HK vs. Yamaha vs. Onkyo (1 Viewer)

[Evan M.]

WOW!! That is unbelievable that C.C. doesn't allow you to change out DVD's anymore. Reason 457 why to avoid big box stores. Of course this can be difficult if these places are the only ones around you. How do they expect people to properly compare units? I thought they claim to be the audio experts.

 

[Ryan.w.d]

In regards to my center channel quality sound, I think the HK has great center channel clarity but my center channel speaker is bi-ampable and probably needs it's own dedicated amp to give me the sound I'm after. My center speaker is a Klipsch rc-311. However I must note that my system has been measured at 110 db without any distortion all being powered from my HK AVR 500 ( Except my subs ) so call me extream but I want more.

 

[Mark.Louis]

Steve - it all comes down to your ears. I have read and read "complaints" about how forward and bright the Yamaha's sound is. As a result, I had written it off before giving it a chance. Demoed an RX-v1300 the other day at Sound Advice through Klippsh speakers, however, listening to the Eagles "unplugged" live recording of Hotel California...my impressions?

Highly detailed...I swear I could almost hear the plectrum striking the acoustic guitar strings. Incredible.

Full...much better mid-range and bass than I was anticipating.

Customizable...with Yamaha's plethora of DSPs, I found myself liking about 4-5 different settings that made the music sound more full and expansive through all 5 speakers.

Note that I was not listening to a subwoofer...undoubtedly the great Klipsch speakers helped to create a full sound, but the point is with a good set of speakers, the Yamaha can sound great.

About the 5560. It does not do Neo6 or DTS-ES discrete decoding. It does have preamp outputs, but I am not sure about mult-channel in (a big issue). The HTR model most closely aligned with the RX-v1300 is the HTR 5590, but this model lacks full set of preamp outputs (unlike the v1300) - a fatal flaw in my opinion. The HTR 5560's RX-V counterpart is the 630, which is substantially cheaper.

Therefore, with your budget I would lean toward the RX-V1300, but beware, Yamaha won't honor the warranty on their RX-V line when bought over the Internet (they will for the HTR line).

Hope this helps.

 

[Charles J P]

I also had dismissed Yamaha because they were supposedly "bright" and I have paragigms which are supposedly "bright", but then, when my dealer couldnt get me a Marantz SR-6200 that did not have the background hiss and S-video problems, I was forced to make a decision between Pioneer elite (suposedly warm) and Yamaha. I like the yamaha better. And, it has better center channel clarity than both the Marantz it replaced and my previous Sony reciever. Of course I'm biased, becuase I own one but you have to give a yamaha a listen. I have the RX-V1200.

 

[KevinST]

I just got the Onkyo 800, it is my second onkyo. I know it can do 4 ohm speakers and I am very happy with it after only 3 days.


Kevin

 

[Steve_Han]

By the way, question about the 520:

I have heard alot about the 520 having main in's but the 525 does not. What exactly is this "main in's" and how is it used? Please be specific and try not to use initials like ?ICBM?. Is this different than the 6 channel pre-input or 6 channel pre-output?

 

[Steve_Han]

btw mark,

the 5560 does have multichannel pre-inputs. There is a button in the front to switch to the multichannel input?

I was going through the yamaha manul and cannot figuree if the 5560 does 5 channel stereo? Meaning can i play stereo music directed equally through all speakers (But not a simulated 5.1 or 6.1) I know denon has this.

What about HK520?

 

[Mark.Louis]

Steve - the main-ins mean that the HK 520 can be used as a stand alone amplifier.

Most receivers in this price range (including the HK 520) have preamp outputs, which means that you can add an external amp(s) to your receiver for more power. However, you are stuck with the receiver's processing, decoders, and surround sound formats.

With the 520's main-ins, you have the additional option of using this as an external 5-channel amplifier, so that, 6 years from now, when there is DTS-ES version 4.0, and Dolby-EXIIIII, each requiring 10 speakers, and you have to buy a new preamp processor to take advantage of these new formats, you can hook up the AVR520 as an external amplifier. And given HK's great amps, it would be a good amplifier. This is the ultimate in flexibility.

Hope this is clear.