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frank
06-13-2004, 01:07 PM
talk to dave over at ascend they sell h/k rec's. I bought a pioneer elite for about 850.00 there is so damm many a/v rec's out there all I can say is good luck!

SamNF
06-13-2004, 01:31 PM
When I got my CBM-170s (stereo pair), I also got a H/K AVR-225 from eCost.com. $225 back in September '03. Shop around, look for deals, etc.

I'm very happy with the combination. My mini-review (http://www.ascendforum.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=84)

I'd previously heard several receivers by Sony (generally bad), Yamaha (ok), and Dennon (some ok, some not), but not paired with the Ascends. I love the H/K though. A friend of mine has the AVR-525 and it too sounds fabulous.

I've also heard that the NAD C-740 is an awesome match to the Ascends, if you only want stereo. I tried to hunt one down, but couldn't find one for under $500 shipped.

tomes
06-14-2004, 01:18 AM
I know my receiver is a little over your pricerange, but I really like the Yamaha Rx-V1400.

bombadil67
06-14-2004, 06:33 AM
Another vote for the Harmons. I run my CBM/HTM combo. with a budget AVR 130. It still amazes me what I actually paid for this system . . .also have an $80 Toshiba DVD, and a Titan sub I built from a kit.

glou
06-14-2004, 09:24 AM
I also run an HK receiver; the AVR-230 model.

curtis
06-14-2004, 12:11 PM
I also used to use a HK AVR-525 receiver. Good stuff.

-curtis

Richie
06-14-2004, 12:49 PM
hk 3475.... stereo all the way!

Lou-the-dog
06-14-2004, 10:52 PM
Denon 3803...sounds great to me.

Randy

stroms
06-14-2004, 11:59 PM
I'll throw in another thumbs up for H/K. I use the H/K 325. LOVE the sound coming from my system!

Mag_Neato
06-15-2004, 01:13 AM
I LOVE my Outlaw 1050! It's retired now, but you can usually find one or two on Audiogon or E-bay. Outlaw has a new receiver due late Dec., early Jan., have a look-see www.sklenar.info/outlaw3.html
If I screwed up the link just go to Outlaw's website in the "Hideout", then "Mosey on in to the Saloon" under Outlaw to Outlaw, go to the thread about the CES home show, page 2 and you will find the link.

jbliz
06-15-2004, 02:07 AM
Mag_Neato,

That new Outlaw receiver has it all. Do you have any idea what the price will be?

John

Mag_Neato
06-15-2004, 02:56 AM
It is only stated as "under $1000....I'd guess somewhere around $700?

jbliz
06-15-2004, 07:16 AM
Yeah, I did some research over at the outlaw forum and saw the same thing..."under $1000". Dude, the 1070 is a smoking deal. My only major gripe is the lack of firewire input. However, i can live without it, especially since it provides bass management through the analog multichannel audio inputs. Well, I guess I have one more major gripe........IT'S NOT COMING OUT UNTIL DEC/JAN!!!!!

Man, i wish it was out now.

Jonnyozero3
06-15-2004, 01:11 PM
Damnit...I just typed a long response but forgot my username etc. Shoot.

Okay, I said something like "blah blah thanks guys for all the inputs!" and I mentioned that I've always liked Harman's and its good to know that their budget models power the CBMs just fine. I've listend to Denon's and Onkyo's and Yamaha's, but I always seem to prefer the HK's. I will have to check out that Outlaw however (the old one)...sounds like a really good deal. Now I just have to find more money! Haha.

well...back to browsing the new site...

metalaaron
06-16-2004, 04:02 AM
all of the above are great receivers. can't go wrong!

jonny - i would recommend that you browse around on ebay or find a good used HK.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=39801&item=5705180666&rd=1

i use an onkyo tx-nr801 and i love it. the net-tune feature is pretty unique and worthwhile. i can play every single mp3 on my computer, create playlists, etc. w/o changing CDs. files recorded at 320kbps sound better than some of the CDs i have. it came down between an HK and an Onkyo. i just benefited more from the net-tune feature (because i'm a nerd) so i chose the onkyo. [8D]

Jonnyozero3
06-17-2004, 07:41 AM
Well, sounds like I have a lot of listening to do over the next several months. It is good to know that all these budget models have decent reputations. I'm going to check into the Outlaw a bit, and I think the Harman Kardon line will be at the top of my list for now. Thanks for the help guys. Now I just need to start saving up my pennies...

azanon
06-17-2004, 08:59 PM
Get the nice speakers (ascends+nice sub) and cheap everything else, and enjoy sooner. I use a 200 dollar sony and just got in a 160 dollar pioneer sacd/dvd-a player last night (578 model). I sat last night listening to my collection of dvd-as/sacd's last night and all i could say was "perfection" and the smile just wouldnt go away.

