Choosing a receiver: Opinions, please [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

PDA

View Full Version : Choosing a receiver: Opinions, please



Century L100
02-07-2006, 01:06 PM
I'm eyeing a new receiver and I've almost narrowed it to two: The Yamaha RX-497 and the HK 3380 or 3480. (Well, OK...that's three).

Background: I'm not an audiophile, I just enjoy good sound from a simple, straightforward music system. No home theater or surround interests here, at least not yet. And I'm on a pretty strict budget right now. Current speakers are JBL L-40s, an 80s-era "bookshelf" (i.e. so large that they have to sit on pedestals on the floor), although they need refoaming. Because they take up so much space in my small 18 x 14 living room I'm thinking of downsizing...the B&W DM601 and 602 look & sound attractive. My musical tastes are classical, bluegrass and classic rock in about equal proportions.

What I'm thinking: Pluses for the HKs are the simple design, the high current amp and the slightly lower price. The Yamaha, OTOH, has the variable loudness countour and the the pure direct feature. Yamaha doesn't seem much available online, though, and the prices seem higher. Both seem to get decent reviews in AR and elsewhere.

Any helpful opinions? Are any of the features I've mentioned worthwhile, or are they hype? If anyone has any first hand experience with these models, I'd appreciate it (or if there are some good alternatives that I'm missing). Thanks in advance.

topspeed
02-08-2006, 12:11 PM
Picking a receiver is more a function of picking features. IOW, from a sound quality soundpoint, you'll not likely hear a dramatic difference, if any at all. Therefore, I'd suggest going through their feature list and pick which one best serves your needs. To me, everything else considered equal, I'd look at the DAC's, video upconversion/switching (if for HT), auto room eq, and Pure Direct. I could care less about DSP's, but that's me. Both the companies you've chosen have very good reputations, although I think Yammie has a bit better reliability record.

Hope this helps.

accastil
02-09-2006, 02:10 AM
personally, i would go for the HK

matt39
02-09-2006, 04:37 AM
I would suggest you also consider the Denon DRA-395 which combines a ton of features with a solid amp section. My own receiver is an HK3375 which I purchased for the reasons you mention (simplicity and amp). I have been very satisfied with it for over 2 years. The Yamaha should be a solid performer. Their loudness contour is a useful feature but the Pure Direct didn't seem to make any audible difference to me in the unit I owned with that feature. I think the Yamaha might match up pretty well with the B&W's you're considering. However when it comes to speakers I would recommend a little patience. There are a lot of options in their price range and it would pay you to do some auditioning if possible. Two speakers which come to mind as contenders would be the PSB Image B25 and the Paradigm Mini Monitor. They are both good all rounders and with the B&W's would be good places to start your listening. Hope this helps a little and good luck.

kexodusc
02-09-2006, 04:38 AM
I've owned a few a/v receivers from Yamaha and a stereo receiver by H/K. I believe the H/K's have more power, mine was pretty beefy.
Unfortunately the darn thing blew up on me after too many years of abuse.
I've owned some Yamaha a/v recievers as well. Sound quality wise, to echo Topspeed's comments, you won't hear much of a difference. The H/K's are generally a bit "warmer" sounding than Yamaha. Doesn't mean better, I find the Yamaha's a bit more neutral, but some find them too bright. We're splitting hairs here though, the differences aren't dramatic at all.

For online retailers, you might have a hard time. Both these companies will put up a fuss on honoring warranties if you buy them on-line, since they aren't "authorized retailers".
If you are going to buy online, why not try ebay or audiogon.com and save some money on a used or get an aftermarket warranty on a refurbed unit or something to save a bit of money?

A few people on the forums here have been having some difficulties with H/K as of late...not an epidemic, but you might want to stick with buying new if you go with H/K. Yamaha has as good a quality history as anyone at this price-level, but their not perfect either.

Hope this helps. Let us know what you decide.

Mark111867
02-09-2006, 04:43 AM
I would go for the Yamaha. I used an RX-596 for about 5 or 6 years as my main source of amplification, which is in the last line before the new RX-397, 497, & 797. I had to have the selector knob calibrated during that time, but other than that, I was very happy with it. I'm not very familiar with HK's stuff, but I have to agree with topspeed about Yamaha being more reliable. I've just heard a lot of buzz about HK's reliability record not being so good, and have not heard anything poor in the way of Yamaha's reliability. In the end, get what you like the best. If there is one that you like more than the other, don't get wrapped up in second guessing yourself. Get what you feel comfortable with. Good luck. By the way, I saw an RX-496 on e-bay, which is cheaper and probably just as good as the 497.

Century L100
02-09-2006, 04:53 AM
Hmm...thanks for all the input!

The reliability comments are interesting. That was one of the issues I was pondering. I once worked as a salesperson for an audio shop that handled HK, Marantz and Rotel -- but this was way back in the early '80s -- and some of the HK products, although good when they worked, were nightmarish when it came to service problems. Power supplies were a problem, as I recall.

I've listened briefly to the Yamaha with the B&W 602 S3 and was impressed.

Interesting note on authorized dealers...HKs own web site refers you to a few "major" online retailers (don't know if this forum allows me to mention the names) and it appears that there are some pretty good deals to be had on the 3380: I think I saw one for under $220 with free shipping and I believe it was brand new, not display or refurbished.

Stay tuned... ;)

bipper
02-09-2006, 06:43 AM
before I classified my self as an "audiophile" I was a receiver buff. I have has 4 yamaha receivers since the early 80's and must say that all of them are still working.

