Harmon Kardon AVR225 vs. YamahaRX-V1300

 

bpblotr
I am currently in the process of upgrading my home theater system. I recently purchased a set of Infinity Entra Point Series speakers with a 10" Infinity sub with surrounds that have 4"mids+ 1" tweeters. I am now looking for a new receiver. I am leaning towards the Harmon Kardon AVR225 or possibly the Yamaha RX-V1300. Although it is a subjective rating, I must say that the 55 watts that the Harmon Kardon is rated makes me somewhat leary. Does anyone own a HK and if so, are you satisfied with the output and clarity? I listen to about 60% music and 40% HT. I would prefer to stay below $500.
 

yale006
I just got done hooking my AVR 225 up 6 hrs ago. I am very impressed with the amount of power it produces. I am getting amazing sound from the reciever with no distortion. I would rec. the AVR225. The power rating is for all speakers going at once. Great fetures easy to use. I can go on and on.
 

bpblotr
Just curious yale006, what kind of speakers do you have?

Also, where did you purchase the AVR225?
 

GT
The 55 watts is for all 5 channels driven at the same time. It would blow away those 100 watt Sony, JVC and Kenwood receivers that are always on sale for cheap. It has much more power than you think. I have an HK 320 with the same amount of power and it easily drives my Energy Take 5 speakers and my Boston Acoustics A-70 Series II. I don't ever come close to turning the thing up very far. I've driven all 5 Energy speakers at the same time using 5 channel stereo and my ears would start bleeding before the receiver distorts.

The HK-225 has a 100hz crossover which would probably be perfect for your Infinity speakers and subwoofer.

I don't know what state you're in but here in California, Fry's Electronics has it on sale for $299.
 

bpblotr
I live in Louisiana, so no Fry's over here. But I did check it out online and it is the AVR125 that is $299, the 225 is $399, which is still $100 cheaper than Circuit City has it here. Do you think the 225 is powerful enough? The 325 is $799 (I can afford it, but would prefer to stick to less than $500).
 

Anonymous
bpblotr,try this site,it is authorized dealer and they have very gool deal on those HK..
http://www.6ave.com/cat_detail.jsp?a=audio&st=search&d=86&s=Surround%20Sound

Have fun shopping
 

GT
The prices on the Outpost site do not reflect Fry's in store sales. The HK-225 is $299 in the local stores and the HK-125 is $279. The 525 was $699 which is lower than the current price of the 325. I was just there the other day. They even had the Onkyo 700 for $399.

But since you're in Louisiana it doesn't matter.

Check out onecall.com. They're an authorized HK dealer and have the following deals.

HK-225 $349 including shipping
HK-325 $549 including shipping

HK 325 refurb w/full 2 year HK warranty $468 incl ship.

Another authorized HK dealer is www.6ave.com.
http://www.6ave.com/product.jsp?x=AVR325#specs

The HK 325 is $532 incl shipping.

or if you want to go a little more over budget the Denon AVR-1082 which is the same as the 3802 is $599 plus 6 cents for shipping.
http://www.6ave.com/product.jsp?x=AVR1082
 

bpblotr
GT, thanks for the heads up on those prices. The best in-store prices around here are $499 for the 225 and $799 for the 325. I am amazed at the prices you saw in Cali. Anyway, I'll probably end up with the 325. I'll keep you posted.
 

GT
Your in-store prices are probably at Circuit City. They don't bargain much unless you find a clearance item. I showed them a Fry's ad last year which had my 320 for $299 around Thanksgiving. They wouldn't match it or even budge from their $799 list price. The new models had come out so they should have been clearing out the older 320. Then they claimed they called Fry's and the product wasn't in stock. So I got in the car, drove 35 miles and picked one up at Fry's brand new in box. I went back to CC and showed them the receipt. They didn't care. Of course the next week they had the HK-520 demo on clearance for $499, half of their normal price.

The 325 is a very good unit. I have last year's model, the 320. With the 325 you'll have adjustable crossover settings plus 7 channels of amplified power. So if you have a big enough room you can add two more speakers for 7.1 sound down the road when you have more $$. Maybe some Infinity floorstanders to use up front and switch your satellites to the surround back channels. It also has the EZset remote which adjust the speakers settings automatically for you.

You'll really like the HK. Good choice.

If you need new cables, banana plugs or speaker wire, try http://accessories4less.com/ or http://partsexpress.com. You can get quality AR or Dayton connectors for less than half what CC will charge you for Monster products. Home Depot or Lowe's is also good for 12 or 14ga speaker wire. Have fun.
 

bpblotr
I would really like to connect 2 outside speakers to the unit. Do you know if the 325 is capable of that?
 

johnb
Don't forget about Yamaha. One of the best recievers I've owned has been the rx-v2300. It is so quite and clear and does have multi room capabilities at a very low price. Plenty of head room and as quite as can be with dead air. I think it is a great reciever with goodies and power to spare.
 

