One last bit of help please. Between looking at what is available and what I can afford at the local stores I am down to these three. The Denon AVR 1906 ($550 @ Magnolia), the Harmon Kardon AVR 235 ($450 @ Circuit City), and the Yamaha V657 ($450 @ Good Guys). I have Klipsh Heresy and Reference Speakers. I will be using the system mostly for cable/DVD and a little for music.
Your best bet is to buy a refurbished H/K from Harman's store on e-bay. They come with a full H/K warranty. I won an auction for an AVR235 for $261. Based on what you're willing to spend for the Denon, you should be able to get an AVR435, and maybe even a 635. And if you don't need ALL the latest bells and whistles, you can get even better deals on the x25 and x30 series.
Because that's what ziggy owns. I'd personally stay away from HK because they're underpowered, and get either the Denon or Yammi. You'll have to look at them yourself more closely and determine the winner betweent the two.
anonymousII
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Paul has shown his lack of knowledge once again by stating that HK's are "underpowered". Nothing could be more wrong. HK's are only underpowered on paper. In real life they are some of the more powerful receivers on the market. A 65 watt HK has more multichannel power than any Yamaha or Denon anywhere near the same price. Power is the most overrated aspect of a receiver choice and if it wasn't the Yamaha's wouldn't be worth much as their multichannel ratings are pretty lousy. Fortunately is doesn't matter much and they are a good choice for many people, including Paul. If they could figure out that the sub should be active in direct mode like Denon and Pioneer have they would really have something.
A small weakling 65watt HK could never drive a large pair of 4 ohm speakers.....not even close. I suppose if you're driving little 'half pint' nothing speakers, a little 65HK will be just enough to squeak by.
No Paul... the HKs will do just fine. But the Yammie and the Denon he's looking at will probably blow up in about a week trying to power a 4ohm load. Sure, an RX-V2500 could probably do the job, but he's looking at the 657, which wouldn't stand a chance.
And FYI, the only reason I own an HK is because it was the cheapest AVR I could find with a good pre-amp section that had the bells and whistles I was looking for. I use the 235 as a pre/pro in front of an Outlaw 755 amp that would chew your beloved Yammie up and spit it out for power. I also own a Denon (1082/3802), and if I had 4ohm speakers, I would use the HK instead of the Denon.
The answer to this one is that the HKs are built better than the lower-end Yammie's and Denon's. I looked at all 3 in my quest for a pre-pro for that system (and the Pioneer 1015), and the HKs have the most solid construction and best sound in that price range. Period.
I was also trying to point out that A) if he likes the HK 235 he can get it for about $2-300 less than the others without having to worry about buying it from an unauthorized dealer, and B) for the same amount of money he can move up at least 2 steps in the line.