after much much debate, i "think" i've got it narrowed to these 2. just wanted an opinion. not sure what speakers yet. was thinking of jbl nsp1 series or possibly klipsch quintet. just not sure to be honest. first system i will buy. lemme know what ya'll think. thanks
Chris
Posted on
I bought the HK 325 Friday. It has great bass management & is a 7.1 receiver. You can assign the surround back amps to zone 2 if you don't have SB speakers. With the Yamaha, you'd need another amp for zone 2. The Logic 7 decoding sounds great, too. It also has automatic speaker level setup, & the cross-over frequency can be set independently for each speaker pair. The HK plays louder than I'd ever want (my ht room is 25x15x9 ft.) The only thing I don't like is that the display is bright, & you can only dim the text display, while the yellowish-green sound mode & input lights stay on. Also, the store where & bought it is clearing out this year's models & I saved $500 CAD.
Anonymous
Posted on
Brown
HK325 and the Klipsch make a great combination. Check out www.onecall.com for great deals on the HK. I think the HKs are a level above the Yamahas and a more honest comparision would be a Denon 2802/3 or a Onkyo TX-SR601 or a Marantz SR5300
Also, if check out NAD T752 which is good. BTW I selected a refurbished AVR325 among the above and I have no complaints yet. As Chris pointed out above the display is too bright and I dont like the tapered remote. Sonically its great.
Anonymous
Posted on
Yeo, The front display is a weakness for the HK's. Dislapy burnout is inevetible. Another weakness is it's prone to run hot no matter where you place it.
Sound-wise its on par with the Onkyos and Marantzs'.
NAD in one step above sound-wise.
elitefan
Posted on
The H/K is a much better receiver than the Yamaha. Yamaha has a thin, hollow sound while the H/K is warm and full bodied. I do not care for Klipsch at all, especially their newer models and would recommend you try to hear Monitor Audio speakers. The Silver Series is fantastic for the money and would sound great with H/K. Yamaha has really lost their way and this opinion comes from and old Yamaha die hard fan.
Hawk
Posted on
Have you listened to these receivers? I ask because they are about at the opposite ends of the audio spectrum, based upon what I have heard. If you have narrowed it down to these two, it sounds like you just want sound and you are buying based upon "features", not on quality sound.
Anyways, to answer your question, the Yamaha is a very clean sounding, but bright receiver, which, as elitefan has correctly described the sound as comparatively weak and thin. The Harman/Kardon is just the opposite--a little darker sounding, but fuller, richer and warmer.
You could not do worse than the Yamaha with the Klipsch speakers. As both are bright sounding, the sound would be very bright and hard to listen to. Pair the Klipsch with the H/K, however, and you have a pretty good system as their respective sounds compliment one another.
Anonymous
Posted on
So as NAD with Klipsch, they are super bright sounding and harsh to listen. Pair the Yamaha with Monitor Audio, or Paradym, or KEF and you have a pretty good system as their respective sounds compliment one another.
elitefan
Posted on
Do not pair a Yamaha receiver with Monitor Audio speakers! You would have a very bright receiver with brighter speakers and this would be a very bad combo. If someone insists on buying a Yamaha[even though there are many better units] the only speaker I con recommend would be Paradigm. Yamaha with Monitor or Klipsch would be a sonic disaster.
VM
Posted on
New Yamaha series is better than avr730. If you still considering Yamaha, it will sound nice with B&W speakers.
However, if your speakers has to be compact HK and Jamo or KEF will be nice choice.
Operafan
Posted on
elitefan - please could you tell why you do not care for Klipsch? I had planned to buy Klipsch Reference 35 series + RW12, for classical music and opera stuff. Could any one elaborate the difference between Klipsch and Monitor? What particular Monitor system to consider? Many thanks!