Reciever for vintage Polks

jakelm

Hi all and thnks so much for all the help eveyone has given me in the past.

I am selling my Onkyo reciever. Which by the way (for the money) is a darn good reciever. I have a buget of around $500. Almost every peice of my equipment is vintage from the M7's to the M4's. I have them all set up in a 6.1 config. Im looking very hard at the Denon and the HK.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Denon-7-1-Channel-Multi-Channel-Receiver-AVR787/sem/rpsm/oid/159486/catOid/-12949/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

Thats the Denon...

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Harman-Kardon-Surround-Sound-Receiver-AVR340/sem/rpsm/oid/135734/catOid/-12949/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

Thats the HK....

I'm not a big fan of ordering over the internet, so I turned to CCity. From experience I have heard the HK with Polks and it does very well. BUT....the HK is kinda ugly...:p . (no offence to HK..and I personally dont care what it looks like, but I'm married and....well...you know)

I have read excellent reviews on the Denon and I have a Denon DVD player wich would match excatly (WAF).

Im not totally against going back with Onkyo either..or any other brand...The reason for Denon and HK, is that's what CCity has thats higher end (around my buget)

With my small buget, which do you all think would be a better choice with my vintage system. I would like to go 7.1. I have heard Yamaha, too bright (metalic) for my taste. I havent seen much from Vans or Crutchfield. Any ideas?

Thanks
Jake

Ron Temple

I think you'll find the HK has more guts than that particular Denon. Even though you don't favor online purchases, HK Direct on ebay is HK and you can get seriously great deals on these refurbs. I've had 2. Neither could be distinguished from new.

Take this for example.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Harman-Kardon-AVR-335-7-1-Home-theater-receiver_W0QQitemZ150058505023QQihZ005QQcategoryZ67799QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

or this...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Harman-Kardon-AVR-635-7-1-Home-theater-receiver_W0QQitemZ150058581529QQihZ005QQcategoryZ67799QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Both significantly under your budget for the similar 335 or the much upgraded 635.

Full 2 year warranty...

Something to think about.

schwarcw

Hi Jake! Ditto what Ron said. Also, Dakmart is an authorized Denon reseller. I like "B" Stock items as they have been back to the factory, repaired, checked and come with a full warranty. I prefer Marantz myself. If you check out Accessories4less.com http://www.accessories4less.com/ they have a SR4600, 7.1, 80 watt per channel receiver for $279. That's a great price on a nice low end receiver.

jakelm

Thanks guys....

The Marantz is very nice. I just dont see zone 2 as an option on the Marantz. Zone 2 option is a must.

I like tha HK as well. Has alittle more options.

Wow ...Tough desisions.

Thanks
Jake

jakelm

Ok...I found another HK 635 referbished, but damn, I like the Marantz too.

Jake

jakelm

MARSR5600 Is the Marantz I would consider. Ok....out of these 2 recievers wich would be my best choice?
Ive heard the lower model HK but I have never heard a Marantz HT reciever, I have listened to thier amps on vintage Maggies and Mirage but never anything up to date.

Jake

zombie boy 2000

Wow... it's funny you say that about HK's aesthetics. I found the WAF to be through the roof with my HK. The fact that I no longer have it in the mix has actually been addressed by my wife -- as in, "whatever happened to the receiver? It was so pretty... yadda yadda bing bang..."

That being said... for HT applications, I believe HK and Polk are a match made in heaven.

jakelm

Zombie, its not that she doesnt like the HK reciever, it just (she says) it doesnt match with the other electronis and tv. Everything in my cabinets that are electronic are black...or some sort of dark black or grey color. But thats it....tonight I'm going home and put my foot down :mad: (she cant tell me what to do) if I dont return, think of my in your prayers.

But you are absolutly correct. My father has stacked Polk 7's driven by two old HK 330's and the sound is sweet.

I am leaning toword the HK635, but the Marantz is such a sweet deal too. And I dont know if I can get used to that blue dial light.

I hate this and yet I love it.

Jake

zombie boy 2000

Just think of the Blue Dial Light as your one and only friend once your wife leaves you:p

I really wish I could chime in with an opinion or two on the Marantz, but I just don't have the experience.

Good luck and at least try to enjoy the sickness:D

jakelm

LOL.....My one and only friend...

Can it be turned off?

My experience with the Marantz is zero too. I do know they have changed hands quite a few times (but so has HK) if I remember correctly. I dont know if they are what they used to be.

I'm going to keep my eye on the HK635.

zombie boy 2000

As a matter of fact, the light can be turned off or simply dimmed.

jakelm

zombie boy 2000 wrote:

As a matter of fact, the light can be turned off or simply dimmed.

Cool.....:)

ND13

I'm driving my 7As with an HK receiver and they sound absolutely fanatastic. Vintage Polks love high current amps and the HK has current in spades.

jakelm

Well....I hope to pick up the 635 but it might go beyond my buget. Im not sure about the 340, you think it has enough power for my vintage 6.1 system? With zone 2? And Im not sure the 340 have enough digital inputs, but its in my price range. Is there anything in between the 340 and the 635?

