Onkyo 602 vs. HK 330 vs. Pio 1014 (1 Viewer)

[James Phung]

Lloyd, why not hook up the xbox to the video 2 input? The 1014 does svideo/composite to component conversion.

 

[Nigel Hooper]

 

[LloydM]

I didnt realize that the receiver did the upconversion. For now I will connect it to the optical input on Video 2, but I think that I will have to do this everytime I want to play, because I dont really like the look of it with the cable in front of it the entire time. So far, so good for the Pioneer though. They have both been a great improvement over the old Sony that I had.

 

[Pat_TL]

"Pat,

Wow, I'm floored...never heard anyone say that about the H/Ks before, in fact I've always thought they have the most stunning looks of any receiver I've ever seen...definitely the best WAF! However I've never sat there and played with the controls so you could be right about the buttons feeling like they're about to fall off.

The Onkyos look nice, too, as do the Pioneer Elites. My Marantz, I'm sorry to say, is very plain-Jane."


Marantz makes some great stuff too....while I dont own one of their receivers, I do have, in my system, a CC67 five disc changer and a DR700 CD recorder, both of which sould and perform excellent in the many years I have had them. I think there is something to be said to the fact that Marantz products cant be purchased just anywhere; there needs to be an authorized Marantz shop selling the stuff. My Marantz DR700 CD recorder was one of the first consumer recorders on the market and I paid a hefty premium for it, but aside from some error-making gltiches which turn alot of my CD-Rs into coasters, the machine makes awesome, near-flawless digital copies from original CDs; my CC67 (Marantz) CD changer is connected to the DR700 recorder via a heavy duty gold plated Monster coax, and the digital recordings come out great.

As for H/K, well, I dont know....like I said, when I was auditioning receivers at J&R Music World in New York City, the H/Ks looked like they were either in bad shape from demo abuse, or they were just not made that well....good LOOKING, asthetically, sure....seemed like there were tons of bells, whistles and lights on the front panels...but when you get down to it, the clean, uncluttered look of the Onkyo brushed aluminum front panels appeal to me much more, creating a more "lets get down to business" attitude from the receiver. Aside from that, Onkyo uses oversized components in these units, including heat sinks and capactitors; there really werent any other receivers at J&R that I wanted to buy after looking at the Onkyos, speaking with my friend who came with me that day and who had great experience with Onkyo two channel amps and receivers, and speaking with the salesman, who said he owned the TX SR600 himself and would recommend it (and also said he would go with an Onkyo over other brands as well).

You know, its funny, I always thought that when some brands decided to go mass-market after being in a somewhat "niche" enthusiast tier by being sold in catalogs such as Crutchfield, that their reputation for quality somehow got reduced significantly; this happened, in my opinion, to car stereo brands like Rockford Fosgate (who were once considered very high end but now are mass market) and home audio guys like Harmon Kardon.

 

[Pat_TL]

"However since I'm about 70% music and 30% HT, I chose the Marantz...the Onkyo's musical performance wasn't bad but there was something about it that just didn't do it for me, the Marantz sounds much warmer, richer, more expansive. Its 90wpc rating is said to be far more conservative than Onkyo's 85wpc which is often described as optimistic. It took me a lot longer to figure out though, the remote control is sometimes iffy, and on occasion I do notice two or three digital drop-outs during a DVD movie. Also cost almost 50% more, but for the musical performance I'm happy with it. Just depends on your priorities, is all."


Eddie,

Your observations are correct; to me, too, there IS something missing from my Onkyo 600 in terms of music performance; in two channel mode, this receiver has NOWHERE near the punch my previous Yamaha 2 channel receiver had when connected with a graphic EQ; the Onkyo's stereo sound is kind of hollow, but this could be a lot of things in my case....could be the Polk bookshelves Im using for the mains (my previous system had big JBL towers) and it could also be the EQ I was running in the last system beefing up the sound; but I agree something seems weak in the two channel mode of the Onkyo.

 

[Nick Bum]

Do yall like the 2ch mode on the pioneer?

 

[eddieZEN]

Pat,

I'm happy to read about your good experience with Marantz products on the whole; I had read somewhere else that Marantz had a rough period of a couple of years when they started putting out some really crappy stuff before they were bought up by their current owner.

I'm aware of Rockford Fosgate's quality plummeting when they went mass market, but have never heard that said about H/K before.

> could be the Polk bookshelves Im using for the mains (my previous system had big JBL towers)

ooh, Polk bookshelves...I haven't had a good experience with them, both the R20s I bought and the RTi4s I auditioned.

