I heard H/K as changed 5 times of owner in 6 years ?

 

New member
Username: Alaing

Post Number: 10
Registered: Oct-04
I'm confused !!! I was going for the H/K 335 with Velodyne Sub, Polk RTi10, RTi6 and CSi5 but now I've heard that Harman Kardon pieces are very hard to find in Canada and if anything breaks, it take a long long time to repair... I am going to see the dealer tomorrow and am not qualified in hi-fi systems. What do you think and what would you buy instead ???
 

Silver Member
Username: Petergalbraith

Rimouski, Quebec Canada

Post Number: 158
Registered: Feb-04
Hi Marie-France,

Future Shop sell h/k so I'd be surprised if parts were a real problem. Who told you this?

Which Velodyne sub are you getting? (Perhaps you wouldn't if you had auditioned my Hsu! :-)

Peter
 

Bronze Member
Username: Alaing

Post Number: 11
Registered: Oct-04
Peter Peter Peter,

I went to Rimouski and, you will think that I have short term memory problems but I totally forgot about our session !!!! My excuse, I am very very busy and get about an average of 4 to 5 hrs of sleep every night... last week I went 40 hours without sleeping. My mind and body is starting to give me signs. Anyway I am really sorry that I missed the chance to steel some of your knowledge... Please forgive me.

You are right, Future Shops sell H/K. I am going to Dumoulin Drummondville tonight and meeting with the owner of the place. He is the one who told me that pieces for H/K takes for ever to have and that the company changed hands several times in a 10 year period. He says he has something better to offer me at a similar price. He was talking about Denon with Paradyme or Klipsch. What do you think ?
Mf
 

Silver Member
Username: Petergalbraith

Rimouski, Quebec Canada

Post Number: 166
Registered: Feb-04
Marie-France,

(Don't worry. I simply figured you were busy at the Volley-ball tournament. I actually went to the PEPS on Saturday for my daughter's gymnastics class which I forgot had been cancelled for the long weekend.)

As far as I know, Dumoulin don't sell h/k so I don't know if his info is correct or just a sale's job. The fact that a major international company has changed hands does not usually affect their distribution channels, just who ends up with the profits or losses.


As for Denon with paradigm or Klipsch speakers... I don't know whether people on this forum qualify them as a good match; Myself, I haven't heard enough differences in amplifiers to comment. I'll tell you that Dumoulin sells those combinations mostly because those are the brands they carry.

Paradigm is a good Canadian company, so you'd think we should be able to get good prices without dealing. Yet I ended up not buying a Paradigm sub from Stereo Plus because they overcharge and I don't like to negociate over prices.

Klipsch is American and slightly overpriced in Canada compared to American prices. I don't know the recent Klipsch stuff very well. I heard some a bit at our Dumoulin and wasn't impressed but the setup and room were terrible. I have older Klipsch La Scala at home and absolutely love them. You should have heard them! :-)

All receivers are overpriced in Canada. For example, I have a refurbished Denon avr-1905 on backorder from ecost.com for my mother. The price comes to C$450 delivered, compared to C$800 (new) after taxes at Dumoulin. For that price difference, I don't mind getting a refurb!

So when you vist the dealer, I'd suggest not agreeing to any deal on the spot and say you'll think about it. Then check the web for prices. I wouldn't mind paying $150 extra or so on $1000 worth of gear to get it from an honest and reputable dealer, but I won't pay close to double the price! Also, looking back at some of my past purchases, I realise that I've been had by Stereo Plus in particular in the past, selling off demos at regular prices and pulling a bait and switch on me. A local store doesn't mean a good store.

I probably wouldn't get a sub at Dumoulin and would order a Hsu instead.
 

Silver Member
Username: Hawk

Highlands Ranch, CO USA

Post Number: 665
Registered: Dec-03
Marie:

What you were told is wrong, plain and simple. The Harman/Kardon brand was an American company that was sold about 25 years ago to the Japanese company that was building their receiver products for them (I don't remember the name as they never had any brand identity other than H/K). After about 15 years, the japanese company was in financial trouble, as were most japanese companies after the collapse of their economy in the early to mid-90s. About 9-10 years ago, the H/K brand was sold to an American company called Harman International, which also owns and markets names like JBL and Infinity speakers. They also own several high end brands like Revel and Mark Levinson. Harman International is one of the larger audio equipment companies world-wide and is a darling of Wall Street right now as they have consistantly shown steady growth and very good earnings. Of all of the major audio products players, Harman is probably the strongest, financially speaking. They have also been growing their market share, so you do not need to worry.