Jake

jakelm

http://cgi.ebay.com/Harman-Kardon-DPR-2005-7-1-Home-Audio-Receiver-NIB-NEW_W0QQitemZ230049185272QQihZ013QQcategoryZ39794QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

What is this? Im not farmiliar with the DPR models.

Jake

jakelm

OK Im alittle confused here. Multi room compared to zone 2. I dont see a speaker B connection for another pair of speakers. It looks like if you want (lets say) outside speakers to listen to something different, you need to hook up another amp? Is that the difference between multiroom and zone2 or 3?

jakelm

http://www.harmanaudio.com/search_browse/product_detail.asp?urlMaterialNumber=AVR%20525-Z&status=

Or this one....thats why I hate online....too many to choose from.:D its terrible.

Jake

ND13

You probably should stick with the AVR models. The DPRs have digital amps, I think. Fry's has had the 340 on sale for $399 lately....,brand new, not refurb. With that said, I'm not afraid of refurbs one bit. Actually, I believe they CAN be even better, because they have undergone extensive quality control checks after they were repaired and they come with a good warranty.

jakelm

ND13, Do you think it will be enough? Wattage I mean. The vintage Polks are not the easiest to drive.

Whats wrong with digital amps?

Jake

ND13

It's more than enough wattage. Remember, watts aren't everything. The Monitor series of speakers are actually pretty efficient. I've used as little as 10 tube watts to drive the 7s and it was plenty loud.

jakelm

Your right ND13. Watts arent everything. I think the two 1977 330's my father has are only 20wpch @ 8ohms. So if the 340 is 55w @ 8ohm and my M7b's are 6ohm..I should get about 80-90 watts out of it.

How would the HK340 55wpch compare to the Onkyo 75wpch I am selling?

ND13

jakelm wrote:

Your right ND13. Watts arent everything. I think the two 1977 330's my father has are only 20wpch @ 8ohms. So if the 340 is 55w @ 8ohm and my M7b's are 6ohm..I should get about 80-90 watts out of it.

How would the HK340 55wpch compare to the Onkyo 75wpch I am selling?

The watts that HK claims are usually conservative. On most bench tests, the HKs always surpass their quoted amounts. Not too sure about Onkyo, but I'd go with the HK. I've run two pair of 4 ohm speakers on mine without any issues.

jakelm

So with my setup, listening to movies at reference level, the HK340 would do ok? My music and movies sometimes get up around the reference level (80-90dbs). I just dont want to underpower myself. I do appreciate good sound quality, but sometimes I just want it louder than normal and I dont want to end up with a reciever that, at low levels, sounds great, but at higher dbs, cant handle the load. Thats where i must admit, my Onkyo really shows how good it is, sound quality does suffer (which I dont like), but when i ask it to push, it pushes.

I guess I'm asking for the best of both worlds (not with the HK635) but I'm not sure about the smaller 340.

Thanks so much for all of you inputing, thats why I come here, such a great knowlege base.

Jake

Ron Temple

The 635s go up every other day and are 24hr auctions. The one I linked to went for $377. Just keep watching them...when one is within your budget swoop in the last minute. You'll get lucky if you're patient. The 335 and 340s are really nice receivers with plenty of guts, but the 635 has real power, about 50 amps of current which is a ton for a receiver.

Ron Temple

jakelm,

I went from an Onk 5xx receiver to the HK235. There's no comparison between the SQ and current. The soundstage gets bigger and more defined with much crisper highs and punch throughout the range. The 335/40 would be a big upgrade, though I still think the 635, if in your budget is the better move.

jakelm

Ron Temple wrote:

jakelm,

I went from an Onk 5xx receiver to the HK235. There's no comparison between the SQ and current. The soundstage gets bigger and more defined with much crisper highs and punch throughout the range. The 335/40 would be a big upgrade, though I still think the 635, if in your budget is the better move.

Yes its the Onky sr502 6.1 I have. And thats one of the base HK's you have? If the 635 gets out of my buget range (unless I encrease my buget), the 440 or the 340 will be the next purchase.

Any more words regarding the Marantz? or the Denon?

Jake

p.s. You all have helped me so much , you have no idea. I didnt know what to look for in my range, (besides CC or BBuy) Thanks....

jakelm

Well I just won the AVR 635!!!!! Payed for. I hope they dont take forever to ship it.

Jake

zombie boy 2000

Good deal! Congrats, you shan't be disappointed.

ND13

You made a wise decision.

Grats!!!

jakelm

The Force is stroooong with me.:cool:

And right there in my buget.

Just one question. Why would a $1300 reciever go for so cheap? I know its a great reciever, but I would have never thought it would go for so cheap. I am really suprised. I mean 1/3 of retail? Amazing

Thanks all...and thanks again for all the help.

Jake

P.S. That blue light better be my friend:p

ND13

Don't worry, you'll be very very happy once you get it all dialed in.