Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Denon Vs. Harman Kardon

ok, i will eventually be getting a new receiver, so im starting the research now...so far i am looking at the Harman Kardon AVR-635 and the Denon 2805, they both seem relativly the same, for aorund the same cost, which is better? anyone have some pro's and con's to each? thanks alot for any help

darren
I have the 2805 and I like it very much, but if I had to do all over again I would go for the H/K 635 for two reasons.
1. The H/K has more crossover options than the Denon.
2. From what I've read, the new H/K auto eq works much better than the Denons auto eq.

The only thing I find useful on the Denons auto setup is that it sets the distance and db levels for each speaker well.

Hope that helps.

Darren, I'll again ditto Brady on the two features that he describes. Basically these two receivers(and others with similar specs)will both give you audibly transparent amplification, so choose the features that you want.

Denons are elegant, feature-rich, relatively friendly and have a more traditional range of bass management options (better than HK in some ways). The 3805 has a really slick remote, far better than anything from HK.

HKs are sort of basic, brute-force powerful, and don't have a lot of features except for the multiple-crossover bass management. Oh yeah, and the styling is kind of industrial cool with a spiffy blue LED inside the volume control.

I bought the HK and would probably do so again if it were stolen, but I expect I would be real happy with the Denon as well.

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I bought the HK and would probably do so again if it were stolen.....

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Did I miss something? Do you live in a bad part of Canada/is that why you have guns pictured on the speakers? Or is that just to protect the Axioms?

I can't speak for the Denon 2805 but I own the HK 635 and I find it to be a fine receiver. Clear clean power, high current, sounds detailed and natural to my ears, and great crossover options. Very solid for under $800.

Well, I live in what now seems to be the most left wing part of Canada (Toronto / Ontario), where we believe in the essential goodness of people rather than rules and enforcement. Guns are evil, criminals are misunderstood...

Burglary and home invasions are becoming much more common, predictably. The guns are kept in a big honkin' vault but speakers and receiver have to stay outside where I can hear them.

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Burglary and home invasions are becoming much more common, predictably.

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John, the property crimes were at a 20 year low as of 2002. An increase of 4% doesn't say much when studying a long term trend.
For one i'm glad guns need to be stored in 10 inches of steel with child proof locks.

As for the other subject, i like H/K but they are expensive. I recently went looking for a very inexpensive receiver and H/K had nothing under $700 Cdn new. I think the choice for $400 will be a Pioneer. Yamaha receivers in the same price range do not have preouts for the addition of future amps.

Look at how much the HK630 weighs and how much the Denon 2805 weighs.

There's no competetion as to which puts out more power(denon usually overrates slightly, while HK is conservative). I'd say the 630 beats the 3805 in power output quite a bit, much less the 2805.

Multi channel bass management is cool, too.

While power ratings aren't all there is to it, that's all I can really point out here. If it means anything, my parents had a(for the time) "cheap" stereo system made by Denon in the early 70s. It still works.

Go for the one with more power.

kk, thnx much all for the suggestions, i think i might go hk, i like that cool industrial look as well, the grey will go well with my entertainment unit and desk (beech mdf, with galvanized fencepost legs)

>>John, the property crimes were at a 20 year low as of 2002. An increase of 4% doesn't say much when studying a long term trend.

Canada-wide the numbers have been trending down as you say. Toronto has been trending up in the last few years, however. I'll try to find some links.

>>For one i'm glad guns need to be stored in 10 inches of steel with child proof locks.

No argument there. I'm a big believer in safety, just not a big believer in pretending that more gun controls on the law-abiding will somehow reduce violent crime...

The trick with HK seems to be shopping the sales. Normal price on HK in Canada is painfully high, but Futureshop was selling 130s for under 300 when the new HK models came out.