Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Receiver questions

Here it is!

Boy, that took a bit of digging.

did you end up buying a new remote?

Not yet. I'm broke.

You know, any of these will be fine but I just wanted to let you know that 4 months ago I was also in the market for my first HT setup and while I think the HK line was the most pleasing to look at, to my ears it colored the music in a sort of "Muzak" sort of way if you know what I mean. I also looked at the Onkyo TX-SR700 and the Denon 2803. Both were very comparable but the Denon won out because it is 7.1 (even though I use the 6th & 7Th cnannels as a second zone) which the Onkyo would not do. On the Denon 2803 (which I got for $560 at E-tronics.com) I run M60Ti's, VP-150,QS8's and an Hsu Vtf-2 sub. The sound is spectacular!
Good luck in your decision.

Hey! What's wrong with Muzak?

Actually, I haven't a clue what you're talking about. My H/K sounds fine, and I can't really define a muzak-like sound quality in my mind. Do you mean diminished bass and compressed treble? I's confused.

I have read alot about the HK remote and all the poor reviews. That is really the only knock that I have seen on this line, except for the muzack review (not sure that I understand that one). I am already planning on a remote upgrade, looking at the MX500 from Home theater master. I do have one question. I will only have 5.1 in the HT, but wil need to run a set of speakers on the back porch. Does the HK do an A/B setup like the Yamaha, or does it use the other channels to power another source, or is this even possible at all? I played with this reciever at the local CC, but the guy working there didn't know what I meant, and wouldn't let me play long enough to find out. I don't want to get everyone fired up, but I really hate researching at CC and BB. It is not important to be able to use the outside speakers at the same time as the HT, with different sources. I just need some music for BBQ's and such.Thanks again to everyone for their help.

There are several options with the 525. The back 2 channels are amplified and can be used as B speakers instead of backs (it's in the setup menus). It is also multizone capable, with line level outs. And, to top it off, it also has A/BUS, which no one here seems to know anything about.

If I remember, the ABus is the feature that allows you to set up the second zone with an IR module so that you can control the reciever from the second zone. I don't see that I will ever use this feature, but it is nice to have the option. So, does the HK do the A/B switching, or do I have to use the other two channels? This will not be a problem initailly, but if I do ever decide to go 6.1, then I will lose the amplification to the porch. Who knows, maybe by that time I'll be into seperates.

Yes, you have to use the other two channels. But you could always put in a cheapo 2 channel receiver in and hook up to the multizone stuff when you go 6.1. ABus is cool because it doesn't just provide IR control of the reciever, it also provides amplification and volume control for a set of speakers. They all seem to be in wall units (like light switches) such as the H/K AB1.