Receiver questions

donedroolin · January 2006

Hey guys just wondering your thoughts on the Harmon Kardon 7300 receiver. Considering this maybe, but what do you think compared to the Denon 4806. Any advice or opiniuns always welcome, Thanks alot guys for all the help.

aaharvel · January 2006

i'd prob. go with the Denon for the features- but have heard neither product.

MSkeezer · January 2006

What's wrong with putting this in the other thread you started? Kidding aside, the HK7300 has gotten some nice reviews. The reviewer from Sound and Vision said it came very close to seperates quality and had the highest watts per channel(with all channels driven) than any other receiver he had reviewed up to that point. You can find it for less than $1,000 online and at that price, I doubt you can find anything that will come close in terms of performance and features. I would choose it over the Denon any day, if I had the money...

donedroolin · January 2006

Hey back , sorry about two threads but this is to much fun. Well I have been lookin at other receivers. I like the Denon 4806, looked at the Harmon Kardon 7300 and think its not enough power. Then I looked at the B and K 507 series2 receiver 150 watts per channel. Thats cool. You see I will probally trade my Rti10's for the Rti12's during the year and I want enoubh power to run them. I'm going to get an SVS sub and will trade my center for the Csi3 or LsiC not sure. I like my Fxi3's for rears they sound good and are a good size. I want my movies to sound and feel like I'm thier. So help what do I need to buy. THANKS for all the help.

Dennis Gardner · January 2006

I would put the power of the HK against the 4806 any day in the real world. I've never run out of power with my 7200 all channels driven. I like the Denon feature set, but the HK for sound quality.

donedroolin · January 2006

I'm not sure still what receiver to buy what about the B&K. And currently with my Sony I can hurt my speakers by under powering them, right. I'm lookin for a receiver that I wont need a amp for. Or do you guys reccomend an amp with any receiver. So HK has the best sound you feel but what about the watts that will be enough not to damage the speakers. I think I blew my tweeter on my Rti8's before I bought them back for the 10's and I dont wanna damage these. Would the tweeter blow from under powering them. I dont get the Receiver clipping everyone is talking about my friend does with his Pioneer. Where it cuts ot when you turn it up and use it for awhile. This is harder then I thought and spending that kind of money I dont wanna buy the wrong one. Being new to this it will make you go crazy and I am probally driving you guys nuts with all the lame question all the time. You guys helped me decide definatly to go with an SVS sub. Any how I'll have more questions with hook up soon. What else is reccomended besides a good receiver and good speakers to achieve movie theater sound. Any other components I need to consider. SORRY long, but Thanks for all your help. You guts are a HUGE help.

pjdami · January 2006

donedroolin wrote:

I'm not sure still what receiver to buy what about the B&K. And currently with my Sony I can hurt my speakers by under powering them, right. I'm lookin for a receiver that I wont need a amp for. Or do you guys reccomend an amp with any receiver. So HK has the best sound you feel but what about the watts that will be enough not to damage the speakers. I think I blew my tweeter on my Rti8's before I bought them back for the 10's and I dont wanna damage these. Would the tweeter blow from under powering them. I dont get the Receiver clipping everyone is talking about my friend does with his Pioneer. Where it cuts ot when you turn it up and use it for awhile. This is harder then I thought and spending that kind of money I dont wanna buy the wrong one. Being new to this it will make you go crazy and I am probally driving you guys nuts with all the lame question all the time. You guys helped me decide definatly to go with an SVS sub. Any how I'll have more questions with hook up soon. What else is reccomended besides a good receiver and good speakers to achieve movie theater sound. Any other components I need to consider. SORRY long, but Thanks for all your help. You guts are a HUGE help.

If you are even thinking about the B&K think no more and go check one out. I have a 307 that was upgraded to a 317 (like a 507) and compared it to my (at the time) PT5 & ST125.2 separates on my LSi home theater. Both setups sounded exactly the same to me and a few friends in two channel mode. I also had a Rotel receiver at one time and sold it for the B&K. The B&K has a more relaxed midrange from what I heard and what I prefered in my system and listening environment. It is a heck of a receiver. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Johnny Mac · January 2006

I can also vouch for B&K receivers. Thanks to some prudent advice I gleaned from this and other forums, the 507 series II has been in my entertainment center for the past year. It handles both music and movies wonderfully, and was worth every penny I paid. A belated "thank you" to all who sent me down this audio path.

