Did I make the wrong choice? (HK vs. Denon) (1 Viewer)

[Simon Young]

I recently got my new HK AVR-325, but here in the UK I paid £700 for it. For the same price, I could have got a Denon AVR-3803. I am certainly pleased with the HK, and to my ear it has a slightly warmer (more pleasing) sound, but the Denon just seems better VFM in retrospect!

What do you people think? I hear that for the same price as I paid, I could have got the HK AVR-7200 in the US!! :frowning:

 

[Kirk Gunn]

Sounds like you made the right choice ! No worries, everyone gets buyer's remorse, even me after buying the Denon 3803 (thinking I should have gone HK) !

Enjoy what you have !

 

[JerryMa]

What seems "better" about the Denon? I was considering a 3803 as well at one point and went with an NAD T762. The 3803 is loaded with features, but do features make it "better"? The combination of bells and whistles that come with the 3803 are not available on every brand of receiver. What really counts is how it performs as a part of your system. If you like the sound of your HK then you made the right choice.

 

[ChrisLazarko]

The 325 is a good choice and in the US an AVR-7200 can be found for around $1200 maybe a little more brand-new.

Personally I think the 325 is a better deal than the 3803 but they are all pretty much comparable with each other. People also say HK is a more "all-around" reciever for music and movies anthough it's always different with everyones taste.

 

[Marty M]

The only B & M retailers for Harmon Kardon in our area is Circuit City. I went there yesterday and for the 20 minutes I was there no one came up to even talk to me. I am leaning towards the Denon 2803 or the Yamaha 1400, anyway.

 

[rob-socal]

Monday I had the same experience at CC. I guess that's their new low-pressure sales technique. Also, the one I went to had only low end stuff. They did have a HK430 on sale which looked sweet.

Actually current Inet pricing on the US 7200 is slightly

 

[Marty M]

Rob, would made you decide the HK 7200 over your year old Denon. I am very curious.

 

[rob-socal]

My lisening area is 18x15x12 full drywall, not ideal.
I'm using B&W DM604S3 as mains, 602S2 rears, 600S2 center
I like to run 5 channels full range (multi-channel music), but I don't think the 3803 is up to the task. It's too bright at moderate-high volume and gives me a headache on music. It may just be a mismatch with the speakers. Movies are great though.

I've always felt that the 3803 has a big hole in the lower end. I set the bass to +6 and it helps. My previous receiver was an Elite 26TX which sounds warmer and I miss that. So I was going to add an AMP to the 3803 to see if I can bring in some more low-end. The 7200 is such a deal I thought I might use it as an AMP only and possibly do a swap out. I'll have to play around with that to see what I like best.

My 3803 is one of the first units made available. It still suffers from the video-upconversion bug that plagued the first few hundred units. Due to that I've never been able to actually use the feature. Also, I miss the front inputs that were on my Elite.