King-Kong

hey guys i wanna spend 700$ on a receiver for my home theater system which is currently bose speakers and sub. Right now i have a Sony STR-DG520 receiver.

For some reason the receiver gets pretty hot on 50% volume after about 5 mins. I was thinking of buying Harmon Kardon Receiver. Do u guys think it would be better then my sony ?

Or are there other receivers u would recommend over Harmon kardon ?

lpchouinard

HK is usualy good but personally prefer Onkyo or Denon. Or you can go with a vintage amp like my Sansui AU-517

Do you need that surround thing?

Sasha

iTrader: (10)

You cannot go wrong with any premium brand like HK, Denon, or Marantz. NAD, Rotel, or Arcam will be too costly.

Denon prolly has the best reliability factor and I prefer it for movies out of three. Marantz is the best for music, and HK does great for both. Your Sony never got hot before, or did you just notice it? I have a Denon now and it gets hot too, but that is normal, it just runs hot. Denon prolly has the most laidback sound of the three. If you like bright sound, Onkyo is for you, and also offers tremendous value. BTW, do not get fooled by HK conservative ratings, it has double the rated power. Denon has different models for sale only at BB or FS, but cosmetically they look like crap, the models for sale at stereo shops are much better looking.

danyman

iTrader: (1)

i have a denon and i love it. and the sound is great. never had a problem. does get hot but not enough to burn yourself on it. and it can be had for like 500 +

Sasha

iTrader: (10)

Hey, are you able to hook up a sub with that Sansui amp? I am not too sure if you can, and it prolly does not have much for processing like HPF and LPF so you could blend the subs with other speakers nicely.

Sasha

iTrader: (10)

Ya, Denons are great. $500 is not expensive at all, and is a great value, but you do get what you pay for with higher Denon models. I have 3808, and the DAC's on it are incredible, I use the receiver's DAC's, as the Denon dvd player 1940 that I have has a way inferior model. I tried both, and the sound is waaaaay better when processing is done by 3808, but this unit will cost quiet a bit more that a grand easy. The cheaper models will have inferior DAC's, among other internals, so the sound performance will lack in comparison, however, if the receiver is mainly used for movies, the sound advantage of the more expensive unit is prolly not worth it, but for music - oh man! Obviously, to get this advantage with a more expensive receiver you gotta go digital, not analog cables.

danyman

iTrader: (1)

i only have the 1905 receiver ( upgrading soon tho ) and ya for music its not the greatest. work good and is plenty loud but still lacks in sq. on top of that im all digital for music and movies.

Sasha

iTrader: (10)

I think receiver is much more important than a dvd player, cause it can do all the processing if you go digital, so I would spend more money on a fine receiver if someone's on a budget, yet it is also nice to have a nice dvd player, cause it is not all in the processing when it comes to music sound reproduction.

As is said earlier, Denon are very neutral sounding, and some people may find them not bright sounding enough. I have found a really fine combination with aluminum LPG tweeters in my full size 3-way fronts. Marantz dvd players sound better than Denons in the same price range. Marantz is incredible sounding for music, much better than Denon for the money, but man, I see a lot of people getting DOA units, and often their units die on them. Warranty is not an issue, but the hassle. Also, opamps could be exchanged to get a different sound from the dvd player.