reciever around 450-500 (1 Viewer)

[Matthew BW]

I need some suggestions on a receiver in the 450 to 500 price range. I currently have a kenwood vr-507 receiver and ever since getting my wharfedal diamond 8.1's I have noticed that they do not sound very good with this receiver. The sound is very harsh. The kenwood is rated at 100 X 5. I am not sure if it is because these speakers are 6 ohm speakers and they only have 86 db efficiency for the mains and 88 for the center. I am looking at possibly one of the HK receivers but the only thing that concerns me is there power output. I am looking for a warm sounding receiver.

 

[DanielM]

check out:
pioneer vsx 811
panasonic sa-he200
the h&k you mentioned
denon 2802

 

[DanielM]

check out:
pioneer vsx 811
panasonic sa-he200
the h&k you mentioned
denon 2802

 

[John Garcia]

Also Marantz SR5200, Onkyo SR700.

H/K's power ratings seem low, but they tend to be accurate, so you should not have a problem with power from and H/K. The 507 I'm sure, does not meet it's power rating. An H/K with the same, and probably even lower power rating will deliver more power than this particular Kenwood.

If you are more interested in music, H/K and Marantz are the way to go in this price range, IMO.

See if you can get another receiver on loan from a local dealer to make sure it is the receiver that is causing the harshness. It may not be the receiver alone causing this.