2ch Receivers Have Come a Long Way

organ

I got a h/k 3390 stereo receiver earlier today to use in a studio I'm setting up in the house to do my paintings. I planned to use a pair of Polk bookshelfs with them.
Well, I got too excited, and instead, brought it down to the main rig for a test run.
I unplugged my tube integrated and fired up the h/k.
This receiver is SICK! I swear I did not expect it to sound this good. Hell, for the 3390's asking price, this unit is a steal and probably the best bargain in audio I've come across so far (new, not used).
This receiver is not going anywhere. It's staying in the main rig.
Attachment not found.Attachment not found.
I currently have it powering my RT1000p's. The sound is so open, detailed, dynamic and effortless. Excellent HF extension. The texture is very nice and rich too which I really dig.

I've also have NAD separates that I rotate in my rig that cost way more $. I like this h/k much more. I know some of you may think I'm crazy, but that's ok, maybe I am, because I like this unit as much as the 3 single ended tube amps I have.

I'm going to try it out with my LSi9 and B&W in a few months.

I never tried a receiver in the past other than about half a dozen 5.1 HT receivers that couldn't do music. Now I'm excited about 2ch receivers after trying this one out.
I think I'm going to get a Yamaha R-S300 next and compare it to the h/k.

This unit is definitely worth checking out if you're in the market for 2ch amplification. Don't let it's price fool you.

organ

nbrowser wrote: »

heh I've got a HK 3490 directly powering a pair of Polk Monitor 5s (real old ones with the famed Peerless Tweeters) or on the B output a pair of Onkyo SKF-4800 towers, it never ceases to amaze me the power this thing has. Can drive the snot out of either pair or all four speakers together (Flame me if you will) For a short while it directly powered my RTiA7 towers but...they needed more power than it could give but for easier to drive speakers it's quite the nice piece of equipment.

That's awesome. Glad to hear I'm not the only one blown away by h/k stereo receivers. You have a better one.
Good call on the RTiA7. I should have mentioned that these units were not made for heavy loads judging by their specs. Thanks for sharing.

DSkip wrote: »

Go grab a baby Marantz and see how it compares. Stupid good for the bill or two they command.

I was looking at them, but the only ones available around here are in the $400-$500 range. I'm going to wait until clearance and see what they ask. I think I see a lot of receiver swapping in my future lol.

organ

Some pics...

Conradicles

I had the 3490 and it is a superb unit. That series is a sleeper for sure.

Conradicles

The Marantz SR4023 is a good unit as well. A shootout of the 3490 and SR4023 would be fun.

organ

nbrowser wrote: »

psst I've had a HK 3375 for well over a decade now...that lil 75x2 receiver...can and does surprise people to this day with easy to drive speakers too...just thought I'd add that.

That's great to hear. I never knew these receivers can sound so good. I thought I would never try a 2ch receiver. It was always separates and integrateds for me. Also nice to hear that you've had the 3375 for over a decade. Build quality must be good!

I can't wait to compare the sound signatures of different brands.

cnh

It's a pretty good unit. I have one on a pair of CSW Model Sixes that rivals the sound of my LSI-7s on the separates below. @#$%^

But I found that it is does not have synergy with everything. It did NOT like the Rti-4s I had that much or the LSI-7s--which sounded veiled on it and lacked oooomph!

It loved the Energy RC-10s (made them image like "crazy"). It made some old Paradigm 5se MKii sound better than they do on most other gear? And so on.

I currently run them with the Cambridge Soundworks Model Sixes and that's a phenomenal combo for less than $399 new (Receiver and speakers on sale, of course).

Have always been curious about that Marantz in relation. The Yamahas are a more neutral sounding receiver than the HK which I find warmer. Which means the LSi-7s sound better to me on the Yamahas.

cnh

mhardy6647

Of the massmarket brands, hk and Onkyo never really gave up (at least totally) on the 2-channel market -- small as it must have become.

A previous post to this thread invoked vintage Marantz "for a bill or two". FWIW (and in my profoundly un-humble opinion), (EDIT) most of the vintage solid-state Marantz equipment is, today, over-priced by ca. a factor of two relative to its performance. This, I believe, is due to the enduring popularity of the rather -- idiosyncratic -- aesthetics of the equipment.

2600 by mhardy6647, on Flickr
scan0006 by mhardy6647, on Flickr

Got enough knobs & buttons? :-)

I find the Superscope-era Marantz receivers to be quite solid-state-y sounding (in the worst sense of the term) and overall thoroughly mediocre (e.g., performance of tuner section) relative to more sensibly priced vintage massmarket Japanes options such as Yamaha and Sansum -- or hk or Onkyo.