GT
Yep, since the HK-325 has 7.1 speaker outputs you can connect two outside speakers. If you use 5.1 inside the house, the other two channels be used for the multi room function. You can listen to one source inside and another outside or the same thing in both rooms.
 

bpblotr
That sounds good. I think I'm pretty much sold on the 325, but how do you differentiate on the unit which speakers will play?
 

bpblotr
GT-- The back of my speakers have a space for a plug (not sure what kind--maybe a banana plug?) or a terminal for a standard wire to fit into.(the space for the plug is ontop of the terminal) Do you think the plug would have any advantage over using wire with the terminal? Also, do you use 12 or 14 guage wire?
 

GT
It's called a binding post. It will accept banana plugs, spade lugs, bare wire, pins. Banana plugs are easy to install and if you move your speakers around, they're very convenient. I don't think there is any sonic advantage, but they sure make it easier to connect/reconnect to the speaker terminals. I really like using them on the back of my HK receiver because it gets pretty tight trying to put thick bare wire in each post. You can get individual plugs or the dual plug, it's up to you. You can purchase them at the sites I mentioned earlier and they're pretty cheap...less than $4 pair. If you buy the individual plugs, make sure to get equal number of red and black for the positive & negative terminal on each speaker. Get the plugs with set screws to make the wire installation easier. I used the AR banana plugs they sell at Best Buy. I think they cost $8 or $9 for 2 pair. You can probably find cheaper ones online. Home Depot, Radio Shack and Lowe's also carry banana plugs. If you're going to use them on the receiver and speaker terminals, you'll need 10 pair for 5 speakers, 14 for 7.

I use 14ga wire but others suggest 12ga, especially for long runs. I've got little Energy satellites, just felt 12ga would be overkill. My wire runs are less than 10 ft for the fronts and center and about 20-25ft for the surrounds. If you're gonna use long runs, especially for the external speakers, get 12ga wire.

For the multi room option, there is an on screen menu where you set up everything. You have the option of using the SBL & SBR terminals as the 7.1 speakers or for the multi room speakers. Check the back of the HK-325. http://harmankardon.com/back.asp?prod=AVR%20325&cat=REC&sType=C You can also tell how much easier it would be to use banana plugs instead of bare wire on the speaker terminals. Page 34 of the manual tells you how to set up the multiroom feature. You can download it on the HK website.
 

bpblotr
You seem to be a wealth of info. Who has good wall mounts for surround speakers (my speakers have a screw insert in back)? Also, in looking for a sub cable, I have come across "Y" cables. What is this for and why is it so "important" as some sites call it?

Again thanks for referencing the HK owner's manual, it explains a lot.
 

GT
Many powered subs come with two line level inputs, left and right. Some say they function better when the signal is sent to both inputs. This is where the Y cable comes into play. A receiver generally only has one sub out jack. You run a single sub cable from there to your subwoofer, using the Y cable to connect to the two inputs on the subwoofer. AC4L.com has the AR Pro Series 25ft sub cable for $16.99 and the Y connector for $6.99. They also have ATS Gold 17 and 20ft cables for $11.99 and $14.99 respectively. Those are good prices for quality cables. Or you could also just go to Home Depot and buy 25ft RG6 coax cable and put F-connector to RCA plugs on the ends. That might cost you $15. I've done it that way too and it works great. Just don't go spending $60-$80 on a Monster cable when you don't need to.

I read plenty of HT forums so there's a lot of quality info out there. Just passing on what I've learned to others.

Don't know anything about wall mounts but I'm sure you could post a question on hometheaterforum.com, avsforum.com, or hometheaterspot.com and get a good response.
 

Anonymous
Don't get H/K.It's good for music,not for movie.Yamaha Rx-v1300 is much better.Believe me this receiver plays louder than H/K 225
 

Anonymous
The Yamaha is made primarily for home theater but it's so bright it can be grating at times. I'd rather have the smooth power and sound of the HK.

But a more fair comparison is the HK-325 since it has about the same list price ($799) as the RXV-1300. I think the 325 compares favorably to the 1300.
7.1
dual power supply (weighs 40lbs vs Yammy 33lbs)
discrete ampfliers for each channel
multi zone capabilities audio and video
bass management for each channel with adjustable crossover
7.1 preouts
7.1 inputs
Logic 7
Dolby Dig, EX, DTS-ES, Dolby Logic II

I own both an HK and Yamaha receiver and it's no comparison as far as sound. The HK wins easily.


I'm not saying the Yamaha is a bad unit, just think the HK is better.

Plus the HK-325 can be had for $386 brand new with warranty on other forums.

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=152351
 

TX Smitty
Who has special deal today on Harman Kardon AVR 325? I missed out on yesterday by 5 minutes at onecall.
 

bpblotr
I also missed out on the HK at OneCall. I was on vacation--I definitely would have jumped on that deal! Do you know of anywhere else that has a good deal on the 325?
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