Pioneer 1018 vs Harman Kardon 354

Lego1
Lego1 Posts: 62
edited December 2011 in Electronics
I can get these for about the same price. Both receivers can do HD audio through hdmi, which is most important for me since I only watch blu-ray. Also, I need something to be able to power my speakers, which are 2 Polk rti6 rated at 125 watts, Polk csi5 center rated at 200watts, and 2 Polt rti4 rears rated at 125 watts. Both receivers have preouts which is a plus. The 354 had issues, but hopefully most have been resolved with firmware updates. Which one sounds better and which one will drive my speakers the best? I like listening to high volumes. Thanks!
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Comments

  • nhhiep
    nhhiep Posts: 877
    edited December 2011
    haven't used Pioneer stuffs before, but have been running Rti8s, 12s, Csi5 off HK amp and I really like the sound. at least that takes the brightness away from Rti series. plus HK amps are high current, not sure about the pioneer one.
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  • Lego1
    Lego1 Posts: 62
    edited December 2011
    Are you running the hk receiver? What model number? What is the watt output per channel?
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  • rebuy
    rebuy Posts: 695
    edited December 2011
    I think for power the H-K beats the Pioneer easy. I could not find lab specs for your model but the 1019 model puts out 30 WPC in 5 channel mode. Look it up and see if it's the same class receiver. The H-K on the other hand will be close to meeting the claimed output.
    If you feel safe with 30 Pioneer watts then you have a choice.

    I love the H-K sound.
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