Which Stereo Receiver Yamaha RS700 or HK3490

[pkeynote]

A need a new receiver to pair with my B&W 685 Speakers.
And after reading a lot of info about amplifiers and receivers (I don't need the video capabilities) I've chosen this two:
Yamaha R-S700
or
HK 3490
The price is not a problem (I can buy both for the same price 325€ each)

I'm going to use the system to listen Music from the MiniJack of a Mac Computer (I have HQ Audio there). I can use both RCA or Fiber to connect. As the Yamaha only have analog inputs will the MiniJack to RCA degradate the signal?

Which is in your opinion the best receiver?

Thanks

 

[KEW]

I would bet either would do a great job, but unless the styling of the Yamaha wows you, the HK is a safer bet (I assume you mean 3490) simply because it is a known quantity - it has been tested/measured to be an excellent performer:
harman/kardon HK 3490 Stereo Receiver Review — Reviews and News from Audioholics

 

[pkeynote]

I would bet either would do a great job, but unless the styling of the Yamaha wows you, the HK is a safer bet (I assume you mean 3490) simply because it is a known quantity - it has been tested/measured to be an excellent performer:
harman/kardon HK 3490 Stereo Receiver Review — Reviews and News from Audioholics

Yes sorry is the 3490 , i'll take a look to the HK review .
Thanks for your opinion.

 

[M Code]

The 3490 is an excellant proven product.. We have installed many units without any issues, strong amplifiers and many features.

Just my $0.02...

 

[Grador]

A need a new receiver to pair with my B&W 685 Speakers.
And after reading a lot of info about amplifiers and receivers (I don't need the video capabilities) I've chosen this two:
Yamaha R-S700
or
HK 3490
The price is not a problem (I can buy both for the same price 325€ each)

I'm going to use the system to listen Music from the MiniJack of a Mac Computer (I have HQ Audio there). I can use both RCA or Fiber to connect. As the Yamaha only have analog inputs will the MiniJack to RCA degradate the signal?

Which is in your opinion the best receiver?

Thanks

The mini jack to RCA will not degrade the sound, but I do not know how good the quality of the sound card is in your mac computer. I have never come across any computer that's internal sound card was anything above the minimum of acceptable. If you insist upon a stereo receiver I would invest in an external DAC, though personally I'd go with an AVR (built in DAC, no real quality disadvantage, cheaper)

 

[sjcguy]

Don't forget the HK has digital inputs. I use usb-spdif to stream digital music to my receiver.

 

[pkeynote]

The mini jack to RCA will not degrade the sound, but I do not know how good the quality of the sound card is in your mac computer. I have never come across any computer that's internal sound card was anything above the minimum of acceptable. If you insist upon a stereo receiver I would invest in an external DAC, though personally I'd go with an AVR (built in DAC, no real quality disadvantage, cheaper)

The HK 3490 has built in DAC so, i think its a good idea to take the sound from computer via digital toslink and let the HK do the Conversion.

 

[Grador]

The HK 3490 has built in DAC so, i think its a good idea to take the sound from computer via digital toslink and let the HK do the Conversion.

Or I could do a little googling to give you the best answer, yes that should work quite well.

 

[gene]

To this day I still feel the HK3490 is the finest stereo receiver for under $500. It has one unique feature the others don't - a digital input and good DACs.

That Yamaha looks superb too and it has multi-zone. If you don't care about the digital input, the Yamaha is a solid choice. If you want the digital input and don't mind the rather cheesy volume and tone controls, get the HK.

Both are great products as others pointed out here.

 

[Dave-M-2]

I have owned both a yamaha receiver and a hk receiver and Ive always felt that my hk preformed better, but that is just an opinion and ill warn you im a big harman fan...