H/K or Denon

[TomStanoch]

I'm soon upgrading my Onkyo 575 w/ something new and I'm wondering which receiver to get if I have 25x15 foot room w/ Klipsch Synergy speakers? The choice is between the Harmon/Kardon AVR525 or the Denon AVR-2803. Please Respond. Thanks

[bturk667]

The choice is between the Harmon/Kardon AVR525 or the Denon AVR-2803. Please Respond. Thanks[/QUOTE]

Why not just bring both units home and listen to them within your system. Let your ears be the judge.

[agtpunx40]

why are you limitig yourself to just these two? Have you listened to others in the price range ie. yamaha, marantz, maybe even some lower end nad. If you decide on the H/K, you might want to look on ebay for the H/K auctions. You can get factory remanufactred recievers with full warrenty directly from H/K for pretty cheap. I'm currently debating between a yamaha rxv 1400 or the H/K 525. Of course by the time I get the cash, we'll probalby be on to the next series. The H/k is LOADED with features, and has good sound and power. I am a big yamaha fan, great quality, the best dsps in the price range, lots of feature, and that new YPAO parametric eq.

[kexodusc]

Hey dude, I agree with the other poster that you should try Yamaha...excellent receivers, we sell a pile of them. But if your choice is exclusively Denon or H/K, take the H/K...there's no comparison. I find Yamaha and H/K battle it out in this price range, the winner ultimately depends on what features you'd use more...sheer power, probably H/K, but sound quality and digital sound fields -Yamaha takes the cake. Unless the Denon (good receivers too btw) is a significantly better buy, you won't be disappointed with the H/K.

[TomStanoch]

yeah, thanks, i think it's now between the H/K avr525 and the Yamaha 1400. What I don't understand is the HK is only 7 x 70 watts. I have an Onkyo 575 now that's 75 watts per channel and I don't think it's powerful enough. Will the H/K be better?

[poneal]

Tom, I agree with most of the other posters. I can personally testify for the HK. I've had the HK AVR320 for 2 years with no trouble whatsoever. As for your watts question, for some reason HK rates their amps/receivers low. The AVR320 specs say 55 wpc in 5.1 and 65wpc in stereo. Well let me tell you that the 55wpc is better sounding, louder, and more powerful than my previously integrated amp rated at 100wpc. I might also add that I did auditon the denon(cant remember what model) and the HK. I liked the HK better. I might further add that whichever one you decide upon, I think you will be happy with either. Hope this helps.

[grampi]

Big mistake to drop the Denon from consideration. Denon's receivers are as good as any, and better than most.

[psonic]

yea they really like the denon's over at CNET reviews, however in this steep price range you can also consider real hifi gear like NAD & Rotel possibly. These will also be rated lower than you are used to seeing, but they will be more powerful and dynamic. I am using a Nad integraded rated at like 45wpc and it blows the doors off my old HK 65wpc and a Pioneer 100wpc!!!!!!!!!!!!! Trust me you are only looking at circuit city type stuff so far...

a quality receiver will handle 8, 4, and 2 ohm loads! look below, the NAD puts out 175 wpc at 2 ohms, this tells you there are quality amplifiers / power supply on board

http://www.800stereo.com/prods/nad-t-742.html

[TomStanoch]

I decided to go with the Yamaha RX-V1400. I went to Ultimate Electronics and listened to a side by side comparison of the Denon 2803 and the Yamaha on my speakers which were also there (Klipsch SF1). I don't know if the salesman didn't know what he was doing or what but the Denon was much much quieter on my speakers than the Yamaha, almost like something was wrong with his demo. Since I felt bad that I wasn't going to buy the receiver there anyway I said thank you and left. I ended up getting the Yamaha at etronics.com for $601.95 w/ tax included.

If anyone has anything good to say about my purchase please reply. Thank you

[TinHere]

I decided to go with the Yamaha RX-V1400. I went to Ultimate Electronics and listened to a side by side comparison of the Denon 2803 and the Yamaha on my speakers which were also there (Klipsch SF1). I don't know if the salesman didn't know what he was doing or what but the Denon was much much quieter on my speakers than the Yamaha, almost like something was wrong with his demo. Since I felt bad that I wasn't going to buy the receiver there anyway I said thank you and left. I ended up getting the Yamaha at etronics.com for $601.95 w/ tax included.

If anyone has anything good to say about my purchase please reply. Thank you

You should be very happy with a it. The YPAO feature will dial it in for your room and give you a balance of sound that requires a real knowledge of acoustics to acheive. It's a very user friendly receiver.

btw: The newer runs are shipping with DPLIIx. If that is an issue for you might want to check and make sure what you are getting has it.

Enjoy!

[poneal]

I think you will be happy with your purchase. Did you get a chance to do a comparison between yamaha and harman kardon? Happy listening and holidays.

[sulloj]

I've got both HK and Denon and I'm all about the Denon. It's like comparing an Audi (HK) vs Mercedes (Denon) IMHO. I've had good luck with all of my HK's (owned about 6 different receivers) but had BAD luck with HK refurbs (junk) First refurb I bought on Ebay was delivered in a beautiful box but the unit looked like it came out of someone's garage sale! Thing was dented, scratched and the Harman/Kardon gold emblem was even faded! I contacted HK and they reluctantly send a replacement (Of course I had to send mine back first) and it took about 3 weeks to finally get another one. They did offer an upgrade to the next level of receiver but by the time I got it I had already purchased my first Denon and never looked back. PS I sold the HK refurb on Ebay to a guy in Canada. He emailed me about 8 months later and told me it crapped out. Fortunately it was still under warranty and I recommended he contact HK customer service for a replacement. See that's what I mean (refurb junk) Plus HK's are made in China vs Denon made in Japan. I don't think the Chinese are on par with the Japanese in build quality! DENON baby!