Kevin L K
Second Unit
- Joined
- May 26, 2001
- Messages
- 272
On June 1 I purchased a harman/kardon AVR-125 receiver(exchanged an Onkyo 500 for it).I absolutely LOVE the sound of h/k receivers--warm,smooth yet still very detailed.Well,about 3 weeks later the sub-out stopped working so I emailed h/k and they emailed me back 4 hours later stating to either return it to Circuit City or they would replace it but they are back-ordered on that model until at least 7-19-02.I brought it back to CC and they had no more in stock until next week so in the mean time I purchased-dare I say it-a Sony STR-DE885 until they get the h/k's back in stock.
The reason I bought the Sony was because I was intrigued by the bass management: you can set the crossover individually for the front,center & surround in increments of 10Hz from 40Hz to 200Hz,it also allows you to adjust the LFE high-cut frequency from 40Hz to 200Hz in 10Hz increments for the sub out,plus there is a LFE mix setting that you can adjust from -20 to 0dB in 1dB steps,which effects only the LFE channel,not the bass sent to the sub through bass redirection circuitry(this is NOT the trim control).
Now I don't know about you but that sounded pretty comprehensive to me.I must say,the h/k does sound superior to the Sony BUT,my speakers--all of them--integrate SEAMLESSLY with my sub now-It's incredible how different it sounds!
My point in all of this: Why oh why can't manufacturers give the consumer what they want???? Do they have an aversion to selling as many units as possible???? The rason Sony sells so many units? They simply give the consumer what they want--it DOESN'T MATTER if the manufacturer thinks it's silly and adds nothing to the overall sound, " Build it and they will buy ".If consumers wanted a purple colored receiver Sony would make it and sell lots of units--beacuse that's what their market wants.I do realize market presence,advertising and a number of other factors influence a person's buying habits,and I also realize that certain features will always only be available at certain price points but I have seen MUCH more expensive components that have virtually no bass management.I truly think the electronics manufacturers need to wake up and give people the features they want.
I still will always like the h/k sound over the Sony(I do not mean any disrespect towards any Sony owners out there--just my personal opinion),but it was just so sobering to see such a "low-end" receiver have superior bass management to what I had always perceived to be a much "better" receiver.
The reason I bought the Sony was because I was intrigued by the bass management: you can set the crossover individually for the front,center & surround in increments of 10Hz from 40Hz to 200Hz,it also allows you to adjust the LFE high-cut frequency from 40Hz to 200Hz in 10Hz increments for the sub out,plus there is a LFE mix setting that you can adjust from -20 to 0dB in 1dB steps,which effects only the LFE channel,not the bass sent to the sub through bass redirection circuitry(this is NOT the trim control).
Now I don't know about you but that sounded pretty comprehensive to me.I must say,the h/k does sound superior to the Sony BUT,my speakers--all of them--integrate SEAMLESSLY with my sub now-It's incredible how different it sounds!
My point in all of this: Why oh why can't manufacturers give the consumer what they want???? Do they have an aversion to selling as many units as possible???? The rason Sony sells so many units? They simply give the consumer what they want--it DOESN'T MATTER if the manufacturer thinks it's silly and adds nothing to the overall sound, " Build it and they will buy ".If consumers wanted a purple colored receiver Sony would make it and sell lots of units--beacuse that's what their market wants.I do realize market presence,advertising and a number of other factors influence a person's buying habits,and I also realize that certain features will always only be available at certain price points but I have seen MUCH more expensive components that have virtually no bass management.I truly think the electronics manufacturers need to wake up and give people the features they want.
I still will always like the h/k sound over the Sony(I do not mean any disrespect towards any Sony owners out there--just my personal opinion),but it was just so sobering to see such a "low-end" receiver have superior bass management to what I had always perceived to be a much "better" receiver.
. That is one thing that I regret about my receiver is its fixed at 80hz. I would really like to try it at around 60Hz to see if it would blend better with my Towers. So I end up turning the sub off for all Music.
