Harmon Kardon 525 vs 230 (1 Viewer)

[JimV]

peter and matt, i have a 525 and love it, it's really not a big deal, if a 2 or 3 sec delay bothers you then it's time to lay off the caffine! besides, they probably had to design the circiuts to build an electronic dam in that 3 sec to hold off all that high current ultra clean power! hehe, just funnin.

but seriously, awseome reciever, set it up right and it will not disappoint

 

[ChrisYK]

hahaha... home theater ADD

 

[Paul Clarke]

Chad,

I would always recommend going with a setup featuring an amp. From my perspective, the 325/855A combo would be hard to beat for versatility in a 5.1 system, especially with unknown (to me) speakers. And of course, the future option still remains for 7.1.

In the past I have used both a 310/855A and a 510/855A setup and enjoyed the potential for bi-wiring/bi-amping provided. While a fan of HK amping, using the Parasound brought noticeable imaging/soundstaging gains and provided greater cap reserves for sound peaks.

With the 325/855A combo you could expect cleaner performance with less risk when venturing to 7.1. My only suggestion would be to source any -Z receiver from Harman directly. My house is filled with them and they have always run as advertised with only one minor issue ever requiring tech support. And that resulted in my getting a free
upgraded remote when I reported a problem with the original (which it turns out was user error :b)

 

[John Pine]

Peter: Good Call! You won't be disappointed!

 

[KrishnaS]

What is the difference between the 325, 330 and 525? I decided last night to forego Denon and pick up a HK. I have a few questions

1. What is the sound on the HK's as compared to Denon? Bright, neutral, warm?

2. I'm running the Energy Take 5 package. Will the HK sound good with those?

3. I've decided to buy a Z model from HK directly. Any problems?

I basically want a basic receiver with a great pre amp section. My plan is to upgrade the front two speakers this year and add an outboard amp. So preouts are very important and I think all three receivers I mentioned above have them.

The 325 is going for 334, the 330 is going for 399 and the 525 is going for 430.

If I'm not too particualr about having powerful amps (since i want to add an outboard amp anyway), which of these three recievers should I pick. Are there any features in them that make it a MUST BUY over the previous model.

Thanks for your help!

 

[KrishnaS]

Another question - does logic 7 sound similar to Denon's 5 channel stereo? I really like that feature on the denons. I'm researching HK's website at the moment and man ! these receivers have tons of features. I don't know why I ws so set on Denon and didn't even consider HK. I think the 525 is the only one I've listed to provide bass management for DVD-A and SACD right? That's a pretty big feature that may be good to have.

 

[John Pine]

Krishna: I'll answer the only question I know the answer to. IMO, the sound on my 525 is neutral to very slightly warm. This is exactly what I was looking for when matching it up with my JBL Studio Series speakers. The results, with a reference quality SACD or DVD-A, is nothing short of stunning!

p.s. The bass mgmt on the 525 is very advanced but it won't help you much as the signal from SACD/DVD-A is analog. Generally, you don’t want to convert the analog signal back to digital just to apply bass mgmt. Do some searches and you can get more details. Ideally, buy a player that handles it for you, like the Denon 2200 or 2900. I have the 2900, and it's silky smooth for both formats.