John MacGregor
Waukesha, WI

Dennis Gardner · January 2006

The difference between 100 actual watts and 150 actual watts is 1-2 dbs. You won't ever hear it. What you have to watch out for is driving a 100 watt amp at say 80-90 watts on normal passages and the amp not having the 200-300 needed when that explosion or loud CD passage happens. This sends a clipped or square wave into the speakers and normally, the tweeters are the first to blow, since they are the most delicate. This can happen with the B&Ks also, but they are heavier built and will give the momentary power needed to deal with that peak burst of energy.

My opinion is that the Denon, HK, and B&K will all be sufficient if you are using your SVS for the lows and have your speakers set to small. If you plan on upgrading to the RTi 12s for 2 channel music using them in full range at high volume levels, I don't think any of the receivers are strong enough. I would then add a powerful (200-300) wpc to whatever receiver you get and love it.

Clear as mud? Chill out and enjoy the hunt as much as the buy!!!

donedroolin · January 2006

Hey Dennis thanks for the advice so you reccommend me keeping my surround sound speakers on small. I dont have an SVS sub yet still my Sony . Should I still set them to small. I'm going to look at receivers tomorrow some B&k and Parasound, should be fun. Gotta find a place close by to try an SVS sub, I like to buy local. I dont care if I damage this sub , just dont wanna damage any other speakers. Should I keep my hertz on the sub as low as possibble it only adjusts from 50 to 170 hertz what do you think. Well THANKS for the help sure I'll have more questions. Oh and the hunt is FUN, just cant wait for the KILL!!!!!!!!!!!

Dennis Gardner · January 2006

I run RTi70 towers on small with the crossover set to 80 hz. It cleans up the mids and upper bass by moving the lowest bass off the towers. This is the THX suggested setting and agreed by many to work best for HT. For music I prefer towers without the sub and lots of power to those towers. SVS is internet only, but have a 45 day return policy I believe. You are only out the shipping. Few ever return their subs though, unless the wife complains about the size!

pjdami · January 2006

I run a SVS PB1+ sub in the LSi theater with my B&K AVR317. I cross over the LSi 15s at 60 Hz and have them set to small. Remember the 60 Hz is not a brickwall crossover and the 15s play lower than that due to the crossover slope. It does help free up some receiver power. I have a medium - large sized living room with 10 ft ceilings and open areas to other living quarters. 105 db+ peaks are not uncommon and the receiver has never clipped.

If you don't mind buying used check out Dorokusai's thread in the flea market here:

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36234

He's potentially selling his upgraded AVR317 with a clean bill of health due to a recent upgrade / checkout at the B&K factory. I'd keep an eye out on that and buy with confidence from one of the most reputable members here at Club Polk.

donedroolin · January 2006

Hey Guys, Whats up well because of everyones help I put a deposit on a Denon 4806. Tweeter had to order it cant wait to get it. I also bought the Csi5 for my center channel. Wow does this match my Rti10's sounds awsome.Cant wait to hear with the Denon. Now I have a new Cs2 used to watch one movie back in its box and a new Psw10 sub never used in the box. Anyone need these speakers, let me know if any interesred. Thanks again for all your help.

gregure · January 2006

If you can get your deposit back, I would recommend getting the B&K instead. The Denon may have more features, but the B&K truly does have a better amp, sounds better for music, and has a better build quality. B&K is a great company, coming from a philosophy, as many American amp companies do, that all receivers/amps should be of high quality, offer unlimited current, realistic ratings, and be musically superior to the current limited, mass market $1000 receivers most people buy. If you're shelling out for a $3500 Denon, consider the B&K. I've been so intensely happy with mine, and it's a great mate for the Rti line. I've had a lot of experience working around Denon, B&K, Marantz, Pioneer Elite, and Primare gear, and except for Primare B&K smokes them all. It's really one of the best, if not the best receiver you can buy, before moving to separates. The 507 has a REF 50 preamp mated with a 150 wpc amp. Except for sharing a power source, you're getting the same quality as a REF 50 preamp in the receiver. At least listen to both before deciding. The B&K has presence, awesome imaging, warmth, and openness. The Denon has high current, and can drive lower impedance speakers just fine, but musical performance is lower on the priority list for Denon. The 3806 sounds like **** on 4 ohm speakers. Music is not their primary concern-features are.

