|   H/K receiver owners speak up please. | ttransj
Jan 10, 2002 12:54 PM | | I've notices that people are likely to respond to questions about Yamaha or Denon, Onkyo receivers, but rarely give opinion about H/K and maybe some others.
I bought my Yamaha because I read enough messages about yamaha receivers, I like it but not really much due to hash sound in music and it's time to upgrade. The new Yamaha RX-V1000,1200 are looking good to me and have high rating too.
Anyone used to be H/K fan or current HK owners? You have problem with the built qualities? not many choices? prices? sound quality? It's likely to be quality problem, isn't it? If no one speak up I will end up buying Yamaha again. I don't have enough money to try different models every year but I like to try out the H/K Avr520(I read spec and like it). How about Denon? I never look at its spec so I should take a look at them.
I need your feedbacks because I am afraid of buying somethings I don't like and stuck with it for a few years.
What I am looking for:
1- Many and flexible I/Os( like yamaha(RXV1000/1200))
2- Warm, clarity, good bass for music.
3- Acceptable movie DSP sound( my yamaha has 25 DSP modes but I just use plain DD/DTS and I can live with it).
4- Range: $800 max.
Item #1, I can find out from the manual. So #2, #3 and #4are more important to hear from you. All the things above are aceptable and expectable to the price range so don't recommend hi end.
Thanks.
P.S: I alrady ask similar questions many times so hopefully I don't need ask again. |
| HK done me wrong | crashgrover
Jan 10, 2002 3:01 PM | | Based on my experince with HK, I could never reccomend them. The first one that I got was an AVR110, out of the box there were blue sparks from the transformer so I took it back. The second one, another 110 wouldn't even work. Admitedly this was thier base receiver, but I think it doesn't speak well for thier quality. The Marnatz 7200 is only $699, and the receiver that I will likely get. |
| HK done me wrong | Tony P
Jan 10, 2002 4:07 PM | | In my early auditioning of receivers, I checked out som HK. They seemed to lack the dynamics that the others (Yamaha, Denon, Pioneer) had. I could turn the volume up all the way with minimal output.... I own a Yamaha and love it.... Would definitely stick with that line... Unless a high end Denon went on blowout, and I mean a blowout...
I also have an early model Pioneer, before DD and DTS. It was okay but sounds a bit muddy. I auditioned the Elites also and found the Yamaha and Denon to be the best.
As for the harsh sounds, more that likeley it is your recording. Many times I listen to CD's and say can't stand to listen because the quality sucks so bad.
Good luck |
| Agree with your opinion | Brad-
Jan 10, 2002 4:23 PM | | Completely agree with your opinion. I've owned the Yamaha RX-V793, Yamaha RX-V995 and finally upgraded to the RX-V2095. Musically, simply the best in my A/B comparison auditions. I've had the Onkyo TX-DS747 and found it musically inferior to the Yamaha RX-V793. I've owned mass market brand receivers as Pioneer, Technics, and Kenwood.
While the Onkyo was better than those low end mass market receivers, the Yamaha was like night and day. I've auditioned Pioneer Elite receivers and found them muddy sounding and not much better than mass market low end receivers. HK and Marantz sound colored(warm?), compressed(dark?), and muted in the upper frequencies. I found their upper frequencies no better than the compressed upper frequency of typical low end mass market receivers, as those I previously owned. They did sound overall better than mass market low end receivers(standard Pioneer, Sony, JVC, and Kenwood brands)but worse than Yamaha(IMO 1st), Denon(IMO 2nd), and Onkyo(IMO 3rd).
With a musical analog design as #1 priority, coupled with their exceptional accuracy, dynamics, reliability, and overall design and performance, my votes go to Yamaha and Denon. |
| Don't jump from the fire into the pan! | Brad-
Jan 10, 2002 4:08 PM | | I won't say anything other than giving you this link so you can read for yourself.
http://www.audioreview.com/reviews/AVReceiver/product_78662.shtml |
| re: H/K receiver owners speak up please. | BillyD
Jan 10, 2002 4:57 PM | | Well, I love my HK AVR-120. Great reciever for the money.
