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H/K AVR225 or AVR325Z. Hawk can you help me?

 

Smitty
Posted on   
I'm looking at purchasing either an HK AVR225 or perhaps a HK AVR325Z. In the forseeable future I will only be using 5.1, I noticed the wpc is about equal between these two receivers, is there any noticable difference in sound quality ( in either 2-channel or 5-channel )?

My other concern was the lack of the triple crossover bass management in the AVR225 and it's fixed 100Hz crossover. I have for speakers:
Front Main: AR 310HO (similar specs as Hi-Res AR9)
Center: AR AR2C
Surround: AR 206HO (similar specs as AR15/AR17)

I haven't purcased a subwoofer yet but plan on getting one along with the receiver.

Will I really notice any difference if the crossover is fixed at 100Hz rather than tailored to each speakers abilities? (i.e. 60Hz for center and 80Hz for surround ).

Thanks,
Smitty
 

GT
Posted on   
Get the 325z if you can afford it. In addition to the extra two speakers/channels, you get the multiroom feature, bass management, adjustable crossover, dual inpendent power supplies for front and rear channels. 7.1 pre-outs, MP3 decoding and HDTV component video inputs. The 325 is a better all around receiver. It's also has more power in reserve. High current capability is 35amps vs 28 for the 225.
 

Smitty
Posted on   
Thanks GT, the 225 is really the minimum I would buy right now whereas the 325 is what I really want.

Being in Canada my choices are:

1. AVR225 w/Canadian warranty, approx. C$900.
2. AVR320Z w/Canadian warranty, approx. C$900 (I forgot about this one).
3. AVR325Z w/Canadian warranty, approx. C$1200.
4. AVR325 via unauthorized US e-tailer, C$900.

Option #4 is pretty tempting, but if anything goes wrong after the first 30 days I'll be kicking myself!
 

GT
Posted on   
If Onecall.com ships to Canada, you can get the 325z for $438 USD. I don't know what it converts to in Canadian dollars but my guess is around $700. This is an authorized dealer.
http://ww1.onecall.com/PID_19088.htm

Here is the list of authorized HK etailers. http://harmankardon.com/online_retailers.asp

What's the deal with shipping to Canada anyway? Does the void the warranty or something? Is the USA warranty good in Canada? Are you close enough to drive into the U.S. to buy a receiver?

I have the 320 receiver. It's very good but the 325 has several added features. I don't know if its worth $300 extra though. I would definitely take the 320z over the 225 though.
 

Smitty
Posted on   
GT,

Thank's for the comments. Unfortunately Onecall doesn't ship to Canada. I don't think any of them do (at least for the HK receivers), I presume this is a condition of being an authorized e-tailer, otherwize they'd undercut the authorized Canadian retailers (who I'm guessing must have a healty markup on HK receivers:().

The warranty issue is a real bummer. For HK, the warrany is only valid in the country of purchase. It's not clear to me if I could ship a receiver purchased in the US back to the US for warranty work, asking an e-tailer gets you referred to HK Canada who of course want you to purchase the receiver here. I live near Ottawa which is about a 2 hour drive from upstate New York, so driving down and picking one up is a possibility considering a new 325 here is C$1450 + 15%tax retail (approx US$1200 total!!! Geez, that's nearly the price of an AVR7200 in the US!!!), I'm sure there's some room for negotiation but I can't imagine they would drop the price much below US$1000. From a quick look at froogle.com, there seem to be a lot of US e-tailers offering them in the US$500-600 range. It really comes down to the question of how much is a 2-year warranty worth? Certainly not $US600 for a $US600 receiver. I would be willing to pay $100-$200 more to support a local retailer however I think paying double the price is a bit extreme, I mean how much can it cost to repair one of these anyway?

Whew! Sorry for the long rant, I hope I haven't broken any forum rules :).
 

