I am looking to replace my technics 920 and am looking to spend about $400 to 500. I've narrowed my choices down to two the HK AVR125 and the Sony DA1ES, or should i go for the HK 225????? Please help, any advice is appreciated
Chippa
Posted on
Also, is there anything missing on the HK AVR125 or AVR225 that is needed to set up a good quality home theater?
Speakers, a good TV, DVD player and a spankin' movie to sit back and be blown away by.
Get the HK and it's got you covered.
*225 has onscreen display for setup. Nice but not *totally* necessary.
-h1p
Chippa
Posted on
Thanks h1p!
Are there any speakers that you think will go well with this system. Right now I have Bose in mind. I already have a DCM Technologies sub and Bose 201s in the front. One more thing, the 55 watts of rated power should be enough because HK rates their receivers at RMS, right?
Well I just made my speaker decision. I tried Polk RTi38s ($380/pr) as a baseline cunsumer speaker, Castle Acoustics Richmond ($470/pr) as a premium micromonitor, B&W 602s as a larger footprint ($500/pr), but FINALLY chose the M&K K7 speakers for the L/R/C combo.
They're arriving in a few days and I am thrilled. This speaker is $250/ea and is positively amazing when compared to something like the Polks.
The M&Ks are only sold through reps and installers but the hassle in getting them is far outweighed by their premium professional lineage, build quality and SOUND!
AS for the HK power rating it is among the most conservative of all HT receiver manufacturers and is *defintely* rated RMS with ALL channels driver...unlike a company MANY people consider reputable who rates only one channel driven and rhymes with Tonkyo...people are total marketing shmucks.
Good luck and mail me offline if you want to know more abou the speakers I mention as played from the AVR525.
-h1pst3r
Chippa
Posted on
Also, Should I use the AC outlets on the back of the reciever or will it "steal" or disrupt the path of electricity through the receiver? Thanks again for all the comments and suggestions, and I'm sure those M&K's sound AMAZING, but i was looking to spend about $350-$400 for the pair. The only speakers I have looked at are commercial speakers and the winner, at that price range, and my ears, is Bose. Are there any non-commercial speakers at that price range that outperform Bose? My neighbor has an older set of Klipsch towers and they sound really nice. I can't afford speakers like that ($1600/pair.) but I liked the way the KIlipsh sounded. I haven't been able to go to a hi-fi shop, so I have no clue what they cost. I mean, for $350/pair is Bose the best I can get???
NO!!! Not Bose...my point being take you time and do some shopping...it's in your favor!
The $300-400 price point is RED HOT with all manufacturers understanding that traditional customers who buy one pair of speakers (at say $900/pr) are now far more inclined to pay $300/pr for 3 pairs of small, quality monitors.
Everyone from KLH to Polk and Klipsch to esoteric audiophile brands like Castle or Monitor Audio realize that they NEED to offer a quality small speaker for those of us who want both music and movies.
Because of the magic price point of $300/pr we consumers are the beneficiaries. In fact one particular jack!@# at a local "audiophile" store in Boston (spearit sound) replied to my question about B&W 303s as the speaker that B&W and other makers are *forced* to make, and that they basically just break-even on. Why? the low margin/high volume game of cheaper speakers. To be sure, the margin is much larger for a manufcturer when the price tag is $2000/pr.
BUT, those manufacturers can't sell us junk for $300 either or they jeopardize compromising their high-end mystique. This is great for us consumers.
For instance, when I demo'd some Castle Acoustic Richmonds (which can be had from Saturday Night Audio in Chicago for $299/pr in walnut real wood veneer) they made my brand-new and larger Polk RTi38's sound terrible (which were $380/pr)...and I had thought them fine, even good, before the Castle A/B. And inline with what I mentioned earlier, the Richmonds use a woven carbon fibre driver that they make and is used in their higher-end lines.
The Richmonds were a *really* nice little speaker, but I have a challenging space (like a loft) and they were a touch challenged dynamically (for a smaller room they would RULE). I was about to buy two pairs from Saturday until I found the M&K's on ebay...I "bought now" immediately.
The point being that you can get some really good speakers for $300/pr. Of course, this all presupposes that you have a sub, because no one's micro-monitors will voice much below 80-100hz...so ya gotta have a sub.
Defintely check out the Castles as well as Acoustic Energy's Aegis evo one speaker, again $300/pr. Monitor Audio makes a pair at that price too, of course the ever-popular B&W303, and then the M&K's I just got have a smaller bother the K-5 which review, of course, very well and are $300/pr. But the K-7's are just $500/pr, DON'T SKIMP ON YOUR SPEAKERS.
But, I got my M&K's off ebay: 3 titanium finish/metal grill K-7s for $500 (saving me $250!). So be diligent on ebay and audiogon.com and you can save hundreds and maybe got something you didn't think you could afford.
Oh, as for using the AC outlets on the HK, I use one of them and the audiophiles haven't come to tar and feather me yet. Sometimes the compromise between sonic purity and convenience leans toward the latter...
If you like the sound of the Klipsch horn tweeter, they offer the Quintet line of speakers. The folks who have them love them, personally I never demo'd them but read many positive reviews.
The little Quintets can be had at places like Onecall.com and all over ebay both new and used for something like $75/pr if I recall correctly.
You may want to look at some reviews for that.
Cya,
-h1p
Phil Krewer
Posted on
Chippa,
If you don't mind buying remanufactured speakers there's another option you may want to look at. Harman Stores on Ebay sells remanufactured Infinity Interlude speaker with the full 5 year warranty. You can get the IL50s for around 300/pr. Each has a 250 watt sub. They retailed new for 1800/pr. You could also get the IL60 for about 600/pr. They have a 500 watt sub and retailed for 3000/pr. I have a pr of IL60s and they are great
I just bought the Sony Da1es. It really is a good receiver and rated at 100 watts. Only 5.1 and no 5 channel stereo though. Pretty easy to set up too. If you are willing to go thru internet I have seen them for as little as $310 plus shipping. I'm sure the HK's are great but they seem very "pricey" to me. Good luck.