Yamaha Vs. Harman/Kardon Home Theater

[shalawlaw]

Hi everyone,

I would like to buy a new hometheater and I have the option to buy Harman/Kardon or Yamaha:

• Yamaha - YHT 2910: I know it is written discontinued but it is available in my country
  http://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/audio-visual/hometheater-systems/home-theater-package/yht-2910_w/?mode=model

• Harman/Kardon HDCOM 1515 S (AMP 151S + Speakers HKTS 5BK) :
  Amp: http://ru.harmankardon.com/harman-kardon-product-detail_uk/hk-avr-151s230.html
  Speakers: http://ru.harmankardon.com/harman-kardon-product-detail_uk/hk-hkts-5bk230.html

I am not sure which would be better from sound quality and also functionality.

Thank you for your advice!

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

If I had to choose only between these two, hmmm. I'd go with neither.
If you're on a tight budget - Get a second hand surround receiver and a pair of good speakers.
You'll thank me in a long run since you didn't waste any money on any of these two junky systems

 

[shalawlaw]

Wow, are they that bad? and why ?

 

[shadyJ]

If you can get them cheap, and don't need anything fancy, they would be fine. Their sound won't be nearly as good as a couple of decent bookshelf speakers which are properly setup, however.

 

[shalawlaw]

So what would be a good home theater system and affordable one? I would not be able to get a Bose, I wish thought...

The yamaha costs $500 and the Harman costs $550, if they are both that bad and ok for their price then definitely I would go for the cheapest... I am buying them in Europe, so the prices are higher compared to the US for sure.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Let's compare your new HT system to a new car, but let's make it really,really affordable.
I mean - it has four wheels, engine, breaks, you could fit (possibly) four (small) people, but you ever consider buying something like Tato Nano and what features it had to cut in order to be made and sold so cheaply:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Nano#Cost-cutting_features

What I suggest is forget about full sized new cars, your budget doesn't allow it, go with motorcycle or a used one.

If you go with regular (used) surround receiver and pair of nice bookshelf speakers - you could add good subwoofer and surround speakers later on.

If you go with ether of these system, it's very likely you won't be able to salvage anything should you want to upgrade it later.

 

[shalawlaw]

I totally understand your point, but what is a good home theater then?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I don't know what country you're from (russia?), what are local prices or what is available, but I will tell you that now with 4k (UHD), Atmos is all the rage (both could be ignored) - you should be able to find used Yamaha/Denon/Marantz receiver for about $200. I suspect that $300 could buy you a pair of speakers.
I can't recommend specifics since I don't know what is available, but in general JBL Area speakers are pretty good value. I can't recommend most US specific vendors and brands since you're obviously not in US and shipping any not be available or too expensive for you.

 

[shalawlaw]

I am in Germany and I mean if I can afford a new home theater, which one you would recommend ?

 

[Mark of Cenla]

Systems like those are very tempting but very rarely are the best value. The companies that make the best electronics (receivers) usually do not make the best speakers. Buying a decent receiver and a good pair of bookshelf speakers (and maybe a sub) will sound better. Then later you could add the other speakers for surround sound. Peace and goodwill.

 

[Pogre]

I am in Germany and I mean if I can afford a new home theater, which one you would recommend ?

you're generally going to see yamaha, denon or marantz suggested here as far as an avr goes, and I'm in agreement with that. all 3 companies make very capable receivers. if you can find one from any of those manufatcurers, you're getting a solid avr. just make sure what you choose has the features you want. like, hdmi, 4k, etc.

most of us buy the avr and speakers seperate. the speakers bundled in those htib's are often garbage, and the speakers have more influence over how your system performs than pretty much anything else in it. you can almost always find better speakers buying the stuff seperate.

 

[MR.MAGOO]

My take on the HTIB is for people who may be intimidated by all the choices out there, and for a small risk of $$$ can 'stick their toes' into the world of audio/video nirvana. My 75 year old sister and her 84 year old hubby are happy with their Vizio 46" screen, soundbar, and a wireless little subwoofer!

 

[cel4145]

So what would be a good home theater system and affordable one? I would not be able to get a Bose, I wish thought...

Bose are generally considered way overpriced by audio enthusiasts for what you get, even here in the US. They are just popular because of their marketing efforts. So no loss that you can't get them.

The yamaha costs $500 and the Harman costs $550, if they are both that bad and ok for their price then definitely I would go for the cheapest... I am buying them in Europe, so the prices are higher compared to the US for sure.

A pair of these Klipsch would be nice and this looks to be a very good deal: https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00LMF41IY/. Then you just need a receiver.

 

[cel4145]

Oh, and make sure that's a pair at that price. Google translate said it was, but I don't know if it's that accurate.

 

[Jlaubza]

I would get a Denon AVR and whatever speakers you can afford. Why Denon? Because a) they make excellent equipment and b) they offer Audessey sound tailoring system built into the AVR. Audessey makes a huge improvement because it tunes the amp output to compensate for listening room acoustics. Also Denon uses good quality DACs in their AVRs. Onkyo also offers this as does Marantz but Denon is affordable and trouble free.