... and, yeah, as you all know, I am biased. :-)

yamaharack 012414 by mhardy6647, on Flickr

michael1947

Soo...you're sayin' the new stuff is better than the old stuff...my reading skills have diminished as much as my hearing. What?

mhardy6647

Yup.

EndersShadow

Just a little FYI, but the 3490 was able to power my LSi 15's, so if you want to tryout some LSi stuff cause you find em for a good price... that little HK can drive them all day long...

My 3490 was a super awesome little unit and I would gladly pickup another one in a heartbeat.

gmjungbluth

I love my 3380. Very honest sound. Nice warmth. It's currently pushing my B&W DM601s in my bedroom. I think that's a good combination - the B&Ws sounded pretty harsh on my NAD 7100.

Has anyone tried the phono on these units? Is it any good?

organ

nbrowser wrote: »

And this is where the fun begins...took me several receivers til I found the AVR to replace the 3490 in the living room, took a while and a few mis-starts to get a sound signature I wanted in my main system. It wasn't until I tried a Onkyo TX-NR717 in my system that I was happy, tried Pioneer, a lower level Marantz NR-1403, etc. Then comes along this Onkyo and whamo, happiness. It'll take a great unit to replace your 3390, once you get used to the warm HK house sound it's going to be difficult going another direction.

But do NOT shy away from trying other gear, You'd be surprised at what a good piece brings to the table or a bad piece that takes away. Remember, they're your ears, do it to your ears wants and most of all, have some fun, I know i did in rebuilding my big system quite honestly. I'm extremely happy with what i got now but am starting the cabling replacement, better ICs and better speaker cabling for the mains coming soon!

Oh and that 3375...in the first 5 years I had it I pushed it hard, it's been through hell in a handbasket under my ownership and never once has it showed any signs of falling down.

Thanks for the heads up on the Onkyo. I see that the 717 you mentioned is a surround sound receiver. Do you know if the TX-8050 is the stereo equivalent to it? I don't really want a surround receiver because I'm strictly stereo and if I get one, I'd be paying for extra channels I won't use along with all the extra processing (video/audio). The 8050 is currently on sale for $399, but I'm going to wait on it. Price usually drops even more during summer time when the audio/ht stores are their slowest. So I will wait until summer to check out an Onkyo.
My next one will be the Yamaha R-S300B. They're currently being replaced by the R-N version and the R-S300B are being cleared at $250-$299 right now. So I'll probably go hunting for one in a few months. Still want to get used to this h/k.

You're right about the warm h/k house sound. I had a h/k 5.1 avr about 10 years ago. That, along with in-store demoes showed me how good their sound is. Problem at the time was, I couldn't get the avr to do music. It sounded fantastic with movies, but pretty weak on music. I've always wanted that sound back, but in a 2ch amp or int. Now with this 3390, I'm getting that sound with excellent music reproduction. I would describe the sound as detailed, warm, rich, extended and very dynamic.

Glad to hear you found your sound with the Onkyo. I hope to try out one of their receivers by this summer. I had the 575 5.1 receiver a long time ago and it was very good. Looking forward to hearing Onkyo again.

What I want to do is, try out the budget stereo receivers of all the different brands. Once I find the one I like most, I will save up for their best 2ch receiver. This h/k is my first and I already feel it will be very hard to beat. I like everything about the sound with zero complaints.

cnh wrote: »

It's a pretty good unit. I have one on a pair of CSW Model Sixes that rivals the sound of my LSI-7s on the separates below. @#$%^

But I found that it is does not have synergy with everything. It did NOT like the Rti-4s I had that much or the LSI-7s--which sounded veiled on it and lacked oooomph!

It loved the Energy RC-10s (made them image like "crazy"). It made some old Paradigm 5se MKii sound better than they do on most other gear? And so on.

I currently run them with the Cambridge Soundworks Model Sixes and that's a phenomenal combo for less than $399 new (Receiver and speakers on sale, of course).

Have always been curious about that Marantz in relation. The Yamahas are a more neutral sounding receiver than the HK which I find warmer. Which means the LSi-7s sound better to me on the Yamahas.

cnh

Ha ha. So it happened to you too, eh? LOL. You're right, my current h/k with Polk RT1000P set up, is better sounding than my NAD/LSi9 set up to my ears. So weird. Thanks for sharing your experience. Like you, I also enjoy the LSi on more neutral to bright sounding gear. I find the LSi9's to be very, very warm on their own.
I think the Reference series from Klipsch would be a great match with the h/k. I had two sets of their towers, but sold them a few years ago. Wish I still had them to try out. Will probably wait until newer models arrive and get a good clearance deal on the current models.

mhardy6647 wrote: »

Of the massmarket brands, hk and Onkyo never really gave up (at least totally) on the 2-channel market -- small as it must have become.

