I am no audiophile but I so appreciate all the information I've received from this forum I wanted to share my experiences.

My recent listening experiences have revolved around the inexpensive Onkyo HT-S767c Home Theater in a Box which has served its purpose pretty well up to now. Then began the upgrade train of which I find myself firmly on board.

Our room is about 15 x 20 and the first stop was of course an upgrade to Axiom M22's. They seem to sound better every day.

We also noticed we don't watch movies much, so we jetisoned the surround speakers. The Axioms were a major improvement over the Onkyo speakers which weren't exactly horrible but no where near the Axioms and as mentioned we listen to stereo music about 80% of the time.

Next stop was a new sub. We don't like big bass either but wanted to fill in the bottom end a bit so we chose a Mirage Omni S8 to replace the blubbering mess that was the original Onkyo subby. This added a lot of musicality to the Axioms and was plenty of bass for our rather quiet listening habits.

Next stop was on to find a nice 2 channel receiver or integrated amp (since we don't use the tuner either) that had plenty of power, bass management for the sub, and a great list of features.

The ONLY 2 channel receiver I could find that even came close was the Oulaw RR2150 but as you all know you can't have one. You can only go to the web site and read the review and specs - and drool.

But I wanted to begin learning about different receivers, their power ratings and general character and through a lot of research discovered the HK3480

Also learned they were available refurbished on e-bay for about $150.00. So with little to lose I purchased one (I overpayed at $165.00) and set it up yesterday. Took 2 days from Arizona to San Diego and set up was really easy, even though the manual pretty much sucked. No pictures to show set-up options, just text to guide your adventure and if I didn't have the Onkyo to disect and duplicate the hook-ups, it would not have been that easy for the rank beginner.

Got everything working and noticed what I knew was going to be the biggest limitation of the 3480 - features. No digital or coax input so I assume I'm using the DAC from the Onkyo cd player and routing that analog signal into the 3480 and no way around it I also assume. I knew going in that for $150.00 I wasn't buying features, but instead, 120 watts of power into 2 channels.

The rest of the set-up was pretty undramatic and straight forward. Then we threw in a cd and both my wife and I noticed a dramatic difference. Much better clarity and a smooth dynamic but a strange reverb kind of thing that caught my ear. Was wondering what was up then discovered the dreaded VMax feature?. Turned VMax off and it came alive.

Clear and rich and way easier to listen to than the Onkyo. The Onkyo was just loud when turned up and the HK seems to be much clearer at the same SPL which of course should come as no surprise. So even though it was no surprise it was a pleasant upgrade to say the least.

Another feature lacking is bass management. It does have a sub pre-out but no crossover management (I have read it is set at 100Hz) which doesn't seem to be such a big deal. I'll miss it one day though I am sure.

So overall much better sound, seriously lacking features, but for $165.00, well worth the effort.

The remote is also pretty weak and I SO miss the ability to adjust each channel's volume, especially the subby from the remote but will learn to adjust.

STILL want the Outlaw 2150 and really hope the features are up to an AVR's though that may be indeed too much to ask.

I imagine I'll keep it for a while and learn about Harmon Kardon's sound and character then upgrade again - perhaps to the RR2150 or to another feature rich 2 channel receiver/amp if there were to be anything of the sort appear in the near future.

The M22's seem to really like the Harmon Karden. Someone described the HK's as smooth and warm and even though those terms are so hard to quantify I really think that sums up the sound pretty well.

The Onkyo sounded pretty good but maybe a bit harsh with the M22's and we have both noticed that where the Onkyo seemed to just get loud the 3480 gets better at higher SPL's.

Another thing I have noticed is that with the Onkyo I was constantly reaching for the remote to adjust the subs output. With the 3480 everything seems to sound just right even though the 3480 doesn't have an internal adjustable crossover, I beleive it is set at 100Hz.

In conclusion the 3480 is feature poor and sound quality rich but for price it would be hard to imagine a better upgrade if somone is looking for a different listening experience. And even though it is so hard to accuse a receiver and speaker of being compatible considering all the variables, the 3480, and perhaps HK's in general sound really good with the M22's

Larry