The remote could be a little better though.
Sound quality is great. Plenty of in's and out's for me. I'm not an expert by any means. But this reciever does its job very well. I would recommend it. |
| Here's an original suggestion... | Ned Head
Jan 10, 2002 6:48 PM | | Why are you limiting yourself to the H/K's? For the price you are referring to, there are many decent choices in units without having to ask the reliability questions....check the H/K reviews. The owners have spoken. I had a Yammy RX-V592, and just replaced it with an Onkyo TX-DS797. Now granted, the Yammy is five years old, but the Onk has beautiful sound as well as being able to handle any existing audio HTR format and inputs for future ones. My Yammy did an admirable job with the watts it had, but it was time to move on. I have no regrets on the 797, and for the money I paid, $719 shipped from Vanns.com, it fits quite well into your $800 budget. While only at 19 reviews (check out the 787 as well, as that was the model this replaced and that has quite a few more reviews), I think you will be impressed. BTW, I am sure that should you find a reliable H/K or any other brand, you will be happy in this type of price range no matter what you select. One thing on the Yammy's though, I know that the orange display appears studio pro, but come on...let's throw in a little variety....there is a fine line between studio pro and just plain cheap (refer to the display on that $1.99 watch at the local discount store to see the similarities).
http://www.audioreview.com/reviews/AVReceiver/product_79019.shtml |
| Read this. | ttransj
Jan 11, 2002 12:35 PM | | I check out the Denon 2802, I am not sure about it. I listened to 1 or 2 Onkyo receivers at CCity and don't like much compared to AVR510(they don't display AVR520).
I got this email a couple weeks ago and I like to share. This email is from a saleman from 6ave.com. Hopefully He wouldn't mind 'cause I posted his email up here(deleted some parts). Also the AVR520 has many input format for the future. They have all the pre-out up to 7.1 so I would be perfect since I own HK 5ch amp.
++++++++++++++++ email++++++++++++++++++
I have spent some time listening to both brands'
receivers, and here are my thoughts:
For movies:
The Yamaha offers top notch decoding capabilities, and the steering of
panned surround effects and directional sounds is excellent. Dynamics
are fairly good, and dialog is crisp, clear and easy to understand,
even when accompanied by loud sound effects. The many DSP modes are
very convincing, although many people prefer straight surround, but
they're worth trying for yourself. Feature-wise, the Yamaha is pretty
fully loaded, with component video switching and plenty of inputs and
outputs.
The HK (I assume you're looking at the AVR-520) is no slouch in the
video department, although it lacks the 6th channel of amplification
the
RXV1200 has. The HK excels in dynamic ability, so loud explosions and
other dynamic effects have great impact. While it lacks some of the
DSP
modes of the Yammi, the HK does offer Logic 7 processing, an
enhancement
to multichannel surround, that works very well. Feature-wise it holds
up well to the Yammi, offering nearly everything the Yammi has, and,
IMO, a friendlier remote.
On music:
The Yamaha does stereo very well, with a crisp, clear sound and
excellent sound stage and imaging. There's no sense of graininess or
distortion.
The HK again offers superior dynamics, neutral, uncolored sound, and
very low distortion.
Build quality on both of these receivers is excellent, and they are
both
very heavy, reliable and solid. The HK is a more powerful receiver.
You'll notice that while the Yammi is rated at 80 watts RMS per channel
x 6, the HK is rated at 75 watts RMS per channel x 5, with all channels
driven. No other brand in this price range rates their receivers this
way - it is a much more demanding standard, (many "100 watt per
channel"
surround receivers have been tested and found to deliver anywhere from
30 to 70 watts per channel when all channels are driven
simultaneously).
True, that's not a real-world common occurance, to have all channels
pushed to the max at the same time, but it is a good indication of how
well the amplifier section was designed and built.
Thank you,
Phil Slepian |
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