Buying a new receiver, Marantz, Denon, or HK? (1 Viewer)

[Mike Borbakov]

i will have 300 bucks to spend on a new receiver. im looking at all of these brand's 100 watt models, i want to know if u guys have had any good experiences with these or which ones u would take over the other. also, where could i buy them at? im having trouble finding online stores to buy home theater stuff at. im gonna use this receiver for music only, and it'll power my 2 JBL S26s. i also want the receiver to have a good phono input on it, the phono on my sony i have now SUCKS. feedbacks like crazy, i cant turn it up anywhere near moderate volume.
ive heard good things about all of these receivers. i just want good clean power with uncolored sound. i like warm rich sounding receivers over bright ones. i dont want a harsh sounding receiver. i appreciate your guys's help.
and if u wanna recommend something else for the same price (nothing over 300!) i'd be glad to hear about it.
thanks

 

[Scott_Sylke]

Well, personally.....if it was my deciasion I would go with the Denon. On a seperate note about your feedback using the phono input on your Sony. It sounds like you may not be using the ground? If not....you will probably have the same problem with any other receiver you get.
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Scott
a.k.a. KCWolfPck
See my Home Theater Page .

 

[John Morris]

I've been eyeing an HK 3470 stereo receiver for a while now. Check it out.
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Take Care,
merc

 

[Mike Borbakov]

yeah im using a ground, maybe i didnt screw it good enough. i'll check but i dont think that's it. like if i turn it up it gets bassy feedback, it just goes BWOOOOOOOOOOOO.
why would you choose the denon? what separates it from the others? i just wanna make sure that im gonna be happy with what i get. ive been looking at hk's too, they look like they're good receivers. next time i go to circuit city i might try one out. but denon and marantz have a great rep for being good stuff too. keep the suggestions coming guys

 

[Dan_D]

might want to look into Onkyo as well.
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[Andrew Beacom]

Not sure on the price but Marantz have a very good rep for music. I don't have any experience with the 2 channel reciever but I own the 5.1 SR-8000 which is very musical and a good match for my Linn's.
What speakers are you pairing the reciever with? Even if you buy online you should try to audition a reciever locally.

 

[Mike Borbakov]

the receiver will be powering a pair of JBL S26s. and that's the problem, i live in hick town USA. the nearest home theater shop is an hour away, and when we ARE out of town mom isnt gonna stop there so i can look at stuff. im just a kid so i cant do what i want yet.
any other suggestions?

 

[Marvin]

Whichever one you do buy, first make sure it has a phono input. I know a lot of the Marantz and H/K home theater receivers don't. I don't know about their stereo receivers.

 

[LDfan]

I have a H/K AVR-75 I could sell you. It's about 3 years old and only DD but since you only want 2 channels then that doesn't apply.
I actually haven't used it much, it's sitting downstairs and not even hooked up. It's a heavy brute, over 40lbs is my guess and retailed for $1400.00 back in it's day. If you are interested let me know. I could probably sell it to you with shipping for $300.00 or so (I wanna upgrade to get DTS)
Jeff

 

[Mike Borbakov]

jeff:
i probably would but i dont have money on me now. sorry
and i'll keep checking. i saw hk ones with phono imputs on them. AND if they dont it's not a problem, i have another receiver i could use for phono.

 

[Eric S]

Interesting line up of receiver brands... From what I have seen over the past few years, this list of Marantz, HK, Denon, and Onkyo only really represents two manufacturers (someone please jump in if I'm wrong...). It seems that Marantz and HK are virtually the same. If Marantz introduced a receiver, HK will have the *same* one in a new wrapper within 30 days... Also, its my understanding that Onkyo is realy Denon under the cover. That said, Marantz and Denon are often very similar as far as competition points go. I think you would be happy with either one (Marantz or Denon).

 

[LDfan]

Mike, Don't worry about it. When you have the money and if you are still interested just let me know. The receiver isn't going anywhere.
Jeff

 

[Kelly Scott Rickards]

As far as I know, all four are different manufactures...
Phillips is the parent company of Marantz, Harmon Kardon is a division of the Harmon International empire (HK, Infinity, JBL, Madrigal, Lexicon etc.)while Onkyo is its own company and the ownership of Denon has just changed hands (although I think they were a part of Hitachi)
All four are different

 

[Mike Borbakov]

jeff. im interested but i have no money. that sounds like a great deal. what are the specs on it? what's it's condition like? sounds like it's in good condition if you havent used it very much. why havent u used it very much? and why are u so willing to get rid of it for that cheap?
i'll look it up on ebay and stuff and i'll see what i think.
and if the HK is just marantz in a different wrapper, then i should buy a HK becuase they're a little cheaper than the Marantz models. and im having trouble finding places to even SEE what the denon models are. their home page really sucks.
keep the opinions coming guys, and thanks for all the info so far.