H/K 320 - any good? (1 Viewer)

[Jedd]

What do you think about Harman Kardon 320, is it good reciever for the money?
Also, how does it sound in comparison with Denon-2802 and Marantz-7200?
I'm planing to mate one of these three with either Axiom or ParadigmR setup.(depending on what I find first in my trip to Canada )

 

[peter_anderson]

i have one. it is good. some people just like the sound of harman/kardon compared to Denon and Yamaha (they sound too shrill to me). The only problem i have with the 320 is the split second of dropped audio at the beginning of a track when playing CDs with optical output. not an issue if you have a good CD player, with which you should use the player's DAC and the analog outputs.

 

[DonRoeber]

I've been trying to decide on a new receiver. I've been looking into the Denon 2802, Harman Kardon 320 and the Onkyo SR600. The Onkyo, which is coming out in April, seems to be my favorite. Waiting for final specs on it before I decide on anything.

 

[Jedd]

Peter, do you want to say that H/K is warmer then Denon?

I was listening to Denon and Yamaha yesterday, Yamaha was too bright for me, but Denon was quite ok.

 

[peter_anderson]

not necessarily warm, but smooth? the Denon i heard in two different places sounded warmer than any Yamaha to me, but still "sharp".

 

[Pat_L]

Hello all, I also have been trying to decide on a new receiver. DonRoeber, can you give me the URL to the Onkyo SR600. I cant seem to find it....THX

 

[parin_patel]

Here you go Pat: Onkyo TX-SR600

 

[DonJ]

I have a H/K 320 and I love it. My speakers a Pardigm monitor series. Monitor 9 v.2 , CC370 v.2, Mini monitor for the rears, and a PS 1000 v.2 sub bring up the bass. It sounds awesome people come in to check it out and there wowed by the sound. I admit when I bought the system I was a little nervous about the power rating but once I got it home and hook it up wow. I would gladly do a side by side with ANY receiver in this price category and maybe a few that are higher.

 

[Jedd]

If I add a stereo-amplifier to to take care about front channels is it possible to circle H/K (Denon, Marantz) amplification lines to power the rear surrounds?

 

[Eujin]

No. The 320 and 520 both have on board amplification for up to 5 channels. If you add an amp, you can only use it to power the rear surrounds. To power the fronts, you'd need another amp. This can be a drawback for some people (and it sort of is for me) but you really wouldn't need the external amp unless you're driving incredibly inefficient speakers or sit in a gigantic room. I posted a fairly long review of the 320 a couple of weeks ago, so if you do a search it will probably be pretty helpful--other people weighed in on it too and we covered some of the main shortcomings of the 320/520, along with its many benefits.

 

[chung]

No. The 320 and 520 both have on board amplification for up to 5 channels. If you add an amp, you can only use it to power the rear surrounds. To power the fronts, you'd need another amp. This can be a drawback for some people (and it sort of is for me) but you really wouldn't need the external amp unless you're driving incredibly inefficient speakers or sit in a gigantic room. I posted a fairly long review of the 320 a couple of weeks ago, so if you do a search it will probably be pretty helpful--other people weighed in on it too and we covered some of the main shortcomings of the 320/520, along with its many benefits.

On the HK-520, all the amps have individual input jacks. It is possible to use an external stereo power amp for the front L/R channels, and use the 5 amps in the receiver for the center and (up to) 4 surround channels. I am not sure if the 320 has separate inputs for the amps or not.

You will find the HK receiver amps sound even better, if you were to use separate amps for the L/R. Most of the power in normal programs go to the L/R, and the HK receivers' power supplies will have plenty of reserve (current capacity) if they do not have to drive the L/R speakers.

 

[Jedd]

No. The 320 and 520 both have on board amplification for up to 5 channels. If you add an amp, you can only use it to power the rear surrounds

I'd like to buy a receiver I can use as a pre/pro for the music and as a receiver for the HT. After all I've read here it looks to me as the wiset-bang-buck choice.

 

[Jedd]

So, did anyone try to use Denon or H/K as a pre/pro?

 

[Eujin]

You can find my original post about the 320, along with more lively discussions about it here
Make sure you investigate the DTS LFE issue before making your purchase (it's not that big a deal, but I know some people who've gone with other receivers because of it).

 

[Kevin L K]

Eujin--I read your post on the other forum.Regarding having to push the "AVR" button each time you want to change the volume,look at page 40 in the manual.It's called "volume punch-through" which means no matter which component your operating or whichever input you have selected on the receiver if you use the volume buttons it will ONLY control the volume on the 320.

 

[John A. Casler]

If you run a general comparison, the 520 compares favorably with the Outlaw 950 in feature set and performance.

In many areas it is superior.

The Harman Kardon offers more actual features than the Outlaw overall

- Multi-room (Zone II) remote

- Used as a pre-Pro with a 5 channel amp you will have extra amp channels free for multi-room power (or bassshaker)

- 8 channel input

- E-Z set remote - sets speaker level/volume automatically from testtones

- Front S-video,digital, analog and composite inputs "switchable to outputs

- MP-3 ability

- Logic-7 (two modes)

- VMAX (nearfield and far)

It does not have analog throughput, but Harmans are know for their music anyhow and we haven't heard the Outlaw yet.

Use it as a pre-amp with any of a number of power amp options and you can use the "onboard amps to supplement the extra two channels in a 7.1 set up, and or bass shakers and or second room applications.

Contrary to what was previously stated, the pre-outs have jumpers to the amps. These can be removed and any signal can be re-routed through the amps, from any source, via standard cables.

It makes a killer Pre-Pro. for the street price.

John Casler

 

[Eujin]

Kevin,

You're right about the volume punch-through on the HK remote--I discovered this shortly afterwards. I love my 320 and for the money, I think it offers a lot of value. I especially like its performance for music and the more time I've spent with it, the more I feel that I wouldn't be able to make much of an improvement without spending a whole lot more. My next upgrade would definitely be a couple of years down the road, and probably in a separates route.

 

[Craig Ball]

I'm using my H/K 520 as a pre-amp, I have two Acurus 200x3 amps running with it. Great results.

Craig

 

[Kevin L K]

Hi John. Actually H/K's DO have analog direct throughputs--any source connected via analog interconnects bypass ALL digital processing--that's why all analog connections do not allow you to set speaker size to small or large--it will automatically set them to large.I've already emailed H/K regarding this and they did confirm any component connected through analog means will bypass any type of processing and is in "direct mode" by default.Now you can connect for instance a cable/satellite box or VCR using an analog connection and enable Dolby PL/PLII,and by doing that you are processing those signals but that's by choice--otherwise the default is "direct".

 

[Pat_L]

Hi John, you say the H/K is known for its music...i am looking for a new receiver, but want to use it for 90% H/T and 10% music...is H/K not the way for me to go?
Pat