I had to be like Mike - HK235 off ebay today

aaharvel

very nice and congrats.

dagame27

hey ron, I have done the same upgrade as you from the onkyo to the HK. It will be in tomorrow. I can't wait to hook it up and hear these rti70's sing

Ron Temple

dagame27 wrote:

hey ron, I have done the same upgrade as you from the onkyo to the HK. It will be in tomorrow. I can't wait to hook it up and hear these rti70's sing

Don't know if the 70s are as bright as the R50s, but be prepared for better separation, a more defined soundstage and a very cool musical sound. Be sure to hook up your OSD to Monitor out, I played around for 20 minutes trying to get it to work through Vid 1 and 3. Said f**k this and tried Monitor out. Doesn't explain too well in the manual (either that or I'm blind). Things smoothed out from there.

Mike682

Ron Temple wrote:

The unit was perfect, looks brand new. So Mike, I guess it's worth $5.00 more than your first one was This has been another inexpensive, but profound upgrade.

The first unit was very clean, looked new. It just was not 100% functional. My replacement looks brand new and works perfectly.

You are correct Ron, if you shop around (and have patience), you can grab a great piece of equipment for cheap..

Glad to hear she sounds great. HK makes fine receivers and I love the HK sound..

Here's a review link for our receiver:

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_12_3/harman-kardon-avr-235-receiver-9-2005.html

Mike

Ron Temple

Thanks for the review. I've got to say "What he said" about just about everything related to the music I've listened too. Haven't tried it for HT (that's tonight).

Really glad I went in this direction. Enough features for me, without some of the headaches I've read about with the 430 and 630 (firmware issues). A friend suggested saving the money and I agree. With new tech around the corner, this is a great "right now" solution.

dagame27

Hey Ron, how would you compare the peak volume of the HK to the Onkyo?

Mike682

VH1 classic has a video of Fleetwood Mac live on (silver springs), Logic7 music sounds excellent..

Ron Temple

dagame27 wrote:

Hey Ron, how would you compare the peak volume of the HK to the Onkyo?

The Ez Set features calibrates at -10 when you setup. The built in SPL/mic in the remote is probably set at 75 or 85db (I'm guessing). I listened to Alan Parsons at -35 and it was pretty loud. Probably equates to about 40 on the Onkyo. I never pushed the oink above 52 in my room. I imagine that the 235 at -10 would equate to high 60s low 70s (without distortion). I don't think the oink will go that loud.

Let me know what you think.

Ron Temple

Mike682 wrote:

VH1 classic has a video of Fleetwood Mac live on (silver springs), Logic7 music sounds excellent..

It's football season... 49ers are up 21-9 at half, I'm not going to switch over now[/B] :eek:

Mike682

Ron Temple wrote:

It's football season... 49ers are up 21-9 at half, I'm not going to switch over now[/B] :eek:

Jets got smacked today...they looked like a 1-AA college team out there

At least the Giants are up by two now

dagame27

Ron, your niners aren't supposed to win. They were supposed to be the only team worse than my bears. What am I supposed to do now?

aaharvel

Logic 7 7ch. Cinema sounds pretty damn good on CBS right now.

Ron Temple

dagame27 wrote:

Ron, your niners aren't supposed to win. They were supposed to be the only team worse than my bears. What am I supposed to do now?

While I was in here the niners scored on the opening drive of the 2nd half, then I watched them hold to a field goal. 28-12 to start the 4th qtr.

No one is more surprised than I am. Da bears need Mike Singletary back

dagame27

yea the bears need a lot! I hope they'll beat the damn lions next week. Well, at least I have my stereo to keep my mind off of it! lol

Ron Temple

After setting up and measuring, I couldn't have gone any higher up the HK tree. Shelf 7/25" - 235 - 6.75". Luckily with the door on the EC open I have a breeze coming off my patio. It got warm but not hot this afternoon.

Niners hung on for an unexpected win...Very inspiring

Let us know what you think tomorrow, dg

dagame27

Does anybody know if I can use the component inputs on my receiver as well as the additional component inputs on my HDTV? I have 4 devices with component with only 3 jacks! If so how would I do this? Thanks

Ricardo

You can; let's say you have your receiver video output connected to "video 1" in your TV; you can connect device 4 into "video 2" in your tv, and select "video 2" in your TV whenever you select device 4 in your receiver ( I assume audio from device 4 will be through receiver...)

(If you have a universal controller such as the harmony, you can achieve this very easily without pressing a lot of buttons in different remotes)

Ron Temple

I believe the 235 is 2 in and 1 out. Switch 2 devices thru the rec and 2 directly to the TV (if it has 3 in )

dagame27

I just got the 235 hooked up! man is it better than the onkyo! It is much warmer sound and the low end is much crisper. It was a pain in the butt to hook up though :rolleyes: Hey guys what do you have the crossover set at? I have rti70's up front with the csi40 in the center. The rest are my old onkyo's until I find more 70's. The frequency response of the polks goes down to 40. Does that mean the crossover should be set accordingly or should it be the standard 80 or 100? Thanks

Mike682

I'm using 80hz now with my set-up

aaharvel

dagame27 wrote:

I just got the 235 hooked up! man is it better than the onkyo! It is much warmer sound and the low end is much crisper. It was a pain in the butt to hook up though :rolleyes: Hey guys what do you have the crossover set at? I have rti70's up front with the csi40 in the center. The rest are my old onkyo's until I find more 70's. The frequency response of the polks goes down to 40. Does that mean the crossover should be set accordingly or should it be the standard 80 or 100? Thanks

i always set the crossover 20hz above what the speakers will bottom out at. My rti4's go down to 60hz. I set the h/k to 80.

You might want to consider setting your front 3speakers to 60hz. jmo.

dagame27

I definitely notice more with the 235. I am listening to an old fleetwood mac boxset. On the song "Songbird" I notice static off of the recording that I could not with the Onkyo. I know it is the original recording as well because none of the other songs suffer from this. I have to find a remaster as I love this song. Damn better technology!

aaharvel

dagame27 wrote:

I definitely notice more with the 235. I am listening to an old fleetwood mac boxset. On the song "Songbird" I notice static off of the recording that I could not with the Onkyo. I know it is the original recording as well because none of the other songs suffer from this. I have to find a remaster as I love this song. Damn better technology!

which Onkyo do you have/had?

dagame27

I had the onkyo 770 HTIB which included the 520 receiver. It was nice for a starter system, but there is really no comparison to the polks. Although I had it for over a year paid $300 for it and just sold it for $300 which bought my RTI70's and some of my CSI40!

Ron Temple

I went 60 across the front and 80 for the surrounds and it seems about right.

So just imagine what separate amplification would sound like. I do.

I honestly really didn't know what to expect based on HKs power ratings. I read everywhere that HK conservatively rates and not to pay attention to the claims of other mfgs. High current amps, all channels driven, etc. But I also read where Pioneer, Denon and Marantz delivered the juice as well. So I hesitated for several months on pulling the trigger. 50wpc just didn't seem like enough of a bump.

Now I'm a believer. HK rates there receivers differently and does have the balls claimed. I've got easy to drive speakers, so the 235 is plenty for now. When I move up, it will be a decent pre/pro.