Harman Kardon or Denon?

[Steve Blackwell]

I know this is subjective, and many variables are to be considered,
but considering some of the stories that I've read here regarding HK
quality issues... I thought I'd ask:

I'm considering purchasing a surround receiver, approximately 65-100
wpc, not sure how many channels to consider (wondering what's more
valuable, more watts or more channels?)... I have a 15 year old HK
receiver that functions well, although I never really was satisfied
with the tuner. Anyway... based on reputation, I was considering HK
and Denon. Are these any better than Yamaha, JVC, Sony, Pioneer,
Onkyo etc? Open to other suggestions as well.

Somehow I'm going to pump some of this sound throughout my house, as
well (stereo, not surround.) (Therefore, buy more watts/channel??)
Ballpark budget for this unit: $500

Also was considering a refurb unit off of ebay. (Wondering if a
"re-tested" refurb unit may actually have better Quality Control vs.
new?)

Experiences?
Suggestions?

Thanks,
Steve

[ReEfErMaDnEsS]

I LOVE my Pioneer VSXD-850S,,,awesome and expandable (pre outs)


"Steve Blackwell" > wrote in message
om...
> I know this is subjective, and many variables are to be considered,
> but considering some of the stories that I've read here regarding HK
> quality issues... I thought I'd ask:
>
> I'm considering purchasing a surround receiver, approximately 65-100
> wpc, not sure how many channels to consider (wondering what's more
> valuable, more watts or more channels?)... I have a 15 year old HK
> receiver that functions well, although I never really was satisfied
> with the tuner. Anyway... based on reputation, I was considering HK
> and Denon. Are these any better than Yamaha, JVC, Sony, Pioneer,
> Onkyo etc? Open to other suggestions as well.
>
> Somehow I'm going to pump some of this sound throughout my house, as
> well (stereo, not surround.) (Therefore, buy more watts/channel??)
> Ballpark budget for this unit: $500
>
> Also was considering a refurb unit off of ebay. (Wondering if a
> "re-tested" refurb unit may actually have better Quality Control vs.
> new?)
>
> Experiences?
> Suggestions?
>
> Thanks,
> Steve

[Kalman Rubinson]

On 10 Mar 2004 18:26:25 -0800, (Steve Blackwell)
wrote:

>Somehow I'm going to pump some of this sound throughout my house, as
>well (stereo, not surround.) (Therefore, buy more watts/channel??)
>Ballpark budget for this unit: $500

To "pump some of this sound throughout my house," you will have to buy
additional small local amps as it's not likely that any receiver will
handle more than 2 or so pairs of speakers.

Kal

[Mark D. Zacharias]

Refurb units have generally poorer warranties, and a higher failure rate by
FAR than new ones.

Denon is good, though Yamaha's support is better. Personally I'd stay away
from HK. Made-in-China junk, the ones I've seen anyway appear to be built by
the same vendor as RCA home theater stuff. Yick.
Sony's receivers are nice enough, but their support has slipped badly with
all the downsizing, job cuts, etc.
Onkyo is still good, and their support has actually improved of late.
Can't recommend Pioneer - their tuners are bad, their low-mid units use STK
style output IC's rather than discretes, and their big unit are almost
totally unserviceable.
JVC has generally been good in the past, but I've no knowledge of their
current product or support, thou I suppose id their support sucked I
probably would have seen griping here on the Group.

Mark Z.

--
Please reply only to Group. I regret this is necessary. Viruses and spam
have rendered my regular e-mail address useless.


"Steve Blackwell" > wrote in message
om...
> I know this is subjective, and many variables are to be considered,
> but considering some of the stories that I've read here regarding HK
> quality issues... I thought I'd ask:
>
> I'm considering purchasing a surround receiver, approximately 65-100
> wpc, not sure how many channels to consider (wondering what's more
> valuable, more watts or more channels?)... I have a 15 year old HK
> receiver that functions well, although I never really was satisfied
> with the tuner. Anyway... based on reputation, I was considering HK
> and Denon. Are these any better than Yamaha, JVC, Sony, Pioneer,
> Onkyo etc? Open to other suggestions as well.
>
> Somehow I'm going to pump some of this sound throughout my house, as
> well (stereo, not surround.) (Therefore, buy more watts/channel??)
> Ballpark budget for this unit: $500
>
> Also was considering a refurb unit off of ebay. (Wondering if a
> "re-tested" refurb unit may actually have better Quality Control vs.
> new?)
>
> Experiences?
> Suggestions?
>
> Thanks,
> Steve

[Mark D. Zacharias]

Sorry for the idiotic misspellings - I should review closer rather than just
using OE's spellchecker.

My brother the lawyer was sending out a form letter telling people to pay
their "awful" debt instead of "lawful" debt.

:-)


Mark Z.