Your informant may be confusing H/K with marantz, which has been passed around quite a bit in its history.
 

Silver Member
Username: Petergalbraith

Rimouski, Quebec Canada

Post Number: 169
Registered: Feb-04
Hawk is dead on...

Another thing Marie-France, ask the Dumoulin dealer when the new Klipsch Synergy line will be in. Models like the F-3 are available in the States and are actually better than the older Reference series RF3 at a lesser cost.
 

Silver Member
Username: Petergalbraith

Rimouski, Quebec Canada

Post Number: 170
Registered: Feb-04
Another thing...

Denon has some really high-end stuff, but they also have some much more affordable models of lesser quality. I would suggest that the low end of harman/kardon starts off higher than Denon. So it's hard to simply say Denon is better than h/k or the reverse without knowing the models.

Also, don't worry too much about power ratings, specially between manufacturers. For example h/k understate their rating so they will appear lower than others on paper, while others state the rating with only one channel running instead of all of them. Finally, the power rating has a log scale. There's as much diffence in sound between 1W and 10W as there is between 10W and 100W, so don't worry about the difference is one model has 100W per channel and another "only" has 70W. It's a very small difference.
 

Silver Member
Username: Frank_abela

Berkshire UK

Post Number: 125
Registered: Sep-04
So if Harman international is doing so well, why have they killed Proceed and moved Mark Levinson to cheaper premises all the while losing more than 3 months of production?

For a while there, the rumourmill had it that Mark Levinson was dead.

Regards,
Frank.
 

Unregistered guest
where do you think those harmon kardon's are made now, how about china, they may be alright in quality, however I would not buy one.
 

Silver Member
Username: Petergalbraith

Rimouski, Quebec Canada

Post Number: 222
Registered: Feb-04
Marantz are also made in China. So are Hsu subs. So are Klipsch Synergy speakers (I think). So are a bunch of others. Get used to it!
 

mauimusicman
Unregistered guest
Yeah, get used to it. Since you fools re-elected Bush for another 4 long, miserable years, more and more American jobs will be outsourced to other countries. Your job may be next. Get used to it.
 

Silver Member
Username: Rick_b

New York USA

Post Number: 607
Registered: Dec-03
Maui,

I doubt Mr. Galbraith got anyone re-elected. I believe he resides in Canada. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion regarding politics, that's what a democracy is all about. So why engage in name calling and insults? I think you sir, are now the one looking foolish.
 

Silver Member
Username: Elitefan1

Post Number: 815
Registered: Dec-03
I dislike Bush as much as anyone but keep politics off this board or stay off. This should be a place where one can get away from all the B.S. and enjoy our audio hobby. Keep your political opinions to yourself unless they pertain to this subject like the FCC dragging their feet on high definiton thanks to Michael Powell.
 

Silver Member
Username: Frank_abela

Berkshire UK

Post Number: 142
Registered: Sep-04
Hah! You call that dragging their feet?! Not only do we not have HD here in the UK, it's not even on the agenda and there's no HD transmissions either - also not on the agenda.

I do wish the Americans were paying $6/gal for gasoline though, just like us...

Regards,
Frank.
 

mauimusicman
Unregistered guest
You guys don't see the connection to audio? I remember when H/K was a VERY respected company. Now? They are built in China? Labor is cheaper there, I guess. I have a 30 year old H/K Citation amp that works flawlessly. Newer H/K gear is not well recieved here. Our next generation will not have the same great gear to enjoy as we did thanks, in part to Bush. Then again, Bush is pushing the EPA to do experiments on our children with chemicals from Dow, Dupont, Chevron, Monsanto, etc to see what, if any effects these toxic chemicals have on human life. So.......in retrospect, no worries as we won't have a "next generation" Before the flames start, it's true.....check it out yourself on the EPA's website. They are offering $970.00 and a video camera to poor Americans willing to subject their kids to poisons. Good group of guys we have running this country.
 

Silver Member
Username: Bleustar

Pensacola, Florida

Post Number: 184
Registered: Jul-04
Why don't you leave your political rants to another site. They don't belong here!
 

mr. bowman
Unregistered guest
As usual maui is an idiot again! If it's not his way then it must be wrong!
As he is allways right. and knows more about what you should
do then yourself! Now he's going to tell you how to run the country.

Lets see, it has to be gma spreakers.
It has to be first order xovers. "or their junk"
Now if you voted for bush you are wrong and stupid!

Who does this guy think he is! Anyone listening to his advice
is getting a mouth full of biased one sided oppinion!
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