GT
Posted on   
Yeah, I think I'd drive to upstate NY and buy one. I'm sure you can find a Circuit City and then maybe get them to price match one of the online deals. Even their list prices are way cheaper than the $Canadian. The $225 list for $499US which is only $700CAN. We can buy speakers from Canadian dealers like Axiom and Dahlquist for great prices, I guess it doesn't work in reverse. I bought some box set DVD's from Amazon.ca because they were much cheaper than amazon.com with the conversion rate.

This sucks, you're missing out on great deals.
 

Hawk
Posted on   
Smitty:

Sorry I haven't answered you before now--I have been offline, so I haven't been ignoring you. I really enjoy this forum because I can learn interesting facts. Looks like you guys are getting screwed over H/K receivers, much as it is very expensive to buy Canadian speakers here in the States. And I actually thought we had something called a free trade agreement between our respective nations.

Well, if you can afford it, I do think the 325Z is an improvement in sound over the 225. The difference is not so much the power as the use of better parts used to build it. It is just a little cleaner and although the continuous power is not that much greater, it does have a better power supply that gives better dynamic headroom.

If I may offer a suggestion--now, although I do not wish to upset the taxing authorities in Ottawa, you may want to investigate getting a 325 from the States (Circuit City, perhaps) and getting an extended warranty through the retailer. These will run about $30-50US, and so long as it covers Canada, it sounds like you would still be ahead financially rather than buying from a Canadian retailer at the prices you suggest. Alternatively, go to a MailBoxes Etc. (or UPS Store) here in the US and rent a mailbox for 6 months to establish a US address. Then if One Call ships to a US address (as shown on your invoice), H/K Canada would have to honor the warranty (it would be the same situation as a person who lives in Europe, buys his product there, and then moves to North America. By contract, the manufacturer requires the national distributor to cover the warranty). Either of these would appear to solve your warranty problem with buying in the US

As for the cross-over point, I really don't like a fixed crossover set at 100 hz. A setting that high puts some mid-bass info through the subwoofer. Now, in my mind, the subwoofer should only be passing "non-directional" information, which is below 80 hz. If it is set at 100 hz, then "directional" information is coming out of the sub and it will upset the image, partucularly if your sub is not set up below your TV and between your main speakers.

I hope this helps. Good luck
 

Smitty
Posted on   
GT & Hawk. Thanks alot for the reponses, I'm pretty well set on getting the 325 now. I think I may end up taking that trip to NY state, I noticed there are three Circuity City locations in the Rochester area. Of the authorized etailers only J&R ships to Canada, I'm waiting to hear back on whether they ship HK products or not.

Hawk, I noticed from previous posts you know a lot about receiver/speaker pairings. I have a set of AR speakers (the older High-Output series, similar to the current Hi-Res series but with a different tweeter) that sound good to me with my current HK receiver (pro-logic AVR30). I'm assuming the HK AVR325 would be a good match but would be interested in hearing your comments.

Thanks,
Smitty
 

G.DawG
Posted on   
Smitty,
Have you tried ebay.ca?
 

G.DawG
Posted on   
If you do, this is the best price right now...http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3039522013&category=14981 Im not sure about the warranty problem though.
 

Hawk
Posted on   
Smitty:

I don't think the sonic charecteristics of the 325 are going to be very different from your older AVR30. Thus, if you are happy with the sound of your ARs with the AVR30, I think the 325 should sound just as good.
 

Anonymous
Posted on   
http://ww1.onecall.com/PID_19088.htm

This shows a factory renewed model. Is it safe to buy factory renewed? OneCall claims the failure rate of Factory renewed Items is less than for new items. Is that true? How about sound quality?
Thanks
 

Hawk
Posted on   
I have no problem with factory refurbs--in fact, my receiver is a refurb and it runs fine. I don't think it will be a problem for you.
 

Smitty
Posted on   
Actually after auditioning the AVR325, I didn't find it to be as good as my current AVR30.

So now I'm looking at NAD. I've just discovered that the NAD products are relatively reasonably priced here in Canada. The T742 retails for C$1050 (US$750) and in fact I just missed a sale on them for C$900(US$640).

Smitty
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