> and it could also be the EQ I was running in the last system beefing up the sound; but I agree something seems weak in the two channel mode of the Onkyo.

I hear the difference in PL2 too as well...the Marantz sound is just more "golden", for lack of a better word.

Your comments about the Onkyo looking cleaner probably is truer for the older models, I was in Fry's today looking at their 602 and 702, and thought the front was FULL of buttons. I like their displays, though.

 

[LloydM]

I missed this one. I would go that route, but my dvd player, game system, and Voom box all require optical cables. No digital coaxil connections on these products. :frowning:

 

[eddieZEN]

Bummer. Wonder if anybody makes an optical hub, like they have USB hubs?

 

[Matt_Smi]

Lloyd, have you been able to come to a conclusion on which you think sounds better yet? I am interested in a new receiver and my budget is $500 so I was looking at the Onkyo 602, but this Pioneer sounds nice.

 

[JohnCZ]

Good conversations.
One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that people are having quality problems with the new *02 Onkyos. Do a search with this and the other audio sites to find more deatiled info.
J

 

[LloydM]

Well guys. Im not sure that my speakers are up to par (Old Sony HTIB), so I placed the order for the following:

Jbl-E10's
Jbl-Ec35
jbl-E30's

I already have the Sony WMA40 sub. Do you think this sub will be okay with this speaker setup and either receiver?

I should have the speakers by this weekend and then I will test the receivers and decide which I am going to keep.

 

[Nick Bum]

Well if you are a bass freak then get something else other wise a sony sub is not that bad. I mean it only will be handling from about 20-45hz so whatever and If you have tower speakers not even that much of the range so whatever.

 

[Pat_TL]

"I'm aware of Rockford Fosgate's quality plummeting when they went mass market, but have never heard that said about H/K before."

It wasnt actually said anywhere officially, it was just my opinion and observation.

"ooh, Polk bookshelves...I haven't had a good experience with them, both the R20s I bought and the RTi4s I auditioned."

Really? Can you tell me exactly what kind of bad experience you had with these? I believe I have the R20s.


"Your comments about the Onkyo looking cleaner probably is truer for the older models, I was in Fry's today looking at their 602 and 702, and thought the front was FULL of buttons. I like their displays, though."

Interesting....I saw the 602 in the Crutchfield catalog and it didnt look all that cluttered; I really like that illuminated volume button ring!

 

[tony^v]

Hey guy I am pretty new to this forum but felt that I need to give my opinion.
I just bought the 602 for xmas to replace my older Pioneer, and all I can say is WOW!
The 602 really pushes my JBL towers. In fact it pop the mid speaker on my JBL. Which is fine because I wanted to replace them anyway.
I loved my old pioneer but the sounds are allot more detailed on the 602.
I can really feel the bass not just hear it.You can feel the bass on my 2nd floor and I don't have a sub only my towers.
My old pioneer sounded louder but not as clear.
IMO they are both good company's and you can't go wrong either way.

 

[eddieZEN]

Pat,

I found that the R20s deliver excellent bass for such a small speaker but had dismal mids and highs, very weak and muddy. Also they distorted at -15db whereas the Mordaunt Shorts that I switched them out with could go all the way up to +10db before distorting. So the MS is now in my living room and the R20 I banished to a bedroom stereo.

I can imagine that seeing the 602 in a picture looks better than in real life when all the buttons on the bottom stick out more. Or maybe it was due to all the harsh fluorescent lighting in Fry's, I dunno. In a dimmer environment the buttons would probably fade out more.

Yeah, I like the illuminated volume knob too but isn't that an H/K imitation?

 

[eddieZEN]

Matt,

BTW, the 602s are closer to $300-350 at JandR.com that's brand new and shipped. For $500 you can do better, I'd look at refurb H/Ks from H/K Direct on eBay (they come with the standard warranty), refurb Marantz at accessoriesforless.com or new but discontinued Marantz at hifi.com

 

[Matt_Smi]

Yeah J&R has some great prices and they are authorized for most companies. Even though my budget is $500 I thought that the 602 would be a great deal for $350. But this Pioneer sounds really nice for $400 and I am also looking at the H&K 335 which can be had for $470 at J&R, those three are my top choices as of now.

 

[eddieZEN]

Between the 1014 and the 335 I'd probably go for the second, H/K receovers are known for excellent sound quality and conservative power ratings. But you probably couldn't go wrong with either one.