Replacing HK AVR 520, In need of advice.

[MadKat7]

Well my old HK AVR 520 has a dead center channel and I think i'll replace it rather than have it repaired. I have a full JBL speaker set-up with ND310II fronts, N24II rears, and an S-Center. A modified Sony 10" sub rounds out the mix. My theater to music ratio is probably around 80/20. I do not have HDTV yet, but I hope to soon. My major complaint about the HK (when working correctly) is that the 65 watt per channel power wasn't quite enough for my room. I am considering a Yamaha RX-V2600, RX-V2500 series, Pioneer Elite, Denon replacement receiver. My budget is around $1000. I would appreciate any feedback from anyone who could help me better target my purchase. Thanks in advance.

 

[jcPanny]

For under $1K the Yamaha RX-V2500 and Denon 3805 are good buys (both about $7-800) If you are happy with HK you might pick up a new model or look for one of their refurbished flagship receivers (7200 or 7300) at the Harman Audio store on Ebay.

 

[Vigor]

Well my old HK AVR 520 has a dead center channel and I think i'll replace it rather than have it repaired. I have a full JBL speaker set-up with ND310II fronts, N24II rears, and an S-Center. A modified Sony 10" sub rounds out the mix. My theater to music ratio is probably around 80/20. I do not have HDTV yet, but I hope to soon. My major complaint about the HK (when working correctly) is that the 65 watt per channel power wasn't quite enough for my room. I am considering a Yamaha RX-V2600, RX-V2500 series, Pioneer Elite, Denon replacement receiver. My budget is around $1000. I would appreciate any feedback from anyone who could help me better target my purchase. Thanks in advance.

The Elite vsx52,54, are amazing very powerfall and if you love music it is the one for you I just purchase the vsx52TX and it is the best I had and I'm a sound man and a music freak good luck,

 

[jaxvon]

If you still love your H/K receiver and it has pre-outs, why not purchase an external amp? They can deliver a lot more juice than a receiver's amp section (in general). Maybe a unit from Outlaw?

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

The Elite vsx52,54, are amazing very powerfall and if you love music it is the one for you I just purchase the vsx52TX and it is the best I had and I'm a sound man and a music freak good luck,

I agree. How about the 56?
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-PIONEER-ELITE-VSX-56TXi-THX-RECEIVER-VSX56TXi-VSX56_W0QQitemZ5837109636QQcategoryZ39799QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Or the 9300?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Pioneer-VSX-9300TX-A-V-Receiver-VSX-9300-VSX9300TX_W0QQitemZ5837301543QQcategoryZ39789QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

If you like Denon, still one of the best buys for the money...
http://www.ubid.com/actn/opn/getpage.asp?AuctionId=10555465

And of course this one IF you can get it around $900 or less...
http://cgi.ebay.com/Harman-Kardon-AVR-7300-7-1Channel-Receiver-NIB_W0QQitemZ5839173069QQcategoryZ39794QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[MadKat7]

Though the amp is a good idea, i don't have the space for it. I can only replace the unit I have. I am willing to sell the HK unit i have along with a matching 5 disk CD player if anyone is interested though.

My search is getting narrower. No HK, too many problems. Denon, too ambiguous for me. Marantz seems less feature rich than others. Yamaha and Pioneer are left. The Pioneer Elite VSX72TXV or a Yamaha RX-V1600 seem to be the price to price comparison winners at this point...but which one?

Thanks to all for the advice. Keep it coming!

 

[jaxvon]

Denon too ambiguous? Huh?

 

[MadKat7]

...Nothing against Denon at all. I just can't get a good personal feel for their feature set vs. price. I've also seen several posts warning of potential qc problems similar to HK.

 

[Vigor]

I agree. How about the VSX 56

Yes of course I will go for the Pioneer VSX 56 TXE but talking power the 52/54/and 56 are all 110 per channel the 56 has the THX EX more inputs and a better processor I was listening to the two of them and the sound is identical so for the price I picked the 52 and I'm overwhelm it is very very friendly and easy to use and every day I discover new sound characteristic to this amp,
I recommend.

 

[Vigor]

I agree. How about the VSX 56

Yes of course I will go for the Pioneer VSX 56 TXE but talking power the 52/54/and 56 are all 110 per channel the 56 has the THX EX more inputs and a better processor I was listening to the two of them and the sound is identical so for the price I picked the 52 and I'm overwhelm it is very very friendly and easy to use and every day I discover new sound characteristic to this amp,
I recommend.

 

[MadKat7]

Update...

First off, thanks to all who posted. It was a great help.

Bonus time rolled around and it's been a good year. After much research and comparison, the follwing items were added / replaced in my audio system.

Yamaha RX-V2600 Receiver (replaced HK AVR 520)
Yamaha DVD-C950 DVD Player (replaced Pioneer)
SVS PB-10 Sub (replaced Sony)
Sony Grand WEGA 42" HDTV (replaced 36" Hitachi)

I am thrilled with all the equipment. It works well with the JBL speakers. The PB 10 simply kicks ***. My whole room shakes.

Now on to the hookup headaches. The most confusing issue is the upscaling to HDMI that the 2600 is capable of.
My DVD player, DTV receiver, Yammy Receiver, and TV have HDMI ports. As i understand, using solely HDMI connections will only pass through. This will leave older analog TV and DVD signals at their native resolutions. If this is true, would it not make more sense to use component video connections from both the DTV receiver and DVD player to the Yammy, then to run HDMI out to the TV. This should allow upscaling to HDTV resolutions for everything. Can anyone with a similar configuration confirm or deny this logic?

Lastly, my old components are available if anyone is interested. The HK receiver center channel sounds like a tin can, but everything else (ie pre-amps) is fine. Lemme know otherwise they are going the eBay route.