Onkyo vs Yamaha vs Harmon Kardon

[modenar1]

Yamaha vs Harmon Kardon

i am looking to buy a entry level reciever. this reciever will just be used to power a cd player. only 2 channels would be required. i am not a movie type of guy. Just music. now i have been looking into the entry level recievers by these companies. but can not decide which one to get. i have an older onkyo SV-620 reciever which i have been using for almost 10 years and i am fuly satisfied, but i am taking that to my office, so i would like to get another setup for my house.

my budget is around $500 for a reciever. i am acomparing the

- Harmon Kardon HK 3480

- Yamaha RX-797

 

[WorldLeader]

I would say Harman Kardon for a two channel application, they seem to be solid receivers. They look awesome as well, so they get my vote.

 

[Seth=L]

The Yamaha and Onkyo receivers are generally brighter sounding and have turned more toward the marketing hype sceme. H/K maintains their integrity by continuously underated their amplifiers and just as well they have a warmer sound character to them.

The H/K probably has more real power than your Onkyo, But I would keep the Onkyo and spend my money on speakers. Speakers have the biggest impact on the sound of the system.

 

[pearsall001]

I think you've started enough threads, asked plenty of questions, and have gotten plenty of solid advice. Now use all your new found knowledge & put your system together. The next time we hear from you we expect a full review on your new purchase & how well it sounds. Otherwise stop wasting out time.

 

[Seth=L]

I agree, we have been going is circles the past few days. You have been asking questions that should have stayed on one thread, but I didn't say anything because you were a new member. But please for all our sakes take the info you have and get into something, I assure you having a sound system is better than asking tons of questions on how you should go about getting one.

 

[infoe]

wow this is ridiculous...are you guys getting paid to answer questions on the forums? If not then dont complain if the guy wants to ask the same question a million times over...dont waste our time reading pointless replies on how you "time" is supposedly being wasted.

 

[modenar1]

thank "infoe" well this is a forum to ask question. and if you think im wastin ur time, dont respond. im not forcing u to answer my questions. i came here to look for answers, and if people are willing to answer they will, but dont complain cuz im askin too many questions

 

[MDS]

Nothing wrong with posting a lot of questions IMO. About the only question I don't bother to answer is 'Which receiver should I buy'. Technical questions I will answer over and over because I (like many others) like to talk about this stuff and help others to see the light.

Modenar1 I think you have gotten some good answers and I know this stuff is daunting at first but you will get through it and make a good decision.

 

[Seth=L]

My only reason for making that post was we have been running in circles. If one question is answered then there isn't need to pound it into the ground by making another thread. I see no reason to start multiple threads on the same questions, it makes things confusing.

 

[pearsall001]

thank "infoe" well this is a forum to ask question. and if you think im wastin ur time, dont respond. im not forcing u to answer my questions. i came here to look for answers, and if people are willing to answer they will, but dont complain cuz im askin too many questions

OK here's what you do. Go down to your local Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, etc. Head straight to the audio dept., ask for the resident audio pro & fire away w/ all your questions. Your head will be spinning with all this new found audio knowledge. Then ask him to recommend what you should buy. If it's within your budget, take his recommendation & buy it. Now go & enjoy!!!

 

[davo]

Any thing from these brands at that price range will be very similar to each other for quality. As far as features that is up to you to decide, maybe do some research for your self instead of 'what do you guys think?'. Don't worry, you will be more than happy with the brands you mentioned.

As for the negative vibes, I think it was a little bit harsh...

 

[brendy]

Both are very good , but I would lean towards the Yamaha. Denon and Outlaw also have excellent stereo models.

 

[Nick250]

Because it's is a muture technology the difference in properly designed stereo receivers should be just about inaduiable. I have a bias for Yamaha and Denon because I have owned them and never had a problem. What speakers are you using?

Nick

 

[bandit]

I bought the HK3480 for my sons system off the ebay harman company store. If memory serves me it came with two years of warranty and I believe I won it for about $120. This was a factory refurbished unit. Its been flawless and sounds very good indeed. It may leave you more cash to spend on the ever important speakers....

Bandit.

 

[gene]

The Yamaha and Onkyo receivers are generally brighter sounding and have turned more toward the marketing hype sceme. H/K maintains their integrity by continuously underated their amplifiers and just as well they have a warmer sound character to them.

What a bunch of nonsense this is, especially since Denon and Yamaha are producing more powerful receivers than HK at the same price points, along with more features, and better reliability. This is one of the reasons Circuit City dumped HK in favor of Denon.

 

[PENG]

The Yamaha and Onkyo receivers are generally brighter sounding and have turned more toward the marketing hype sceme. H/K maintains their integrity by continuously underated their amplifiers and just as well they have a warmer sound character to them.

HK simply plays it differently, by turning to other hype such as specifying high instantaneous currents such as 70A, without telling whether that is the total of all 7 channels driven to maximum, or for how long, like microseconds, mini seconds etc. They also specify their "maximum Power consumption", e.g. 890W for a 335 at the specification section (page 54) of the manual while specifying their power consumption (they call it AC input) at the rear panel (see page 7) of only 370W, that is in line with similarly priced receivers from Denon, Yamaha, even Sony etc., again without specifying under what condition.

So I agree with Nick, Yamaha, Denon or HK at the same price point will not sound much different. Example, I listened to HK, Denon, Yamah and others, they sounded just as bright (or detailed) to me. IMHO you are safe to just go for the one with the features you want and the look you like most.

 

[no. 5]

What a bunch of nonsense this is, especially since Denon and Yamaha are producing more powerful receivers than HK at the same price points, along with more features, and better reliability. This is one of the reasons Circuit City dumped HK in favor of Denon.

well said Gene!

 

[Flea]

I had this delema a month a go when I was replacing my Yamaha. The thing is, I really like the HK but I had one years ago and bought into that high current crap they try and sell and felt I got burned. I gave it away three months later. It does not make a diffrence. My old Yamaha was sinificanly more powerfull. I did like Denon and would not hesitate to buy one, but in the end I got another Yamaha because I did not feel like learning how to use the Denon.

 

[gmichael]

i am looking to buy a entry level reciever. this reciever will just be used to power a cd player. only 2 channels would be required. i am not a movie type of guy. Just music. now i have been looking into the entry level recievers by these companies. but can not decide which one to get. i have an older onkyo SV-620 reciever which i have been using for almost 10 years and i am fuly satisfied, but i am taking that to my office, so i would like to get another setup for my house.

my budget is around $500 for a reciever. i am acomparing the

- Harmon Kardon HK 3480

- Yamaha RX-797

You should end up very happy with any of these. All good choices. Pick the one that has the options you want most. Check out their remotes to see if one is easier for you to use. Then, enjoy... enjoy... enjoy.

 

[Seth=L]

Sorry, it just always seemed to me they had a warmer characteristic in sound, maybe my mind has been playing tricks on me. I talked to one of the Circuit City guys the other day, and confirmed they did indeed have many returned H/K receivers, though not as bad as Sony apparently. Of coarse every store carries something Sony, at least in most cases. That would make an interesting thread topic "Stores that don't carry Sony products", though it wouldn't get far.

Oh, and keep your Onkyo. There isn't much since in getting something else at this point as speakers are the most important. Stereo receivers are a pretty much proven technology.