My Quick HK AVR-325 Review

 

GT
Well I received my HK 325 today. It's a heavy sucker at 40lbs. Setup is pretty much the same as my old 320. Sounds similar also. At first I thought it was less powerful but after setting the sound levels, everything is back to normal. I was showing it off to a buddy while playing Saving Private Ryan. We both didn't think it was very loud since it was so clear, but when I tried to talk to him, I had to shout. We can attribute that to the crystal clear and low distortion amps. In fact, a little later when I got in the car I noticed my ears were ringing. I guess it was pretty loud after all.

I also played Gladiator in DTS-ES to test the 7.1 channels. Also sounded great and very dynamic. It's going to take a while for me to figure out everything but for now, its a nice step up from the 320. The triple X-over bass management is cool, but I don't think I have it set optimally yet. Sometimes having so many options is confusing.

The only complaint so far is the main display. Its now a two line display and I think I like the old one better. Before all you saw was your source (DVD, Video 1, CD, etc) Now you get the source PLUS analog or digital connection PLUS what DSP or sound mode is active. Right now it says VIDEO 1/ANALOG and on the second line 7 CHANNEL STEREO in big letters. Man it looks busy. Small annoyance that I'll quickly get used to. Some people may like it better this way.

Remote is exactly the same as the 320 and OSD has very few changes. So I get a heavier unit, triple X-over, 7 amplified channels and DD-EX decoding, plus a fan which hasn't come on yet in 5 hours of testing. Not a bad exchange.

I'm sure I'll have more to say later.
 

Anonymous
GT,

Can you run the receiver in 7.1 mode (or 6.1) 'and' connect the multi zone speakers? I see form the back panel pictures that the Multi L and R channels are the same the rear L & R. Does that mean, if you have a 7.1 setup and want to add two speakers in another room, you would need to unplug the two rears and plug the second speakers?

Thanks
 

Anonymous
GT,
Congrats on your purchase!

Anon,
You can't have the cake and eat it. You would need and additional amp connected to the multiroon audio out if you want to run 7.1 and multiroom at the same time. I have the 525, but I believe they have the same connections.
 

Anonymous
Anonymous,

Whats the point in having the cake if you cannot eat it :-)
Jokes apart, I was confused looking that the rear panel. What I had in my mind was a setup I saw at a friend's place (before 6.1 and 7.1 came into existence) who had a different set of speakers for music and a different set for HT. I was thinking that idea could be extended 7.1 surround and having A/B speakers (using the multi-room feature as the A/B speakers)
 

GT
You might be able to run 7.1 AND multizone if you connect an external amp. I can try it if I move some small speakers into the room for a little while. I've got an external amp in there from my old 320.

The speakers outputs share surround back and multizone so I know you can't do it with the speaker outputs.

If it works that means you could run 9 speakers at one time.

By the way, the 325 was FREE. It was a replacement for a minor bug in my 320 that can't be fixed. I love HK customer service! Only took 1 week for the whole exchange of me shipping back the old unit and them sending me a new 325.
 

Anonymous
Well maybe not 9 speakers at the same time with the same source.
But certainly if I can hookup 7.1 for HT and 2.1 (with sonically different speakers) for stereo. That way you can have a different set for HT and different set for music. BTW I recall my friend had a HK receiver (don't know which model) which was set up this way ...I am talking 5-6 years ago on a receiver which had A/B speakers.
 

Anonymous
Got my HK AVR325Z today. Tested it out with Fluance speakers and it was mighty impresssive.
I had a question, if I am playing a Dolby Digital DVD, can I switch to 5 channel direct or 2 channel stereo mode. The menu does not allow me to go to these modes unless I am in the analog mode. For a DD DVD, it automatically detects its as the mode as Dolby Digital and prevents me from switching to 5 channel direct.

Thanks
 

GT
Nope, when you get a Dolby Digital 5.1 signal, all you run is DD. That's the most discrete and best form anyway, why would you want to change it?

5 channel direct? Do you mean 5 channel stereo? Yeah, if you use the analog inputs you can use 5 channel stereo and other modes like Logic 7.
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