Myth or Reality? HK receivers overpriced? (1 Viewer)

[KyleRoussel]

The salesman at my local future shop told me that for my money, I would be MUCH better off with going with a Yamaha receiver like the 5540 which goes for like $600 rather than the HK320 which goes for more than $1200. Is he nuts or are HK's infact overpriced?

 

[Wayne McRae]

In the U.S. prices are fine.In Canada they are a joke.I looked at the new HK-8000 yesterday and it's only $4000

 

[KyleRoussel]

Really? I've seen the 8000 for $3000 at my local future shop.

 

[Mike Veroukis]

What's HK reputation when it comes to reliability? I've had a salesman tell me that HK kinda sucks in that department. Of course, I should also mention that the one brand he didn't sell was HK.
Atleast with Yamaha you know it's gonna work. Not sure that the 5540 would be better though, but for $1200 you could buy the Yamaha RX-V1200. It would be interesting to see how the HK320 compares to that.
- Mike

 

[StevenK]

I think they're MSRP is way too high...but I've found that dealers knock a lot off of the MSRP though. I got my 520 for $627 shipped thats about $300 off MSRP.

As for the reliability, I'm pretty worried about it too. I see so many refurb H/Ks for sale. I've heard they gotten over those problems with the x20 series, but I'm still worried. So far my month old H/K is doing fine though.

 

[matthew_rm]

Why is HK so much here in Canada?

 

[Mike Veroukis]

Why is HK so much? Is it really that much more? According to HarmanKardon's web site the US MSRP is $799us. If it's $1200 Canadian we get a bit of a deal on it. So, I think that sound about right to me.
- Mike

 

[matthew_rm]

The AVR320 is $1200. Is the 799 for the 520?

 

[Joseph_Mikhail]

Why don't you guys in Canada just order it through the internet from onecall or j&r?

 

[KyleRoussel]

Well, the exchange and duty would be killer. Plus it may be hard to find a place that will deliver to Canada.

 

[Mike Veroukis]

The AVR320 is $1200. Is the 799 for the 520?

If you're referring to the figured I quoted, no, the $799 is the MSRP is the states, in US currency. When you convert it to Canadian currency it works out to be about $1200. I was just pointing out that the MSRP in both countries seems to be about the same once you adjust for the poor Canadian dollar. Of course, I was using the MSRP on the HK web site, it might be different in the stores by now.
The problem with HK in Canada is that they seem to have an exclusive deal with Future Shop. Does anyone else sell HK in Canada? I haven't seen them anywhere but at a Future Shop. Has anyone seen HK sold anywhere else?
- Mike

 

[Paul Clarke]

H/K's are worth every penny you pay for them. No one, whether in the States, Canada or anywhere else for that matter should be paying anything like MSRP.

As for the H/K refurb concern, I own 3 of them...one a private sale and two others with 2 year factory warranty. These people service what they sell and then they back it up...unlike a lot of others. How many companies do you know fix a problem by shipping out the latest iteration?...for anything from remotes to receivers?

You get what you pay for...Well designed receivers with healthy reserves of High Current amplification and great Customer Service...with H/K this is axiomatic.

 

[MarkO]

Check out this chart. Note the power ratings given by the manufacturer and the power ratings tested. See a pattern? Some 100 watt per channel amps started clipping at 40 watts!! Good amps in integrated receivers are dwindling away in this mass market world. In its price range h/k is one of the last hold outs. Overpriced? http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Holl...1/ratevsac.htm

 

[StevenK]

MarkO,

That chart actually validates the idea that H/Ks are overpriced. Look at the other receivers on that list that, while they don't produce the stated watts, they still outperform the H/K's at a given price point. Don't get me wrong...I don't give a crap about 100Watt vs 70Watt cause I'm not going to drive my speakers to clipping and that's a difference of only a few dBs anyways. But the question isn't whether or not the H/K is overpriced. Look at that chart and for the cost of the 510 or 7000, see what else you can pick that will outperform and possibly have more features....quite a few.

BTW, I'm a 520 owner and I am quite happy with it. Like someone posted before, don't pay MSRP for H/Ks. My personal opinion is that they over-inflate to give the appearance of very high-end and leave to the dealers to give you phenomenal discounts. The 320s and 520s for example can be regularly found at up to 40% off. If you take this "dealer-markup" into account, then no, H/Ks are not overpriced, but very competitively priced.

BTW2, I am very dissappointed in the build quality of my 520.

 

[henning hoffmann]

You can get HK gear at places besides Future Shop. Here in Ottawa, there's Dewar Audio and Audio Shop. There may be more...

 

[Andrew Pratt]

One of the "problems" we have on this side of the boarder is that we tend to see MSRP prices on everything in the stores. The only problem is that many of the people posting on this forum quote the prices they can get online for their gear so we are comparing our list prices vs their online prices. Now that's not always the case and it does seem some of the US dealers are more willing to deal then our counterparts but that might have do with scale since lets face it the state of california sells more HT gear then all of canada combined.

I have seen HK gear at other places then future shop but I have also been able to haggle on the price of a HK receiver at futre shop as well so don't assume you have to pay the sticker price there.

 

[RaphaelZ]

You guys are starting to worry me. I just picked up aN HK avr310, for $357.00 cdn at future shop. It was an open box clearance item, never been used. I thought I got an awesome deal compared to the MSRP (1299.00). Now I start hearing all of this poor- quality talk. I have 30 days to return it, no hasle. I cant spend any more than that, and the only thing that I would get instaed is the Technics sa dx1050. I've tested many at home and its the best bang for my bucks. Does the avr*10 series (2000) have quality issues? Should I buy the extended warranty ($25 for 2 years) or just return the thing? I love the sound, power, and gazillion features. Any advice would help me also?

Raphael

 

[ColinM]

RZ -

I've been abusing my 110 for 7 months now and no problems at all yet.

$25 is cheap insurance, though.

 

[JohnnyG]

Andrew Pratt was right on the money. What tends to happen is that people take the lowest price they find on an American web site and compare it with the like of Future Shop who is always at MSRP.

Find a smaller dealer and cut a deal...it's as simple as that.

 

[matthew_rm]

Got a AVR310 for the price of a technics? WOW! THink about it. If they were both the same MSRP, would anyone bye the technics? NOPE! You got a good deal. The technics is crap. Have fun with your reciever!