Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Harman Kardon AVR 525, bass management?

I've seen that quite a few members use this as their AV receiver. So, can anyone comment on the bass management for the multi-channel analog inputs? It states "Extensive bass-management options, including three separate crossover groupings and full digital bass management on the 6/8-channel direct inputs for use with DVD-Audio or SACD players
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How well this would pair with my Pioneer DVD-563A SACD/DVDA player? Thanks!

I use the 525 with a 563a...great combo.

Yes...full digital bass management on the 5.1/7.1 inputs.

But the 525 doesn't have bass management for the 6-channel DVD-A or SACD analog inputs, does it? I didn't know this - thought you had to do the bass mgt for hi-rez 6-ch audio at the hi-rez source, ie, in this case via the 563a.

Birdman

I'm pretty sure it does have bass management for the multi-channel analog inputs. I recently purchaced the DV563A myself (for use with a AVR325), but havent really had a chance to play with it yet.

With the 525, you can have it both ways.

Option 1: When the 525 is in "6 Channel Direct" mode, there is no bass management occurring in the receiver. In this mode, the receiver merely amplifies whatever it is receiving, with no analog to digital conversion. Any unused input jacks are muted to prevent noise.

Option 2: When the 525 is in "6 Channel DVD Audio" mode, the receiver's triple bass management becomes active. For this to occur, the analog signal from the source is converted to digital. As with option 1, any unused input jacks are muted to prevent noise.

Jason

Brian, as Curtis, Jason and the others have pointed out, the 525 does in fact provide bass management on the multiple analog inputs from DVD-As/SACDs. Although the 563A also can do bass management, it's rather unsatisfactory for the type of speakers you'll use, as this test shows. Using the bass management in the 525 would be preferable. Although some fear the extra analog to digital and digital to analog conversions involved, this shouldn't be a concern since these ADCs and DACs don't audibly degrade the sound.

Thanks everyone. Johnk -- I'm not satisfied at all with the 563a's crossovers on small. It's just too high! Bass sounds considerably weak on SACD discs when the speakers are set as small, as well.

I thought about getting an Outlaw ICBM, but since my receiver is pretty low-end, I figured I'd check out what I can get for a few hundren more. It looks like the HK AVR 525 may be my best alternative.

Ok, a new question. I'm reading this unit has MP3 decoding. I really don't understand this feature -- I'm using a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz soundcard, and have been using the digital output on it. I store all my music on my PC as Wav files as a matter of convenience, and have had no problem connecting directly to my receiver's digital input for playback.

Is the MP3 decoding feature on the HK going to give me troubles in this respect? The instructions states "The AVR 525 is only capable of playing signals in the MP3 format. It is not compatible with other computer audio codecs. The digital audio input may be either optical or coaxial, but the signal must be in the PCM format."

So, how would this work any different than it does now on my current receiver, and why can't it just decode it as a normal PCM data stream? It states that an incoming MP3 stream will disable any surround options, causing it to go into MP3 mode. If I can't directly connect my PC and play WAV files, I'll be passing up on this receiver.

This MP3 feature simply makes no sense to me! (You know, since I would expect WINAMP or whatever program you use would already decode the mp3, and the soundcard would simply convert that sound to a PCM compatible format anyways for the receiver. Or am I way off?) Thanks again!

What they're talking about is using their USB to coax digital converter box (sold separately!) to output MP3s directly from the machine. The receiver would then do the decoding. IMHO, it's a gimmick.

kcarlile, thanks for your response. That's a relief. That's an odd gimmick. As long as I can use my digital output normally though, I don't care.