--
Please reply only to Group. I regret this is necessary. Viruses and spam
have rendered my regular e-mail address useless.


"Mark D. Zacharias" > wrote in message
...
> Refurb units have generally poorer warranties, and a higher failure rate
by
> FAR than new ones.
>
> Denon is good, though Yamaha's support is better. Personally I'd stay away
> from HK. Made-in-China junk, the ones I've seen anyway appear to be built
by
> the same vendor as RCA home theater stuff. Yick.
> Sony's receivers are nice enough, but their support has slipped badly with
> all the downsizing, job cuts, etc.
> Onkyo is still good, and their support has actually improved of late.
> Can't recommend Pioneer - their tuners are bad, their low-mid units use
STK
> style output IC's rather than discretes, and their big unit are almost
> totally unserviceable.
> JVC has generally been good in the past, but I've no knowledge of their
> current product or support, thou I suppose id their support sucked I
> probably would have seen griping here on the Group.
>
> Mark Z.
>
> --
> Please reply only to Group. I regret this is necessary. Viruses and spam
> have rendered my regular e-mail address useless.
>
>
> "Steve Blackwell" > wrote in message
> om...
> > I know this is subjective, and many variables are to be considered,
> > but considering some of the stories that I've read here regarding HK
> > quality issues... I thought I'd ask:
> >
> > I'm considering purchasing a surround receiver, approximately 65-100
> > wpc, not sure how many channels to consider (wondering what's more
> > valuable, more watts or more channels?)... I have a 15 year old HK
> > receiver that functions well, although I never really was satisfied
> > with the tuner. Anyway... based on reputation, I was considering HK
> > and Denon. Are these any better than Yamaha, JVC, Sony, Pioneer,
> > Onkyo etc? Open to other suggestions as well.
> >
> > Somehow I'm going to pump some of this sound throughout my house, as
> > well (stereo, not surround.) (Therefore, buy more watts/channel??)
> > Ballpark budget for this unit: $500
> >
> > Also was considering a refurb unit off of ebay. (Wondering if a
> > "re-tested" refurb unit may actually have better Quality Control vs.
> > new?)
> >
> > Experiences?
> > Suggestions?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Steve
>
>

[normanstrong]

"Steve Blackwell" > wrote in message
om...
> I know this is subjective, and many variables are to be considered,
> but considering some of the stories that I've read here regarding HK
> quality issues... I thought I'd ask:
>
> I'm considering purchasing a surround receiver, approximately 65-100
> wpc, not sure how many channels to consider (wondering what's more
> valuable, more watts or more channels?)... I have a 15 year old HK
> receiver that functions well, although I never really was satisfied
> with the tuner. Anyway... based on reputation, I was considering HK
> and Denon. Are these any better than Yamaha, JVC, Sony, Pioneer,
> Onkyo etc? Open to other suggestions as well.

It doesn't appear to me that there's any direct correlation between
the quality of a receiver and the brand. IOW, the mere fact that a
receiver is made by Denon or Yamaha, etc. does not mean that it falls
into any specific quality category.

Looking at a list of 17 receivers in order of supposed desirability,
we find an Onkyo occupying the top spot; but then another Onkyo
occupies spot 9. the Denon 2803, a rather expensive receiver,
occupies spot 6, where it's surrounded by 2 Yamahas in spots 5 and 7.
A Panasonic is in spot 2, but also in spot 11. As you can see, it
really isn't possible to draw any inferences simply by knowing the
brand.

About the only thing you can count on is that the more expensive
receiver will be better than a cheaper one--if you stay with the same
brand! A $500 Sony is probably better than a $300 Sony.

Norm Strong

[Water]

I think this is what you should consider more than just brand.

Most of the time, people refering bad products are the middle to lower end
products.
I currently own a HK AVR8000 and I find it stands up to it clams. High
current output
and solidly built (weight 65lb). It has 5.1 channels plus pre-amp out for
Surrend Back channels, so I can add a two channels amp to provide 7.1 sound.

If you go with HK, pick AVR7200, and if you take Denon, take something
like 1804, 2803, 3803, or even 5803.


"normanstrong" > wrote in message
news:xz14c.8845$YG.79312@attbi_s01...
>
> About the only thing you can count on is that the more expensive
> receiver will be better than a cheaper one--if you stay with the same
> brand! A $500 Sony is probably better than a $300 Sony.
>
> Norm Strong
>
>

[Steve Blackwell]

Thanks to each of you for your input. I will take a closer look at
the brands and models mentioned.

I'm guessing Kal is correct about needing multiple amps to feed
multiple rooms. I'll go visit a few of the local high-end shops and
get them to explain to me some of their recommended set-ups for
multi-room systems. I wanted some of idea of brands, and some input
before visiting them...

I'll be back after I do that...as I'm sure my confusion will be
multiplied.

Thanks again, and more opinions and experiences are welcome.

Steve