh*

Well - so far I am not so impressed....

Message to harman:

Greetings,

I am writing with regards to ebay auction # xxx, Sales Order
Confirmation: xxxx

The unit arrived today, no visible
damage to the box or the unit itself.

However - both HDMI inputs are
passing mostly pink color signal. I have verified both new HDMI cables are good
by plugging them directly from my HD DVD and HD Comcast Cable Box directly to
the TV (Westinghouse 42in 1080 monitor) with perfect picture, as I have always
gotten. However - plugging either unit into either HDMI input port on the 645
yields a mostly pink picture. I am including the following links to images for
your reference:

Further - I have verified that
this is only happening across the HDMI inputs, and not the output, by running
component video into the receiver, but outputting via HDMI to my TV, again with
perfect picture.

Please advise on the next step in
order to get this issue rectified.

I can be reached either by this
email address (xxx@xxx.xxx) or phone
at xxx.xxx.xxxx 24/7.

Thanks. I would like to get this
resolved as quickly as possible.

-scr

[Fish]

Bummer about the video.If you contact HK they may just send a different unit.I've owned several 6xx series,had one problem with the volume ramping up on it's own w/the 630.I took it to an HK repair shop in Indy(about 75 miles),they fixed it and shipped it to me in about 2 weeks.They later contacted me to ask if everything was handled properly,which it was,pretty good service.No matter what,listen to the HK,you'll be hard pressed to find anything else in that price range with quality sound,good luck.

[falcon20x]

Yep, I know the feeling.

I bought 2 avr 445 refurbished from HK. The first one locked up with in few minutes and the second one did the same after 1 week.

But I have to say HK's customer service is top notch, they have always got back with me within 24 hours, paid for both returns and refunded my money including shipping when I told them this was just not worth it.

I was so impressed by there service that I end up getting a 645 model but from vanns instead. So far I only had one issue with it (I never used the HDMI) but got it fixed and never had any more problems since.

 I would also add that those things do not handle heat very well ( it needs a good ventilation) and  hard to set up ( manual sucks). Not that I'm trying to be smart here but I would try different things with the settings.

For example: having mine hook up to a projector, every time I changed something like the sound volume I would lose the image and the projector would go into a search mode until it found it again ( usally takes few secondes).

Going back to the settings I tried a few of them and sure enough like the manual said it fixed the problem.

Let us know what it was.

[Guest srobak]

Ok, well it turns out it is an HK and a Motorola/Comcast issue. Apparently the 645 cannot accept y/cb/cr input over HDMI - and can only accept RGB. After much research and wading through lots of BS on AVS - there is one lonely post which very vaguely explains how to change the output type to RGB.

So - I do that - and low and behold - pretty picture! So - I go to switch inputs to the CD player and later go back - and... NO PICTURE! Have audio - no video. Try a variety of on/off combinations to get them to fully synch, and it can't be done. The only way is to do a factory reset on the receiver (wipes all stored info and settings), connect the DVR directly to the tv and again set the output to RGB, reconnect to the receiver again - it again comes up pink, again set the output to RGB. As soon as I change sources - I can't get it back. So - I get to do more research on that I guess. Something tells me I am going to end up using component cables from my DVR - which eliminates the entire reason why I bought a receiver with HDMI. sigh...

On top of that - I noticed that the audio input is pretty quiet, across the board from the DVR and DVD. Strangely enough however - when I play an audio CD from the same deck, over the same coax audio input - it is WAY louder... at any audio setting. I guess I have some programming research to do to try to even all that out.

As if that weren't enough - the Faroudja up-scaling is not what I had hoped. Any detail that I did achieve by running component cables from my DVD straight into the monitor and then using the "fill" option is lost when run through the receiver via the same cables, then out the HDMI into the monitor. Sharpness took a noticeable nosedive, fine detail is all but lost, and the contrast almost looks like it has an ever so slight gray haze, requiring me to re-adjust my display... and I'm still not happy with it.

