Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners HK 430/630 or Denon 985 for M60?? HELP PLEASE

Well there has been a considerable delay in ordering my M60's but I am ready now!!!! BUT, now I cant figure out which receiver to buy. I have narrowed it down to a refurbed HK 430 or 630 depending on availability or a Denon 985-2805. Mostly I listen to music cd and concert dvd, movies occasionally but not that much right now. I have read many times on here that my decision should be based on features, but I need more direction than that. I have noticed several denon owners say that next time they will buy HK, mostly claiming due to bass management, I'm not so sure that bass management is much of an issue to me but then as I build the system I may change my opinion of that. Are there any other reasons why the denon owners here would go HK next time? I dont think I have heard any HK owners here claim they would go denon next time. Are there any HK owners here who would trade to a denon? If so, why?
I thought I had made up my mind on the denon but kept hearing the word "bright" used, which concerns me. The things I am looking for are power, clarity, and basic surround modes, dont really need a hundred choices on how to listen to every song, I'll just end up never sure which I like most. I would like to feed my video throught it also. And the auto setup is nice but not really necessary. Do not want to spend more than $500.
So, Denon and HK owners please help me! Who LOVES theirs and who would buy the other brand next?

Hey MReed

In my opinion don't get to hung up on the bright,harsh, mechanical definitions you will hear, especially from biased AVS forum members. Back a year or so ago when I was looking for new speakers, I was told Axioms are to bright and harsh sounding. They could not have been farther from the truth. In reallity everyone hears differently, so it is best if you can audition the receiver and/or the speakers your interested in...

The next thing I heard, "Man, no way would you want to combine Axioms with Denon" Denons are bright and mechanical sounding by nature, they would make the Axioms sound even worse" I'm not sure what hat these guys pull this crap out of, but again they were way wrong. Most likely they had never head Axiom or Denon, and where just trying to sway me to other brands.

I selected Denon as many of my fellow Axiomites and 2-3 people that work at Axiom recommended them as a great combination. I've heard that some receivers have a warmer sound to them, I don't know about that either. I listened to Yammy's, Onkyos, Pioneer Elites, etc... They all sounded good to me

As far as bass management, I think the HK's have a little more flexibility, as you can set it for each speaker. I have found that setting my Denon to 80hz crossover and all speakers to small works great. That is what many use, and what THX and other authorities recommend.

HK's are great, so are Denons, as are many other brand AVR's.

Good Luck

Randy

HKs have better bass management, Denons seem to have better "everything else". Both manuals suck. I think the Denon remote sucks a bit less than the HK remote but not sure. Both have first-rate electronics and digital stuff. Styling is totally different; controls are totally different. I went with an HK, partly because I like the styling, but could probably be equally happy with a comparable Denon.

"I think the Denon remote sucks a bit less than the HK remote but not sure."

I've had both and (for me) the HK remote sucked a bit less.









Dont go there guys.

MR, I'm not in position to give you the "direction" that you're looking for, but I can suggest who to disregard: anyone claiming that the Denons(or any other well-designed receivers)are too "bright" is simply uninformed or may have an axe to grind, and shouldn't be taken seriously.