HK AVR520 any opinions (1 Viewer)

[Sanjiv]

There was a posting for a current deal at one call for HK AVR520. I do not know much about the receiver. I want to drive NHT SuperAudio speakers through them(SB1, SC1, SW10). System will be 60% HT, 40% Music. I was currently considering Marantz 5200/5300, Denon 1803/2802/3802. How does the HK compare. Any opinions?
Thanks,
Sanjiv

 

[Eujin]

Sanjiv,

I suggest you do a search--there's been a lot of stuff posted in the last year that deal with all the questions you have and more.

 

[Angelo.M]

I agree. Do a search and you'll dig up more than you ever wanted to know about the 520. In a nutshell, it is as good as if not superior to any of the other units you listed, and would work well with your speakers and with the mix of theater/music you're looking for.

--AM

 

[Luke D]

I am in the same boat as you (also currently building my HT). I have researched the H/K 520 on this forum. From what I see the only problems with the unit are that it does not have DD-EX and DPLII. Does anyone know if the H/K 520 is being replaced by the H/K 525??
Sanjiv,
I was also looking at the Marantz units, I think the X200 line will drop in price when the X300 series comes out (in a few months). The Marantz and the H/K units sound great!!
I still have not yet made up my mind after countless hours of surfing this forum for receivers. I am not looking forward to looking for speakers. I thought this stuff was supposed to be fun.

 

[Eujin]

Luke D,

You're right about DD-EX on the 520, but you're mistaken about DPLII--the 520 does it, along with the other x20 HK receivers. And yes, the 520 will be replaced by the 525 which will do DD-EX as well. IMHO, the 525 is worth waiting for as it'll offer more flexibility--independent crossover settings for EACH channel, for EACH sound input AND bass management for SACD/DVD-A.

 

[Sanjiv]

Folks,
I just placed an order for the 520 at One Call for $539. They are expecting a new shipment next week. That, I felt, was too good a deal to pass since I am primarily building a 5.1 system at this point. While the 525 will have full 7 channel capabilities, it will also be almost double the price. To get this deal call one call and tell them about this forum and goapex.com or go to goapex.com. The deal ends tonight.
BTW, One Call is an authorized dealer and they are expecting 525's pretty soon at $999 SRP.
Regards,
Sanjiv

 

[Sanjiv]

Luke,
Since you are looking at building an HT system, let me give you my experience looking for speakers. I set the budget at $1000 for a 5.1 setup. My shortlist came down to Energy 5.2, Paradigm (various speakers) and NHT Super Audio. While the NHT's SRP is $1500 for two SB2, two SB1's, SC1 and SW10., I managed to get them for $999. IMHO, NHT's are just better than anything else I have listened to. Long story short, I have bought them. Another thing, when listening to speakers, I found that the ones that worked best with music worked best with HT. Music is just more demanding.
Good luck.
Sanjiv

 

[Eujin]

I found that the ones that worked best with music worked best with HT. Music is just more demanding.

No arguments there, Sanjiv. I started with a Paradigm Monitor 5 set-up myself and eventually move to a Triangle system (Titus fronts and Sextan center). Loving it right now.

 

[Paul_Scott]

i had the 520 in my theater for a month and can tell you that $539 is good deal for a unit of this quality.
things i didn't like:
-no dimmer setting for the front panel.
kind of distracting for my room layout where i could always see the green feature selections lit up...not a big problem and a different room config would have rendered this moot anyway.
-remote was typically ok- no better, not much worse than any of the others i have seen (the Onkyo 600 remote was still my favorite)
-sound quality seemed to be good. definitely a step up from the Onkyo 600 (which i also had for a month).

if $550 was the limit of my budget, this one would probably be the one i would have gone with.

however, the best sound i've heard from a reciever i've been able to audition in my home was from an NAD 761.
and i came to this conclusion after directly comparing one with the HK 520.
i would listen to the HK and then disconnect it and connect the NAD and i was startled by the difference in sound quality. soundtracks seemed more open for lack of a better word-spatial relationships between sounds was greater, as was the nuances of the sounds themselves. the biggest quality difference that i heard with the NAD was clean sound.

i'm not saying the HK was bad, it was just that a direct comparison made its preformance seem lackluster.

as good as i found the NAD, i'm not recommending that either.
it can be gotten refurbed from authorized dealers for about $600, but looking it up on audioreview last night, i was shocked at how many people had problems with their units- in particular channels going out (a problem i experienced too).
quality control, at least on this model, seems to be lacking.

anyways none of this really matters.
if i had been totally satisfied with the features, asthetics, ergonomics, etc with the HK, and had never directly compared it to the NAD, i would have found the sound to be of sufficent and pleasing high quality.

all the recievers you mentioned seem to be well regarded and unless you are going to be directly comparing each one in home against the others at the same time, i seriously doubt you will have any regrets as long as the other criteria (features etc) fits your bill.

jmo

 

[Khoa Tran]

I have the hk520 hooked up to psb minis, c5i and s10 surrounds. i'll tell you this the sound comes out clear and revealing...whenever i play LOTR on this at -20 that thing gets HOT but i realize that my speakers are 4ohm and it's working the amp. i think the hk is very good as a pre/pro but i think it needs a little bit more power. i might be upgrading to the hk8000 soon...

 

[Joe Szott]

Paul,

I'm pretty sure you can dim the front panel of the 520, I believe it is through the OSD. I have a 520 and faintly remember dimming the front at some point (I turned it back up because I couldn't read it while dimmed.)

I would have to say that this is a fantastic receiver and definitely worth $550.

 

[Paul Clarke]

Joe,

I'm pretty sure Paul is referring to the L-R green display columns of input selections and sound modes. Only the center section info dims or turns off. But personally the side displays don't bother me one bit. If I were to nitpick, I'd say the brightness level of the status LEDs for the front digital input/outputs selectors is a bit overdone and should match the side columns in intensity...JMHO.

 

[Paul_Scott]

Paul C. is correct, that is what i was refering to, and yes, it is nit-picking.
for sub $600, it seemed to be a very good reciever sound and feature wise.
i didn't use the video connections, since i prefer to run my dvd directly to the projector, so i can't comment on its performance in that area.

 

[Eujin]

i prefer to run my dvd directly to the projector, so i can't comment on its performance in that area

Component video switching is fine on the 520. I use my 320 (which has the same video section) to switch between my DVD player and HD receiver, going into my projector and notice no loss in signal quality.