When clutchbrake came over to balance my system, he had a denon 3803 in hand. Still, besides making a comment that my sony didnt allow very precise balancing from the front, I got the feeling his impression of my receiver was that was doing just fine. We didnt have time to swap for a comparison, but i seriously doubt I would have been able to tell the difference in a blind test.

My only point is I can tell you from personal experience ascends sound just wonderful with cheap everything else. Great sound is 90%+ your speakers, IMHO.

azanon
06-17-2004, 09:02 PM
.... that is, provided your receiver can do the latest tricks and has the appropriate jacks, of course (DD 5.1, DTS, DPLII, sub out, 5.1 analog inputs, etc.)

CraigT
06-17-2004, 10:57 PM
I had one of the new $300 range Sony receivers and had issues with sub integration. Maybe a high crossover or maybe the bass management on this particualr unit was not good. When I got a H/K it was a big improvement even in 2 channel w/o sub. I listened to the Denon 3805 and Yamahas at the store and even took home the Yamaha RV2400(something like that) for a night. To me the H/K was much better than the cheap Sony and had a more natural sound than the Yamaha.

Mag_Neato
06-18-2004, 12:26 AM
If I were to buy a receiver today I would probably wait for the new Outlaw unit due in Dec/Jan. If I just could not wait until then I'd go with an HK. To me, my Outlaw 1050 was a STEAL when they lowered the price to $499. It just flat out buried my old $1000 Marantz(which I only had for a few years)rated at 110 watts x 3 for the front, 75 watts x 2 for surrounds. The Outlaw has 6 x 65 watt channels rated as 65 watts/channel, 3 channels driven. I was a bit skeptical at first if this would be enough power in a 13'x 18' room w/ 8' ceiling, but figured I'd give all the positive reviews a chance. I'v never looked back! With the adjustable crossover(60,80,100,120,150,200hz)this baby can be used with virtually ANY speaker system. It brought me very close to the sound I had when I ran seperates in a stereo setup using a Rotel amp and NAD Preamp.

Ed

Jonnyozero3
06-19-2004, 03:13 AM
Metalarron - I'm definately liking the prices of the used HK's I'm seeing around.

But, I am getting worried about the audio dropout issue talked about at avs - has anyone over here had any problems like this?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=344476

azanon - I do agree with you, I'll defiantely be spending most of my money on the speakers, but I'm getting that "feature creep/price creep" feeling where I keep saying...oh what's another $50....and oh...that one's only another $100..hehe. I've been finding myself looking at pricier HKs :P

Ed - I think the new Outlaw is going to be out of my pricerange, as great as the unit sounds. It does make me drool....

Well, in summary I'm liking the look of a used Outlaw 1050, or a refurb HK 230 (maybe 330?). Now, I have to figure out the differences between them. I am worried about the HK audio problems, but I'm in the middle of reading about it right now. Does anyone have any comment on that avs thread?

tmaestas95
06-19-2004, 12:05 PM
The dropout "issue" of the HK's is not really an "issue" per-se, since all HK's do this. It's really more of an annoying quirk. When switching from a non-dolby stream to a dolby stream the audio mutes for a second or two, then "locks" on to the new stream and comes back.

-Tim

curtis
06-19-2004, 03:09 PM
I used to use an HK 525 and I think the "dropout" issue is blown way out of proportion.

It happens as Tim states.....it takes no longer than 2 seconds to lock on to the new stream.

It also happens on few CD's if you are using the digital connections, the reason being some CDs have no digital information inbetween tracks. I only have one CD where this was a problem.

-curtis

Jonnyozero3
06-20-2004, 02:20 AM
Okay, so after some reading I think I understand. This issue is more of a quirk as you said curtis, and not so much a flaw or problem. I think that I could probably live with it, and it sounds like HK is going to update and upgrade the AVRs to shorten this "muting" anyway.

Well, as a small update here's my list at the moment of recievers worth investigating:
Onkyo TX-SR502
Harman Kardon AVR 230
Outlaw 1050

Anyone have any comments on the Onkyo? It seemed to have some fans at HTSpot....

twalker294
06-25-2004, 03:07 PM
I use an Integra DTR-5.3 with mine (6.1 channel) and I love it. In case you don't know, Integra is the high end Onkyo. I had a Sony DE995 that I returned the day after I bought it then replaced it with the Integra and the difference was like night and day. You can't go wrong with Integra/Onkyo. Just my $.02 of course [:)]

Todd