A previous post to this thread invoked vintage Marantz "for a bill or two". FWIW (and in my profoundly un-humble opinion), (EDIT) most of the vintage solid-state Marantz equipment is, today, over-priced by ca. a factor of two relative to its performance. This, I believe, is due to the enduring popularity of the rather -- idiosyncratic -- aesthetics of the equipment.

2600 by mhardy6647, on Flickr
scan0006 by mhardy6647, on Flickr

Got enough knobs & buttons? :-)

I find the Superscope-era Marantz receivers to be quite solid-state-y sounding (in the worst sense of the term) and overall thoroughly mediocre (e.g., performance of tuner section) relative to more sensibly priced vintage massmarket Japanes options such as Yamaha and Sansum -- or hk or Onkyo.


... and, yeah, as you all know, I am biased. :-)

yamaharack 012414 by mhardy6647, on Flickr

Thanks for sharing those pics, Mrh. I see people go crazy for those older Marantz. I prefer a simpler look (really like the looks of their current receivers). Not sure if I'm ever going to get into vintage receivers. I'm worried about parts failing and other internal areas becoming brittle due to age. I have a Dynaco ST-70 that I spent much time working on.

I'm excited to try out one of the new Marantz stereo receiver. Just waiting for a good price. It's $499 at the moment.

EndersShadow wrote: »

Just a little FYI, but the 3490 was able to power my LSi 15's, so if you want to tryout some LSi stuff cause you find em for a good price... that little HK can drive them all day long...

My 3490 was a super awesome little unit and I would gladly pickup another one in a heartbeat.

That's great to hear. I will try mine out with the LSi9's once I get stands for them.

gmjungbluth wrote: »

I love my 3380. Very honest sound. Nice warmth. It's currently pushing my B&W DM601s in my bedroom. I think that's a good combination - the B&Ws sounded pretty harsh on my NAD 7100.

Has anyone tried the phono on these units? Is it any good?

I have a pair of DM6 that was professionally restored last year. It sounds superb. I will try them out with the h/k in a few months. I just hope it has enough balls for them.


Now I have another question. I noticed there are two subwoofer outputs on the 3390 (I'm assuming same thing on the 3490). Are both of them mono subwoofer outputs?

nspindel

The receiver I got when I first purchased my SDA CRS+'s back in 1989 was a Harman Kardon HK 990 VXi. At the time it was ranked one of the top 5 receivers on the market. That thing did the SDA's beautifully, and it still sells for about $250 on eBay if it's in good condition.

NJPOLKER

I have been enjoying my Vintage Marantz 2238b which not only looks sexy but sounds tubey. I lucked out finding it on Craigs List for next to nothing. Now if it just had a remote I'd be all set.

boston1450

Organ thats a beautiful set up you have there. I have owned probably 8 HK's & boy they all did a great job . Enjoy the HK

pearsall001

organ wrote: »

I got a h/k 3390 stereo receiver earlier today to use in a studio I'm setting up in the house to do my paintings. I planned to use a pair of Polk bookshelfs with them.
Well, I got too excited, and instead, brought it down to the main rig for a test run.
I unplugged my tube integrated and fired up the h/k.
This receiver is SICK! I swear I did not expect it to sound this good. Hell, for the 3390's asking price, this unit is a steal and probably the best bargain in audio I've come across so far (new, not used).
This receiver is not going anywhere. It's staying in the main rig.
Attachment not found.Attachment not found.
I currently have it powering my RT1000p's. The sound is so open, detailed, dynamic and effortless. Excellent HF extension. The texture is very nice and rich too which I really dig.

I've also have NAD separates that I rotate in my rig that cost way more $. I like this h/k much more. I know some of you may think I'm crazy, but that's ok, maybe I am, because I like this unit as much as the 3 single ended tube amps I have.

I'm going to try it out with my LSi9 and B&W in a few months.

I never tried a receiver in the past other than about half a dozen 5.1 HT receivers that couldn't do music. Now I'm excited about 2ch receivers after trying this one out.
I think I'm going to get a Yamaha R-S300 next and compare it to the h/k.

This unit is definitely worth checking out if you're in the market for 2ch amplification. Don't let it's price fool you.

I've been beating that same drum for quite some time now myself. With todays advancements & the way technology finds it's way into gear that years ago was simply unheard of. The notion that a top flight 2 channel receiver or a flagship AVR can't hold it's own against separates is an outdated notion that doesn't hold water & some just can't come to grips with. Technology is a wonderful thing! Pass it on down.

mhardy6647

... amusingly enough, I've been using an hk power amp upstairs for the last few days...

