Marantz SR4023 or harman/kardon HK-3490 or...

Conradicles

Looking for a new stereo receiver. These 2 look pretty good to me, as well as a couple of NAD models.

HK has a special place in my heart because I really like the way they sound.
Never listened to a NAD, but have a feeling I would like them as well.

Let me get the opinion of you folks.;)

organ

I prefer NAD. HK is pretty good, but it's a receiver and the NAD is an integrated amp.

nikolas812

No experience with the others. But the HK has my vote. I had one driving a pair of Lsi's and it was a great sounding setup...





Nick

DeadFeat1

I have an eight year old Marantz SR 48 MK II ( Very modest by most standards ) and it sounds great. You can't go wrong with the NAD or HK. Because you like the way the HK sounds why not go with it. I don't think all integrated amps beat all receivers in today's market...

Conradicles

Pulled the trigger on the HK-3490 and it should arrive tomorrow.

I'm going to compare it to the Cambridge Azur 540 V.2 that I recently bought from Zero.

nikolas812

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts....







Nick

Conradicles

Love it!

This may be the perfect low budget 2-channel stereo receiver.

cnh

Good News Conradicles,

I've been toying with an HK purchase...very familiar with their sound. Personally I think NAD was GREAT at one time...today I don't think they stand that far above HK in this instance.

cnh

Conradicles

The NAD I had was fantastic, but I kind of like the style of the H/K a little better. The 317 integrated was the NAD I had recently and I think it had a little better low end bass than this H/K, but the H/K does the details better than the NAD and the Cambridge.

After listening to just a handful of songs today, I noticed more detail and hear subtle things I did not hear with the NAD or the Cambridge.

The Cambridge sounds very smooth, but lacks the balls to be worthy of the Man Garage. When I crank it very loud and try to disturb the neighbors, the red protection light would blink (maybe due to the 4 ohm KG4's).

The NAD had big balls...tremendous power on demand.

The H/K will stay in my rig for now. Fantastic piece of brand new gear with a warranty for less than $300 shipped.

cnh

I'd have to agree with that. NADs have always had excellent headroom. But 300 for a brand new HK. Who can argue with that? And they do look Awesome!

Enjoy...

cnh

nikolas812

Told Ya.:D







Nick

ben62670

I liked my HK.

Kex

Conradicles wrote: »

The NAD I had was fantastic, but I kind of like the style of the H/K a little better. The 317 integrated was the NAD I had recently and I think it had a little better low end bass than this H/K, but the H/K does the details better than the NAD and the Cambridge.
...

The NAD had big balls...tremendous power on demand.

The H/K will stay in my rig for now. Fantastic piece of brand new gear with a warranty for less than $300 shipped.

All of this makes perfect sense to me, having been impressed by the abilities of both harman/kardon and NAD. My NAD did provide much better details than my h/k, IMO, however, as well as a huge improvement in the bass department, but they were much closer in technology generation than the two you are comparing, and I was using easy to drive, efficient speakers in a 5.1 setup (not two channel).

Just to clarify, for those that may find the information useful:

- The h/k 3490 is a current model receiver, boasting 2 x 120w (8 ohms) or 2 x 150w (4 ohms).
- The NAD 317 is a ten year old model (IIRC) claiming 80w/ch.

http://harmankardon.com/specifications.aspx?Region=USA&Country=US&Language=ENG&cat=REC&ser=&prod=HK%203490&sType=C
http://www.nadelectronics.com/img/datasheets/NAD_317.pdf

The harman/kardon includes dual subwoofer outputs, but no bass management IIRC. The NAD 317, AFIK, does not have subwoofer outputs at all. The importance of this will depend greatly on user preferences IMO (some do not want a subwoofer for two channel listening, others do).

It certainly is impossible to go far wrong with this level of performance for less than $300 shipped, and good looks only make it even better. Your experience confirms the excellent results Nikolas also noted with the 3490 when paired with 4 ohm LSi9 speakers. The only thing remotely comparable in price from NAD's current product range would be the 315BEE at $350.

Dare I say it? This harman/kardon even makes the comparable Emo solutions seem pricey!

Enjoy, Conradicles!

Conradicles

The H/K has 2 year warranty. That is kind of nice because they are know for some quality issues.

Make sure you buy one from an authorized dealer just in case. I got this one from B&H and they shipped it double boxed the same day I paid! That is great service!

ph0rk

I can't say if i had an otherwise unhappy unit, but the hk-3490 I briefly owned had an odd leanness to the bass, out of either my VR-M60 bookshelves or my monitor 70's. A yammie RX-797 had more of a powerful, authoritative sound. Odd because the HK "house" sound is supposed to be on the warm end, but there you go.

I also thought that on top of that, the onboard dac was brighter than the dac in an appletv, and this was not a good thing.

All that said - glad the OP loves his!

Frank D

My HK 3490 which I received on 4/1/09 quit on me on 9/1/09. It powered on but no sound from either "A" or "B" speaker positions. I tried resetting the processor but it did not help. Went to HK's web site and they gave me an RA to return the unit for a new one. I haven't received the new one yet but being aggravated about the 3490 dying, I went out and bought an SR-4023. So far teamed up with my cc4001 Marantz cd player it sounds great.

tigerguy

Frank D,

I have been searching for a stereo receiver. I was leaning towards the HK 3490, when I stumbled on the Marantz SR-4023. I like it because it has 3 audio inputs. However, I have not been able to find any reviews. I am very interested to hear what your experience has been with the SR-4023, especially since you would be able to compare it with the HK. One of my concern is the wattage (HK 120 - SR-4023 80).

I would appreciate any insight you may have.

Conradicles

Welcome to Club Polk. I want to hear the Marantz as well. The HK 3490 is a great stereo.
Accessories 4 Less has the Marantz for $299. Buy it and let us know what you think.
If you don't like it you will have no problem re-selling it and getting most of you money back.
Merry Christmas!

Frank D

Tigerguy, I like the sound of the Marantz better. It has more midrange and a smoother, tighter bass. It has less power but sounds more powerful and has no problem driving my Revel F12's. I flip-flopped the two units back and forth and always liked the sound of the Marantz better. Hope this helps you decide.

Frank D

I should have added that the Marantz is more musical.

tigerguy

I see that I miss spoke in my first post, I intended to say that I was interested in the 4023 because it has 3 Outputs.

Frank D.
Thank you for sharing your experience. It sounds like the Marantz is the better choice.

I find it interesting that I cannot find any reviews on Marantz period, never mind the 4023.

I am wondering about the looks of the face. I do not care for the looks of Denon: cheap, plastic, dull. From what I can tell from pictures, the Marantz products looks like it may be nicer. Any thoughts would be appreciated.