HK 525 versus HK 635... upgrade or not? (1 Viewer)

[David Ruggiero]

Has anyone upgraded from a HK 525 to a HK 635? I am thinking about doing so, just curious if anyone has anything to share regarding upgrading. Does anyone think it is a good idea to upgrade from the 525 to the 635?

 

[Jerome Grate]

I thought about upgrading my HK 500 and the question raised to me I'll raise to you, anything wrong with the 525?

 

[David Ruggiero]

No, nothing is wrong with my 525. I see that the 635 has a few more watts per channel, 1 more component video input (which would come in handy for me) and some other minor improvements... but what I am really curious about is the new auto eq feature. If anyone can tell me how the 635 sounds with auto eq, compared to an older HK without auto eq, I'd like to hear your thoughts.

One thing is for sure... the 635 "might" sound better, but I think the 525 series looks better.

I wish they made the new receivers in black... :frowning:

 

[ChrisYK]

One difference that I know of (as a 525 owner) is that the audio dropout issue was resolved in the 635 with a software update. I don't think this update is applicable to the 525.

That being said, when I was shopping for a receiver, in my mind, the 635 did not have that many more features than the 525 that I could reconcile with the price difference at the time.

 

[Jose G]

I hear the auto eq on the 635 is awesome. That's the word on the forum. Did you do a search here for that Hk635? There was a recent thread that talked about this. I personally wouldn't do this upgrade, but I'm like you in that I love the look of the old Hks much better anyway and a few watts don't mean squat as far as I'm concerned. Of course, the higher model #s also tend to mean better parts, but if it aint broke, why fix it? Jump to the 7300 and now we're talking.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

I have a 635, but it's the only HK receiver I've used.

I have used 3 other receivers' auto eq, a Pioneer VSX-45TX, Yamaha RXV-1400, and Denon 2805. The HK does a very much better job at auto-eq.

My speakers are a fairly well matched set of Energy bookshelf units and a HSU stf-2 sub. My first auto-eq box, the Pioneer, was a revelation compared to the quite respectable Sony 333ES it replaced. The Yamaha and Denon were a little better. The HK is quite a leap ahead of the Yamaha and Denon.

In my experience auto-eq, especially when it's as good as HK's, is far from being a minor feature. I will no longer consider a receiver without it.