Looking for a <350$ Receiver

dreaming.haze

Well I have been doing some research lately and have decided to go with a nice 2.1 audio system for my room. The room is around 8 X 10 feet. I listen to mainly rock and a bit of techno/reggae now and again.

I have mainly been wanting to get the Yamaha RX-497. I like the features that it offers + I like the looks of Yamaha and its reliability.

I am looking at powering either a set of RTi A1s or A3s.

With this in mind, would this be a good receiver for me to use?
I also want to get a sub within the coming months. Was looking at a 10 inch Polk not for sure which yet.

Help and suggestions are welcome.

-Will

rru2s

For 2.1, at 120W per ch., the HK3490 is impossible to beat at $270 to $300.
The next better 2.1 is the Outlaw RR2150, at 100W per ch., at $699. Both units are very heavy and can generate a lot of current with excellent near-audiophile quality distortion ratings. The Outlaw is all silver, looks more retro-styling, and the HK is the traditional black and silver.

I have both of the above and have run the Outlaw in my 25' x 15' living room with Polk Monitor 70s and a sub, and have run the HK3490 in my 13' x 13' bedroom with Polk Monitor 60s and a sub. Both are noted on this forum and in other reviews as having very high current ratings, very accurate, and having nice subwoofer output options and numerous other device output jacks on the rear panel.

Comparing the two receivers, the Outlaw seems to have a tad bit more power, having never been able to turn up the volume above about 10 o'clock in my large living room. But then I've not been able to turn up the HK above -30 dB (scale of -100 to 0) in my bedroom, either. Both are absolutely great with power and sound detailed but not harsh with all frequencies, from the deepest bass to vocals and acoustic guitar/piano to violins and cymbols.

Regarding the FM tuner comparison, the Outlaw can pull in distant weak FM stations that the HK cannot. In addition, the Outlaw has a USB input to hook directly to your computer, while the HK has a proprietary "Bridge" digital input that hooks directly to their custom HK ipod docking station.

If I did it all over again, I'd still pick these same two receivers for the two rooms, although if stuck on a budget I'd use the HK for either a large room or a small room, and don't think I'd ever notice the difference except if I'm trying to pull in faint FM stations.

Fatbrando

I also have the HK 3490 and love it. It would be more than enough for your size room. But I must add that it really depends on where you're coming from sonically. If you grew up with Pioneer's or Marantz or Macintosh, your sonic tastes will differ. I will say this, most of Harman Kardon's sound is on the warm side. Not Tube like per se, just silky smooth goodness. I never get fatigued listening to HK's. Even playing the hardest stuff out there, it's the music that'll wear me down first, not the equipment. If you know what I mean. I suggest going to one of those high end audio places where you live and test driving them with different speaker configurations. Then research the product online at ebay/google/craigslist and see where the best price point between new used and local pickup lies.

FB

ben62670

Another vote for HK. Search Ebay for their store. They sell refurbs there real cheap with a solid warranty.
Ben

BTW Welcome to Club Polk:)

Conradicles

HK-3490 as well. I have the older model. It is hard to explain how they sound (warm, smooth, whatever) as I do not know all of the audiophile terms...but they just sound great. They bring joy to the music. Don't get me wrong...you can get better but will have to spend much, much more money.

Conradicles

One more thing...look at my garage system...that little HK pushes a pair of Polk SDA-2B and a huge VMPS (12" woofer and a 15" woofer and a 15" passive radiator) and hardly gets warm unless I drive it very hard for long periods of time. Wow!

ohskigod

experimenting with some vintage recievers might be a good idea too. I was a big Sansui fan in the day. Dont let the low ratings fool you on vintage recievers, they all seemed to be very underrated by today's sandards back then

nikolas812

Another vote for HK3490....


I have one and love it.




Nick

dreaming.haze

Thank your for all of the replies, and i hope that i can get to all of you.

rru2s - Thank you for the suggestions, the 699$ outlaw is a little to far out of my price range as I am only in need of a small system, ( I want the whole system to cost less that 700$). I have looked at the HK 3490 because of the other thread on here asking for the best receiver <400$.

Fatbrando - I have been accustomed to Yamaha and polk for home audio. Other than that i have not heard many other companies choices. I have mainly been into Portable audio and have come to love Sennheiser as a company. Currently I have a Cowon D2 with sennheiser CX300s hooked up to them. Love the set up. The D2 is also a naturally "Bright" system amplifier. So i am used to the brighter sounds coming out of a system. I plan on going to a local frys in the next couple of days to get a better idea of sound signatures coming from different receivers and speakers.

ben62670 - I will definitely check out their ebay store and see what they have to offer. And thank you for the warm welcome.

Conradicles - That is the same thing that I have heard from all of you so far... you guys all seem to love the receiver. Maybe I can get over the looks of it and go for the sound. Also If it can power all that you have in your sig, then it can power anything that i can and will throw at it.

ohskigod - I will definitely check out that brand, i love the vintage look.

nikolas812 - So that is vote Number 5....




So From your guys advice, it would be wise to get this HK3490. I was looking at the features of it and really like those as well. I have grown so used to the yamaha look and i guess that is why i wanted to stick in the family.

For my setup, I also have to keep in mind that I am going to be living in a dorm within 2 years or sooner. (18 at the time). And because of this I will need to have bookshelf speakers.
My main question now is if I need all of the power that the HK puts out?
I think the next step for me is going to be testing out all of the different setups at frys. Until then I do not think I can make up my mind.

-Will

Thanks again to all whom have helped.

shack

If I was getting something to put in a small room or dorm room this would be my choice...



Don't let the 20 wpc fool you. It will push the RTi A1 or RTi A3 to very loud levels with little distortion. It has a built in CD player (NAD is known for their CDPs), sub out, USB port and much more. It is as deep as a regular size receiver but half as wide.

Spearit Sound has a refurb for $369 here:

http://www.spearitsound.com/nad/C715.asp

Here is the NAD site as well...

http://nadelectronics.com/products/hifi-receivers/C715-Compact-Music-Systems/

If you are looking for something more basic without the CDP and tuner, with a little more power then you might consider an integrated amp (also by NAD)...the NAD C315BEE.

Spearit has it for $350 new....

http://www.spearitsound.com/nad/C315BEE.asp

I would choose either of these over a Yamaha or HK reciever. I think NAD makes better products and you are moving up the Hi-Fi ladder with their gear IMO. I will say that I am biased....cause I don't like Yamaha gear and will never own another HK product due to a prior bad experience.

Conradicles

That is a sweet little dorm room unit...

dreaming.haze

shack - I like the looks of the unit, and it seems that it is a great unit. It is a really good idea, and i will keep it in mind. I researched it a bit, and really like what it has to offer.

emjordan

dreaming.haze,

If you are in the New Jersey area, there is a Yamaha RX 797 for sale (local pick up) at a great price. Check out the "for sale" forum here on the Polk forum site.

The 797 is a great 2 channel receiver. I have been very happy with mine.

DeadFeat1

Marantz receivers are excellent and come with a three year warranty. Don't think you can go wrong with any of the suggestions that have been made...

dreaming.haze

emjordan - I just offered him 250$ for the unit, I hope that he accepts.

DeadFeat1 - Those are some nice little units and I like the looks of them. I agree with that, all the help is wonderful.

I am heading up to Frys on saturday to check out all of the different Receivers.

Should be a fun experience.

dreaming.haze

emjordan- Thank you so much for pointing me towards this guy. I am buying his unit for 250$.

Thanks again for all of the help all!

-Will