DSC_9173 by mhardy6647, on Flickr

EndersShadow

Mhardy... one of these days I may need to buy one of your old school pieces off of you lol...

They all just look so minty and cool....

Nightfall

I'm also with mhardy on the vintage Yammies being better than both the Marantz and Pioneer SX line. Organ, you're doing yourself a disservice by ruling out vintage gear. If you think that HK sounds good you should hear a CA-1010 or CA-2010 in class A mode...

mhardy6647

Please note that I wasn't denigrating the modern 2-ch hardware... I just wanted to (yet again!) surface my bias in terms of vintage equipment when it comes to Marantz 22xx receivers (suffixed or unsuffixed) against their competition from the same era.

Case in point - tonight there was a 2220B on eBAY for $195. You should be able to get something considerably better sounding (especially by modern standards) for that than a 2220B.

Just one schlub's opinion, of course...

Conradicles

My only gripe with the new H/K stereo units is that they don't offer a CD player to match (if they do I can't find one).

Marantz offers matching CD players and even a new 2-channel amp.

Nightfall

Just checked out my craigslist out of curiosity...

http://denver.craigslist.org/ele/4440221495.html

Seems a tad steep

dragon1952

I think the main issue here is power. I recently tried a 125wpc SS amp after living with my 35wpc tube amp for 8 yrs thinking it was the best thing ever and it didn't take but 10 seconds to go wtf!

cnh

Conradicles wrote: »

My only gripe with the new H/K stereo units is that they don't offer a CD player to match (if they do I can't find one).

Marantz offers matching CD players and even a new 2-channel amp.

They used to make the HD 990 but discontinued it. Too bad, it was a decent player that could also be used as a DAC.

DSkip wrote: »

I don't disagree that their prices are bordering insane, especially on the high power units. If you can find one for $100 though, I think you'd be very hard pressed to find a better piece. Old Yammy SS still hasn't made it into my house, but the Pioneers of that era sound horrendous by today's standards IMO. Talk about SS-sounding. I admittedly stopped playing the vintage game when I got into modern pieces though.

As nice as some of those flagship AVR's sound, I still haven't heard one to top a nice integrated that can be found at less than half its price. But that's another topic altogether. One other piece that doesn't get enough mention on this site for a nice starter 2 channel rig is the $100 Sherwood receivers. They keep the bells and whistles out of those and you end up with a nice performer for not a lot of coin. I bet a Sherwood receiver and those Pioneer bookies would be one hell of a start to a budget system.

I gifted a system with that very Sherwood to a friend because he didn't have anything reasonable to play his tunes on a while back and he loves it!

cnh

dragon1952

DSkip wrote: »

Was that with the Martin Logans? Low power tubes don't mix well with electrostats.

Actually at my listening volumes I thought it sounded pretty good until I heard them with the Parasound A23. Now I'm moving on up to the A21.

RamZet

organ wrote: »

Some pics...

I gave my buddy the 5.1 version of this unit. He too was very impressed with the sound and power from that unit. He has (had) 5 Polk Monitor 60s connected to it. ( I gave him my other Crestron CNAMPX16x60.)

That volume knob is so cool, one of my favorite knobs after the Krell 1200.

tonyb

DSkip wrote: »

There are a lot of things that sound good until you hear better.

Amen to that bro. Though once you hear better in your own home, it's hard to go backwards.

fort

EndersShadow wrote: »

Just a little FYI, but the 3490 was able to power my LSi 15's, so if you want to tryout some LSi stuff cause you find em for a good price... that little HK can drive them all day long...

gmjungbluth wrote: »

I love my 3380. Very honest sound. Nice warmth. It's currently pushing my B&W DM601s in my bedroom. I think that's a good combination - the B&Ws sounded pretty harsh on my NAD 7100.

My LSi7s actually sounded harsh on my HK-3480 (which has the same amp as 3490 but without the digital inputs). But my Energy RC-10s mate well with the 3480 for bedroom duty. The LSi7s are better matched with the NAD 375 BEE (as speaker on my living room.

geppy1

I have a Sony STR 7065 which leaves me scratching my head as it has sent many items packing including seperates.

tonyb

geppy1 wrote: »

I have a Sony STR 7065 which leaves me scratching my head as it has sent many items packing including seperates.

Then you should get your hearing checked..lol. Only Sony worth a darn was the ES models, and not all of them either. Granted the 7065 is vintage and probably sounds better than their more current offerings, it's still mediocre at best. Raise your expectations bro.