Upgrade to H/K or stay with Yamaha?

crusher372

I am currently using a Yamaha htr-5540 with my new setup for Polk RTI-70 fronts,CSI30 center,R30 rears,and SVS 17-39pci sub. All is well but the sound is a little too bright with the new rti's. This seems to be maybe a symptom of the Yamaha line. I am satisfied with 5.1 sound as my smallish 12x13 room won't allow a 6.1 or 7.1 upgrade.

Do you all believe that the hk avr225 would be more of a lateral move in sound or do you think this will help me smooth the sound out a little without sacrificing theater impact?

Airplay355

have you demoed any of the H/K line? or any other receivers around the same price range?

i think the best thing to do would be to go to a CC and listen to the rti70's on the H/K receivers they have there then decide if its an improvement or not.

i have heard the rti70's on an H/K and they do sound very nice but i have never heard a yammer receiver so i can't compare. go out and do some listenin then decide.

if you do decide to get an H/K receiver you might wanna look around online.

www.harmanaudio.com has good deals, if u dont mind refurbished.

goodluck with ur purchase, i have just decided to buy a Marantz sr7300 so i have been down this path before, there are alot of chocies but as long as u do your homework you should be fine.

i4gotmyid

i have a yammy running my HT setup of RT25's, and 35's and it is a little bright. The H/K I demo'd was smoother, but not worth spending the money. I'd look into separates instead as many people on this forum already have done. I've tried an adcom amp and preamp for 14 days, but had to return it once my wife saw how much I spent. So now I am looking into a used setup. But separates are much better and can be a lot cheaper to run.

wlrandall

Just my 02, but I think the Polk/HK match is an excellent one. Yamaha, Denon and Onkyo amps all sound too bright and thin with Polks.

If you're not looking for the latest and greatest there are some killer prices out there on the "last year" models.

dcarlson

Yamaha, Denon and Onkyo amps all sound too bright and thin with Polks

I don't know about that one. I had an H/K and had to put the treble up on it because it was way to warm. I think it's all subjective and many here would agree Denons and Polks mate very well.

Mike682

crusher, go with the H/K avr 225. I had a Yamaha htr-5540 and returned it for an H/K avr 125. Don't let the "low" wattage ratings deter you, this thing blows away the Yamaha because of H/K's high current amplification. Just make sure you buy the H/K from an authorized dealer or else you may not have a warranty (the h/k receivers come with a 2 yr warranty).

Overall, the AVR 225 would be a definite step up from the htr-5540 (actually, I'd say a couple of steps up).

pjdami

Sonically with the RT line, I vote for the H/K also.

The Yamaha would win as far as reliability. If you get the H/K make sure you get some type of warranty with it. Some people have reliability problems; others have absolutely none with H/K.

PJD

crusher372

Thanks for the great replies so far!! Ok so now I am leaning toward an H/k. Can any owners let me know the big differences between the 125 and 225 recievers. I know the 225 supplies 10 more watts per chanel but is this the only real difference?

Mike682

crusher,

The main diff between the 125 and 225 is the wattage like you said. The 225 also comes with an E-z set remote and on-screen display which a lot of people like. Other than that, I think there is not much else different between the two.

here is the link that compares the current line if receivers. hope this helps.

http://www.harmankardon.com/product_detail.asp?cat=REC&prod=AVR%20125&sType=C#