Now on to more... news... be it bad or good. The speakers arrived today finally. RF-35's - I already have a Synergy 12 sub from last winter. Well, one speaker has a couple sharp bangs on the left rear and right front corners, halfway up the cabinet, and it also has a broken magnet and associated plastic in the grille where the damage is present on the right front corner. Of course this doesn't affect sound (which i will get to later), but still.... you drop some major coin on brand new speakers and you expect them to look good, ya know? I emailed sound distributors to see if they would be willing to do anything about it, or what we should do...

Now - on to the sound... I know that speakers require a "break-in" period at a low-medium volume before they really start to shine - but overall as it stands right now - I am not very impressed. At the moment I am going to attribute it to breaking them in, plus adjusting the ez-eq on the receiver once they are broken in... all I can say is that at the moment - these do not sound at all like the RF-35's I auditioned at a shop a few months ago.

I am not normally such a pessimist, really... nor do I usually have such trouble with a/v equipment - but when I shell out some good money on good gear, I usually get/prefer good results. Right now - this is more headache than anything else.

Will keep y'all posted - and if anyone has any insight as to my lost picture issue, I would certainly appreciate it. I would hate to think that one of the primary reasons I chose the HK HDMI receiver is going to be something I can't use because it can't play nicely with other components.

Sigh...

[Rockets]

Sorry to hear about your issues, I too have some issues with my HK 645, but think they're self inflicted. Actually, I've had several, but found one needs to read the damn manual and go through the OSD to correct them. As far as your HDMI....been there. Went online, can't remember the site, and found this "

"I agree with Joshua, as I read and see more about HDMI apparently the "receiver" unit must be ON first and then the "transmitter".

So, TV first, A/V Receiver second, and video unit (DVD, Cable,Sat) last. This should be the first way to test the equipment.

But even doing this perfectly won't avoid a handshake issue. If this is the case, contacting the company or manufacturer should be the next step to see if there's a way to upgrade, update, or improve on the HDMI communication"

And yes this seems to be a problem, at least for me. I can't blame HK for it. Another issue you will find is the HK 645 won't upconvert to 1080P...you'll have to wait for the HK 647 to do that and pay twice as much to get it ((

I feel your paid on your damamged speakers as well....had a 12-D Subwoofer come in VIA UPS and the gorillas there did quite a number on it. I HATE $%^&* UPS......

Good luck

TC

[Guest srobak]

Yeah, I had tried that combination too with the same results as before - no picture. Funny thing is though - on a whim - I decided to power it up this morning on my way out the door to work just to see what happened... and all of a sudden I got pink picture again. I changed sources - then went back - still had pink picture. I had never been so happy to see a pink picture. Heh... so I changed the output settings on the DVR (again), got a normal HD picture, changed sources, went back - still had picture. Changed sources, turned off receiver, turned on, went back to hdmi - still had good picture. So... I don't get it... rather inconsistent. Maybe it is related to my ex... I will have to play with it more and see what happens.

On another note - Sound Distributors emailed me this morning and said they would either exchange my damaged speaker, or give me a $100 refund. I am kinda torn - and am open to suggestions. Here are some photos of the damaged areas - "What Would Klipsch Owners Do?"

http://www.robak.net/images/sound/klipsch/DSCF5030.JPG
http://www.robak.net/images/sound/klipsch/DSCF5032.JPG
http://www.robak.net/images/sound/klipsch/DSCF5041.JPG
http://www.robak.net/images/sound/klipsch/DSCF5046.JPG
http://www.robak.net/images/sound/klipsch/Untitled.jpg

What do you guys think? Is it worth the trouble sending boxes back and forth, or should I just take the $?

Now - on to a better note - one which may influence the above... after posting my rant last night and having run 2 hours of miscellaneous music through, I sat down and played Phil Collins - Face Value in it's entirety, and then Pink Floyd - Division Bell in it's entirety... and during Floyd - I could actually hear the sound improving through the course of the album. So... a few more days of that, and I will then fire up the ez-eq and see what that does for me.