Harman Kordon AVR 635 - Speakers? (1 Viewer)

[Scott Moeller]

I am helping a friend set up a new home theater system. I am getting a “Harman Kordon AVR 635” receiver and want to set up a 6.1 surround. I am trying to find the best sound quality at a smaller speaker size (don’t really want to sacrifice sound quality for size though, even though he is leaning toward a Bose cube size if possible). I heard infinity complements the Harman Kordon receiver brand well. I tried the infinity, Polk, and Bose cubes the other night. I thought the Bose speakers sounded best, but reading a couple message boards leads me to believe that Bose is not well liked around the audio community? If anyone has suggestions that will give me the best bang for the buck, I would appreciate it. I am looking around the $1200 to $1400 range which includes a sub and a 6.1 set up. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[John Garcia]

The Bose cube setups are just not worth what you are paying for them. Do a search here, and you will find a LOT of feedback on them. The small Polk sub-satellite pagages are only a step up from that, but at least they don't charge twice as much for the same thing.

Any tiny satellite speaker will always be a compromise in sound quality, period.

www.av123.com Look at the Rocket ELT package(s).

www.ascendacoustics.com Go to the system builder and you can configure any combo you like and get a price.

www.axiomaudio.com They have a pre-packaged deals also.

Any of these will run circles around Bose, Polk or Infinity.

 

[Scott Moeller]

Thanks so much John! I will check those out.

 

[DorianBryant]

The 635 is a 7.1 receiver. I found 7.1 to be superior in my room as the rear center was too close to the listening position and sound was localized. Having 4 surrounds helped improve the soundstage. I have the HK 235 and found it to be a fantastic receiver. I use JBL speakers and found it to be a great match. S38II's, EC35, N26, N24 and just picked up 4 JBL 940 towers.

Infinity, JBL, and HK speakers are all under the Harman Audio umbrella. Stay away from the Bose. The cubes aren't worth the postage to ship them...

 

[John Garcia]

I should mention also, that those three manufacturers are internet direct companies, but if you find something that looks interesting to you, ask on this or other forums, and you will likely find a lot of info on them. These three are well respected around here, and there are a number of others as well.

For the Rockets, if you would like to see if someone in your area has them available for audition, you can go to www.audioenvy.com