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Review 1 of 2
Price Paid:
$330.00
from Amazon Summary:
I did a LOT of research before I bought this.I had ordered a different receiver from Onkyo which arrived with a dead left channel.....I didn't notice it right away, between cheap HTIB speakers and a muddy amplifier section in that model (in all fairness, a very old model they were packaging as HTIB and unloading with base model speakers for $130.00 refurbished, I have nothing against Onkyo).I sent it back.I went to Fry's Electronics so that I could listen to some other receivers.I saw a Harman Kardon sitting on a shelf, at the time I had no idea who or what Harman Kardon was, I just thought it was some overpriced lifestyle product.Went into their audio room to see what was there and how it sounded. I listened to a Yamaha it was a bit anemic and 2D sounding to me, although good detail.Listened to some more Onkyo's, lots of bass, which seemed to drown out everything else as far as resolution went. They also had a HK AVR 240 hooked up at the time.I was very surprised to hear clear, loud, and clean sound issuing forth from Fry's Polk's.The sound to me was just a little on the warm side of neutral.I also liked the Denon,but not enough for $2-300.00 more. Went home and ordered one from an Amazon vendor.I had also ordered an Athena .5 MKII 5.0 speaker system (with a JBL sub eventually) when I had the Onkyo, and the two mated quite well.I have since moved on to Ascends and HSU.I still have the 240.It sounds considerably sweeter with the new speakers. I am not going to tell you I am a golden eared audiophile, sound engineer or anything like that, I am not.This review is obviously not aimed at someone pondering wether or not to drop 5 - 30k on new Krell, Mark Levinson and the like.I will say this.I went into a Magnolia a couple months ago to look at interconnects for my first separate amp.........aaaaand because I had time to kill.The sales guy gave me a listen to a couple of Martin Logan Spires(?) hooked to a McIntosh tube amp...it sounded nice.When I went home I was still, and still am, happy with the sound of the avr 240 and Ascends, I didn't feel put out after hearing what was probably no less than $16,000 of gear.The improvements gained from my own separate amp (which is a separate review) were subtle.....in fact, if in didn't know any better I'd say that imaging and dynamics for the HK shared more similarities than differences.
I have read a lot about reliability issues for Harman Kardon units.I have not encountered this personally in my unit, which has functioned flawlessly.I did notice in the course of later research that many of their issues seem to occur when incorporating new technology (especially incorporating HDMI technology recently)The sound quality of this unit is exceptional for the price point it and it's descendants occupy(if HK doesn't go and fix something that isn't broken in it's amplifier sections that is).In fact, this will have a home with me as a 'second zone' long after my main system has gone to separate processors and amplifiers.For those of you looking for a decent cost effective system with an emphasis on sound quality I've heard the AVR 254/354, and the new models still sound GREAT and I believe they have significantly upgrades to their digital sound processing.I WOULD recommend checking AVS Forum and similar web sites, especially if HDMI is a major consideration in your purchase decisions.HDMI was not a consideration when I bought my reciever and the 240 didn't offer it.The sound was what got me.... for $330.00 bucks. Strengths:
Sound quality (clean, clear,dynamic sound), full set of pre-outs, good tuner section, lots of connectivity and configuration options for a receiver at this price point Weaknesses:
no HDMI....this weakness may actually be one of it's strengths, as a great many of the recent issues I've read pertain to that in newer models. Similar Products Used:
Onkyo , Parasound amp, old '70's Pioneer stereo receiver, don't remember model #
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