Johnny Mac · January 2006

Hey donedroolin,

FWIW, I was ready to pull the trigger on a Denon at the time I made my purchase as well..only I was looking at the 3805. Thanks to guys like gregure, pjdami, and dmantis (among a cast of thousands that I can't recall off the top of my head), I chose the B&K 507 instead. Denon will likely offer more bell and whistle type features than the B&K, but the B&K has audio quality that just won't quit. I actually paired mine with LCi80 in ceiling speakers, and couldn't be happier with the results.

The B&K ran me a little more than 3 times what I would've spent on the 3805 and I would spend that money again in a microsecond. If I had been looking at the 4806 the $$$ gap would have been narrowed considerably, and made it an even easier decision.

I hope Denon owners don't take this post as an insult, as I'm sure that Denon offers an outstanding product line. I just believe that anyone who has 4 ohm speakers should get the right tool for the job. The right tool for me was B&K.

John MacGregor
Waukesha, WI

donedroolin · January 2006

So you guys feel that strongly about the B&k receivers.You feel that Denon is lacking the sound quality. And the BK will deliver fuller sound. I want my system to sound better then being at the theater like everyone says thiers sounds like. I did like the Denon 4806 but I never made it to try a B&k those salesman at Tweeters are good.He told me that they use to carry BK and they, like you guys said lack some bells and whistles. I don't care about all the fancy stuff , just want my sysyem to sound great. I will go try a BK, if you guys feel that strongly that they match our speakers. Thanks guys. Rti's are 4 ohm speakersbut will work with 8 ohm. The BK will be 4 ohms. Type at you again soon.

BIZILL · January 2006

i like my setup, but i wouldn't want to incorporate the rti10's into the mix. rti8's are fine for me and the power given to them.

kmartin971 · January 2006

The HK is 5 channel and the Denon is 7. Goto the THX website and checkout the THX certs on each receiver.

http://www.thx.com/mod/products/productFind.html

cfrizz · January 2006

THX is meaningless. Buy whichever one you like that sounds the best & has all the features that you like & want to have.

donedroolin · January 2006

Hey I'm trying to decide what receiver to buy. The trouble is I am haveing a difficult time finding somewhere near me that sells B&K to listen to. I live in Upstate, New York near Albany and Kingston area. Tweeters dont sell BK mo more. If anyone knows of a store near here, that sells BK please let me know. Thanks for any help with this.

drew spelts · January 2006

I bought the HK AVR635 and absolutely could not be happier with the sound and the amount of tweaks. It is also extremely powerful. just my $0.02

FicmanS · January 2006

Love my Denon, my AVR-3806 ROCKs and looks even better.... Denon all the way...

jabcon · February 2006

I have the Denon 3806 with the lsi25's, my question is what are the sonic improvements offered by BK? Allso what problems are incurred with the 4 ohm requirement of the lsi25?

Thanks John

Maestro · February 2006

drew spelts wrote:

I bought the HK AVR635 and absolutely could not be happier with the sound and the amount of tweaks. It is also extremely powerful. just my $0.02

I second that! H/K all the way.

reeltrouble1 · February 2006

Just get the B&K they are a level above the others you mentioned.

RT1

cfrizz · February 2006

Hi John. The Lsi's are putting a heavy strain on the Denon's amplifier & could put it into protect mode.

However, you do have pre-outs in back so just get a 2-7 channel amplifier of not less than 200 watts per channel & enjoy.

Do a search here for LSI's & receivers & you will get plenty of recommendations as to what amps will do a good job.

jabcon wrote:

I have the Denon 3806 with the lsi25's, my question is what are the sonic improvements offered by BK? Allso what problems are incurred with the 4 ohm requirement of the lsi25?

Thanks John

jabcon · February 2006

Thanks cfrizz,

I went to look at different amps today. I have a question I noticed that the inputs to the amps were either unbalanced rca or balanced xlr. what is the difference, my amps outputs are rca. One brand that realy was interesting was Sherbourn, I allso looked at BK. Any coments are apreciated.

Thanks John

cfrizz · February 2006

Xlr are supposed to be better. However, I don't think you have to worry about it with the Denon since they don't have them.

Both are good companies. I have no experience with either.

Which models were you looking at?

jabcon · February 2006

7/2100A This amp has some real good specs mainly 7 individual mono block amps and 300 watts into 4 ohms

John

cfrizz · February 2006

Looks great! Go for it!

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