My new H/K 520 is putting my old Denon to shame (1 Viewer)

[Greg Robertson]

Just felt like writing to express my extreme pleasure with my new toy, the avr-520! I always thought my Denon avr-1700 sounded good, but now I know there's a difference between good and great! I recently had gotten a pair of Polk RT55i mains and a cs400 center (about a month and a half before the h/k). It, matched with the 3 year old denon, sounded good. It was a marked improvement over the satelites I had. But this christmas, my mother surprised me with the new receiver. It's been setup and running for about a week and a half now and I love it! Now I understand what you guys mean when you say your speakers are singing. Music sounds clearer, the soundstage is deeper, the lows are now more defined, not to mention that this thing can just plain rock out better than the denon. All this with only a rated 5 watt difference in the amps. Just goes to show how little that number can mean. Am happy

 

[PatrickM]

Greg,

Glad to hear you have a system that you are very happy with but I do think your being a little hard on your old Denon 1700. It is an old model and your new H/K is significantly more expensive than even a comparable model of today which would be the 1802. In reality the 1802 is probably only 60% the cost of your new 520 so your not really comparing apples to apples.

Nonetheless, now your know how others feel when they have a product that really works well. Good listening.

Patrick

 

[Phil M]

I picked up a HK 320 that put my old Denon 3300 to shame... and I loved my 3300. I actually went in to get the 520 but they were sold out, so I said I'd try the 320... and loved it!
I will admit that the 320 will/can run out of juice at loud levels, but for the most part it does very well.
I picked up a Rotel RMB 1075 power amp that solved the power problem.
For the $, the 320 is a great deal IMHO...
I also brought home a Denon 2802 as I've always been a big Denon fan... again to ME, it didn't compare to the HK.
Phil

 

[Charles M]

I'm glad to hear that you guys like your new receivers. I still have my 1700 and it's still holding up. It's a 1999 model so there's a big diffrence. I haven't heard the 520 but can imagine it's wonderful. Try to take it easy on the Denon, how does it stack up against the 1802 or 2802? I'm not trying to defend my Denon(maybe a little), receivers are getting better than one another every year. Remember that.

Charles

 

[Greg Robertson]

I didn't mean to come off as bashing Denon (don't worry all you denon lovers). I still think Denon is a great brand, which is why I was surprised at the differences. Granted it is indeed, apples and oranges between the two. Although, Phil, I'm surprised to hear about your HK 320 vs denon 3300 experience since that's a much closer comparison. Great to hear!
Charles, the 1700 is a descendant of the 1802. I think the amp is rated a little higher now, and it has PL2 and DTS, but it's basically the same beast. The 1700 was no slouch for me, no need to worry about that piece of equipment.
Btw, I bet the Rotel fixed the problem!

 

[Charles M]

Actually, the 1700 is the descendant of the 1800. But anyways, I'm going to reolace mine soon. I'm looking at the 520 or maybe the new Yamaha's coming out in March. I use my rp91 for the DTS decoding but, I rather have my reciever doing it. It takes away from the whole analog to digital conversion crap. Keep up up to date with your reviews of the 520!

Charles