I am a devout fan of Yamaha receivers expecially because I was in Asia for 3 years and my (US spec 115 volt) rxv 740 receiver would take 300 volt spikes without a puff of smoke. While my other components like kenwood cd player, sony tape deck, all burned out.

I also appreciate yamaha recievers because I now look back and laugh thinking about my grammer school days when I would connect 10-12 old car speakers in parallel (boring saturday nights) and crank the volume until the speakers would blow. The yamaha would get too hot to touch but would still work with ease.

Having spoken to many sales reps at circuit city for an honest answer, several of them have noted that HK products are a dangerous sell because of customer returns.

I also dont appreciate HK products because the HK sound systems in BMWs (owned 3) are "good" but basically mass market junk branding, basically just like BOSE and Monster Cables.



Yamaha's for reliability, HK to match you fancy living/family room decor.

I would also take a look at Denon, because they make several excellent receivers that seem to be within your price range. I have not compared the Home Theatre capabilites of Yamaha and Denon receivers in the same price range. But I recentely did a comparison of the 2 channel capabilities of both receivers and must say that I prefer the sound of the Denon receivers (2 channel) over Yamaha's receivers that sounded "flatter" and had less clearity.

Even the Sales rep (very knowledgable personnel) at www.tweeter.com did say that these days there seems to be a Denon cult and Yamaha Cult all depending on what your ear likes.
good luck

accastil
02-10-2006, 07:21 PM
before I classified my self as an "audiophile" I was a receiver buff. I have has 4 yamaha receivers since the early 80's and must say that all of them are still working.

I am a devout fan of Yamaha receivers expecially because I was in Asia for 3 years and my (US spec 115 volt) rxv 740 receiver would take 300 volt spikes without a puff of smoke. While my other components like kenwood cd player, sony tape deck, all burned out.

I also appreciate yamaha recievers because I now look back and laugh thinking about my grammer school days when I would connect 10-12 old car speakers in parallel (boring saturday nights) and crank the volume until the speakers would blow. The yamaha would get too hot to touch but would still work with ease.

Having spoken to many sales reps at circuit city for an honest answer, several of them have noted that HK products are a dangerous sell because of customer returns.

I also dont appreciate HK products because the HK sound systems in BMWs (owned 3) are "good" but basically mass market junk branding, basically just like BOSE and Monster Cables.



Yamaha's for reliability, HK to match you fancy living/family room decor.

I would also take a look at Denon, because they make several excellent receivers that seem to be within your price range. I have not compared the Home Theatre capabilites of Yamaha and Denon receivers in the same price range. But I recentely did a comparison of the 2 channel capabilities of both receivers and must say that I prefer the sound of the Denon receivers (2 channel) over Yamaha's receivers that sounded "flatter" and had less clearity.

Even the Sales rep (very knowledgable personnel) at www.tweeter.com did say that these days there seems to be a Denon cult and Yamaha Cult all depending on what your ear likes.
good luck

denons and yammies? :)

musicman1999
02-10-2006, 08:56 PM
if you are just looking for basic stereo only.if you do not need a tuner look at an integrated amp,such as those by rotel or cambridge audio,to name a couple.both offer very good 2 channel units for resonable prices that would sound better than your typical denon or yamaha lower priced gear.might be worth a look.

bill

Century L100
02-11-2006, 08:05 AM
if you are just looking for basic stereo only.if you do not need a tuner look at an integrated amp,such as those by rotel or cambridge audio,to name a couple.both offer very good 2 channel units for resonable prices that would sound better than your typical denon or yamaha lower priced gear.might be worth a look.

bill

I've thought about that, briefly...my tuner needs are pretty limited, but it would still be nice to have. Plus my audio rack space is pretty limited, so adding a separate tuner later wouldn't be an option.

2chAlex
02-11-2006, 10:06 AM
Seems your inclined toward yamaha, if so you might want to check out Vanns.
They have a real nice deal on theYamaha RX-777. They are authorized dealer for Yamaha and HK. HK also sells refurbed direct at Harmanaudio.com. Another thought would be Marantz SR 4320 .

accastil
02-16-2006, 03:37 PM
id go for marantz or HK. forget about the yammies especially if youll be making use of your system for stereo music listening. yammies are very good for HT though.

GMichael
02-17-2006, 06:51 AM
Polly wants another cracker.

kexodusc
02-17-2006, 07:08 AM
id go for marantz or HK. forget about the yammies especially if youll be making use of your system for stereo music listening. yammies are very good for HT though.

Ahh, but you see, the trick is to play music through your DVD player so you fool your Yamaha receiver into thinking it's playing HT and not stereo music listening....then it's very good at both.

GMichael
02-17-2006, 07:44 AM
Ahh, but you see, the trick is to play music through your DVD player so you fool your Yamaha receiver into thinking it's playing HT and not stereo music listening....then it's very good at both.


I really need to have a long talk with my Yammie this weekend. I keep telling it that it shouldn't play music well, and to just frickin' stick to HT, but it won't listen to me. Every time I play my CD-R it sounds great. I've tried everything to make it sound thin and lifeless but alas, it's to no avail. I tried different speakers & wires. Disconnecting the sub helped, but not enough. Maybe if I switch the polarity on one. That's it. I'll try that tonight.
Stupid receiver! I'll show it who's boss.

L.J.
02-17-2006, 07:53 AM
So does that mean when you're watching a movie, the music score in the background sucks, but the dialog and sound effects are right on? :D