Which to get? (1 Viewer)

I've kinda got my parents convinced to get me a ht receiver for graduation and my heart is pretty much set on Harman Kardon. I am planning on getting one of the factory recertified one since from my understanding they carry the same manufacturer's warranty as new. I'm torn between the 325z and 525z. They both look similar (except wattage of course), but what is the advantage of going with the 525 over the 325? Also I am planning on purchasing it from onecall.com, any thoughts on the site? Thanks for all your help in advance.

Luke

I brought an HK 520 and an HK 320 home to audition...these are similar to what you're considering. Of course it depends on the rest of your setup but I found no difference at all sound wise given my smallish listening room and efficient (but large) speakers. If you have large, inefficient speakers and a large listening room, the 525 might be a better choice for the extra power. But, other than the power difference, the only extra you get that you might ever use is HDCD decoding and an extra digital coax input. I would have chosen the 320 for my setup had I not found an Onkyo TX-DS797 display model on my next trip to Circuit City at a price I couldn't resist
I've never used onecall but why not buy it from www.harmanaudio.com . I have used them and can they are excellent.
Here's a link for the 525: $698 reconditioned....
http://www.harmanaudio.com/search_br...er=AVR%20525-Z

It doesn't look like they have any reconditioned 325's at the moment though, however, if you don't need the 7 powered channels you might want to look at last years models, the 520 and 320.

Thanks for your insight it was very helpful.