I'm starting to put together my home theater system and need some advice. I'm thinking about getting Infinty Alpha 50 front speakers, Infinty Alpha 1200S powered sub, Infinty Alpha 37c center, and probally cheap infinty primus 150 for rear. I am thinking about getting then Denon AVR-3805 or Harman Kardon AVR 630. Does anyone know which reciever would be better? Also any suggestions on the speakers? Thanks
Infinitys are pretty bright so H/K or Marantz would be the best choice. Denon with Infinity is unbearably bright, but of course it depends on what you like.
Landroval - You seem to be pretty familiar with H/K, and recommended I check it out on my post. How would you characterize the H/K sound? What do you like so much about H/K products? Are you a current user?
If you don't mind I'll jump in here and give you some of my experience.
I have had many HK products over the years. Their basic philosophy is sound over bells and whistles.
The HK sound tends to be full and neutral to warm. I have Infinity Beta speakers which sound and match very well with HK and are very similar to the discontinued ALPHA line.
As for the Denon 3805 it sounds very good, but different. You really need to do a direct comparison to see what sounds better to you. Denon's lower end models do not sound good at all, which is different than HK. Their entry level models (avr130 and 230) sound very good but have less power than the 630.
The remotes on both the HK AVR line and the Denon 3805 have mixed opinions.
My current bedroom set up is:
HK 3480 Stereo receiver (120wpc) HK DVD22 Infinity Beta 20's on stands
Very nice, full uncolored sound that fills up the room with ease.
I have had Denon, Onkyo, H&K and Yamaha recievers. Infinity tends to be a "bright speaker". The H&K or Onkyo would probably be the best match. Get the deal that offers you the most for your money with either brand and you will most likely be very happy.
I'll agree with Xsound it seems that people on these threads seem to push H/K, I've heard them (Denon and HK) side by side any my opinion is and will always be in favour for the Denon...To me the Denon sounds much more sofisticated, it seems to have a wider more detialled soundstage, I find the HK lifeless and dull hey buts thats my opinion. I know that my opinion is harsh, but again that is my opinion.
This is not meant to offend anyone as I do respect the opinion of the HK users on this site (you know who you are)
Best I can say is listen to the receivers side by side if you can, that is the only way to figure out which one sounds better to your ears then the other.
Pairing speakers and recievers is like pairing wine and food - it's all good, but some stuff just goes better together.
I love the sound of my Denon 2805 reciever with my Axiom m22ti speakers. But I had a Denon 2803 with Klipsch and the system did not sound as good as my H/K and Klipsch. Numerous posts complement the H/K Klipsch pairing.
On the other hand, I would not pair an HK with paradigm or Polks. That's just too much warmth, all the way around. I think that the sound might get a little muddy and too laid back.
Some seem to think that Denon sounds bright. I think Denon is as close to nuetral as any brand that I have heard. I find Denon to be clean, accurate, with a touch of warmth and the best bass of any reciever. I have seen some reviews describe it as warm and others as just to the cool side of neutral.
Again, I think that Denon is so accurate and clean, that both of the statements could be true depending on the speaker. In which case, it would not really be the reciever. Denon goes well with anything speaker from warm to nuetral. I would be cautious about Denon with Infinity due to the brightness of the infinity. Mostly because, if it were me, I would want something to tame those inifity highs down a little. I listend to some Infinity Alphas and they were way too bright for me. Of course, they may not have been broken in, and I auditioned them at CC's sound room. They were running on some very thin speaker wire - maybe another reason for their poor performance at the time.
The 3805 is a terrific receiver. It just might work with the Infinity speakers. I would certainly want a 30 day return option to make sure that you were happy with your decision. You could get both Infinity and Denon at Crutchfield and have that option.
RE the H/k pushing on these forums, I agree, It is also my observation that a lot of people push NAD. Again, not a bad choice for inifinity speakers. But, I have seen too many posts about NAD being "buggy", running hot (most likely due to the large power supply) and having noisy fans (see latter parenthesis). Please, no flames from NAD enthusiasts - I know NAD is a great sounding receiver.
I will always recommend HK over Yamaha when refering to midline receivers with respect to overall sound quality. But for certain people, based on their desires, I will recommend the Yamaha's. I also prefer HK receivers over Denon up to Denon's 2805. I also recommend Marantz, NAD, and Rotel regularly based on the needs of the person seeking an opinion.
This is all a bit subjective obviously, as we all have our speaker preferences and appreciate music or home theater in vastly different ways.
It does sound to me as though there is just as much Denon pushing lately, as the last two post illustrate. The obvious excitement over certain brands for certain people is based on experience with these products and I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing.