Harman/Kardon Holiday offer from Ascend

[BradJudy]

Any hint on what the special offer is? I don't really have any needs for H/K equipment (my AVR-520 works great), but I'm still curious.

Brad

[curtis]

Unless DF wants to post a hint....we are going to have to call them.

-curtis

[Gregisme]

hmm.. I have absolutely no equipment yet. no speakers. no receiver. no dvd/cd player. nada.

I'm in the full-on research mode of this quest for home audio/video, and can't really buy any one thing, until I buy them all, if you know what I mean.

maybe this would be a good opportunity to score on a couple fronts .. note to self: call Ascend soon!

sorry. just thinking out loud here. []

[delling001]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Gregisme

hmm.. I have absolutely no equipment yet. no speakers. no receiver. no dvd/cd player. nada.

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Gregisme,

At last...!! Somebody else who has absolutely "nothing" but dreams for the moment, but is holding out until he can get something worth waiting for! I too am going to call Dave F. @ Ascend to find out about the HK deal for forum members. I got some really good vibes tonight from my wife (audio vibes that is...) that gave me some immediate hope for pursuing the Ascends SOON!! I have really been eyeing the HK line-up (thanks to Curtis Chang's set-up), but I have also been partial to the Pioneer Elite receiver line-up due to the auto calibration set-up feature (MCACC). Anyway, your post made me smile. I say let's give Dave F. a call and see if he can make it worth our while to consider the HKs AND the Ascends before Christmas!?? Regardless... Have a VERY MERRY Christmas and thanks for your post.. Inspiring!

Dave.

[BradJudy]

Dave,

H/K has an auto calibration feature as well (Ez-Set) in some models. I don't know which ones in the current lineup have it, but my AVR-520 does.

Brad

[curtis]

There is a big difference though, MCACC does equilization as well as level setting. EZ-Set does not.

-curtis

[Gregisme]

Dave -

Glad to see I'm not the only one adrift at sea in a leaking audio/visual boat.

I, like you, will be anxious to see what the deal is. It would have to be really good for me to take the plunge now, swimming to the shore of A/V ownership, as the timing isn't the greatest.

ok, enough with the lame seafaring metaphors. [B)] &lt;---- Pirate Smilie (sorry. couldn't resist).

Happy Holidays to one and all. []

[delling001]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Gregisme

Dave -

I, like you, will be anxious to see what the deal is. It would have to be really good for me to take the plunge now, swimming to the shore of A/V ownership, as the timing isn't the greatest.






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Gregisme,

It will indeed be interesting to see what the discount will be on the "new" models..? At Costco online the previous H/K models are a pretty good price right now. Costco is not an authorized dealer but they guarantee satisfaction period. So, a year or two from now you can take it back and they'll refund your money no questions asked (with receipt). That's cheaper and better than an extended warranty maybe..??

The research bug is almost as addicting as the gotta have it bug! The bummer is at times they work in complete opposition to each other, huh?? That's probably not all bad though... It would be easy to spend a whole bunch of money to satisfy the "gotta have it now" feelings at times. Sometimes a little extra research can stall me just long enough to gain my senses back... However, it doesn't mean I still don't "gotta have it"!! So, like you, timing is tough for me, but maybe the deal from Ascend will be too good to pass up...??

See ya!

Dave.

[delling001]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by BradJudy

Dave,

H/K has an auto calibration feature as well (Ez-Set) in some models. I don't know which ones in the current lineup have it, but my AVR-520 does.

Brad
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Hi Brad,

Thanks for the info! Would you, Curtis, or anybody else be able to tell me "practically" what Ez-Set provides (or doesn't) vs. Pioneer's MCACC, in terms of end goal of getting to optimal sound easily? I have a great fear of buying something that meets my need for great sound, but is over my head in terms of technical set-up...?? My thought is Auto Calibration features might provide a "simpler", more accurate path to making it all work the way we'd like it to. My wife (bless her heart!) would never let me live it down if I bought all this great equipment, and couldn't get it set up right.

I've heard/read great things about Harmon Kardon's sound. I have also heard/read great things about Pioneer Elite's effective MCACC, as well as sound quality. I'm not looking for someone to tell me anything bad about either brand, but I am trying to understand practically how simple or difficult it may be for me to get either of them set-up in my own home so my wife will be reminded what a genius she did marry, as opposed to making her wonder about the genius she should have married..?? []

Thanks!

Dave.

[curtis]

Dave,

What EZ-Set does is set the SPL for each speaker channel. What MCACC does is set the SPL for each channel AND EQ's each channel for optimum frequency response for the room.

I have not heard a Pioneer with MCACC, so I can not tell you what it sounds like or how good it sounds. But the folks that have it love it.

That said, even though my HK has EZ-Set...I did the channel levels manually with a SPL meter, it is very easy to do.

-curtis