HK635, Denon3805, Outlaw, Emotiva (1 Viewer)

[Tony Baker]

Considering these two receivers for an upgrade. I've found the HK for about $150 less than a B-stock 3805 w/mic. Actual power and features seem fairly close.

From what I've read the HK has better room correction that includes the sub. I have a PC-Ultra so not sure if this would be needed or if it would give me more options for tweaking?

The Denon has the Denon-link, but I don't know if I would ever use this as I don't have a Denon DVD player and will probably hold off on any upgrades in this area until for at least a year.

Was also considering the 950/7100 combo or the new offerings from AV123 (Emotiva). Probably higher quality, but with less features and more expensive. Would either of these sound $400-$600 better than the receivers? Looking for best bang for the buck.

I listen to 70/30 HT/Music rarely going above 80db in a small to medium size room. At this time using monitor series from Paradigm, but would like to upgrade to Rockets or Swans down the road.

 

[David Judah]

Between the HK and the Denon, I think the 635 is a no-brainer with its extraordinary EQ system for a unit in its price range.

As for the seperates, having the additional amp power might be advantageous in some installations, but it doesn't look to be necessary in your situation. You could still add an amp down the road if you want to.

The EQ, processing power, and system configurability are going to be hard to beat in the price range of the HK.

DJ

 

[Steve Schaffer]

I have an HK 635, and have used a Denon 2805 with the same auto setup/autoeq as is used in the 3805.

The HK does a much better job at auto eq, to the extent that it actually sounds like I did a major speaker upgrade when it's actually powering the same set located in the same places as with the 2805.

One thing about the HK is that you can't go in and check what frequencies it's auto-eq adjusted and how much, nor can you do a manual eq with it. I don't have anything more sophisticated in the way of audio calibration gear than an RS spl meter and AVIA disc, so really couldn't attempt a manual eq anyway.

I did use a Behringer Feedback destroyer with the 2805, using the low frequency sweeps on AVIA and the RS meter to even out the sub's dips and peaks. The HK 635 did this automatically and did it better. I no longer need the BFD.

If you're really into manual eq tweaking, however, the Denon would be a better choice.

Other than the eq feature, I still like the sound of the HK better, much better dialogue intelligibility than the 2805, which I though was rather good in this regard. I don't have to turn on subtitles to figure out what Gollum is saying in the LOTR movies nearly as much.

Logic 7 is something I always sorta scoffed at, but I find I use it almost all the time now.

I came close to upgrading from the 2805 to the 3805 myself, as I thought I'd fried the 2805 by spilling some liquid into it, but found a good online price on the HK 635 from OneCall which made it only $50 more than the 2805 was. I'd always liked the sound of the HK receivers in CC, so took a chance. I am very glad I did.