I am going to purchase a new AV unit- I have M80s for fronts.
Denon 3805 or HK 7300. Any experience with either setup?
Would appreciate any advice.

power wise you won't likely notice a difference, based on what i've heard from other board members. both are high current amps that can easily drive a 4ohm load.

i think either of those would work fine for you. they are both top quality receivers, from top quality companies. both can handle the 4ohm load, and both have plenty of power..

pick the one that has the best feature set for your needs, and go with it.

bigjohn

I agree with the others, both are great AVR's. I would look at your budget, and options that each receiver may offer, and then base your decision on that...Also, shop around for the best price, locally and on the net.

I disagree. The 7300 is a monster of an AVR. You can safely assume it puts out closer to 150 WPC – all channels driven, with a HUGE current supply. The 3805 isn’t even close in comparison to the 7300, IMHO. Make sure you have room on your rack, or wherever you plan on setting it though. It’s physically huge too, and heavy.

I have the 7200. It drove the 80's just fine.

Here's the tale of the tape

HK
AVR 7300 17.3"w x 7.6"h x 20.5"d - 55lbs

Denon
AVR 3805 17.1"w x 6.7"h x 16.9"d - 37lbs 8oz.

what did I say that you disagree with, seems everything I said are considerations anyone should make before purchasing any receiver: budget, options, etc.... Yes, guts and watts are important, but not the only thing you should consider. Not everyone has money falling out of their pockets.

Sorry, I wasn’t disagreeing with your assessment that both are good receivers, or you specifically. Nobodies assessment that both are good receivers, for that matter. Just that these two are not “comparable”, IMO. I think a more comparable assessment would be the 3805 and the HK 635. The 7300 is in another league. It’s HK’s flagship AVR, and the 3805 is about a mid line Denon receiver.

And as far as budget, the post originator didn’t ask for anyone to give him monetary feedback, but strictly asked for comparative thoughts between the 3805 and the 7300. Or did I misunderstand the question?

No problem, I figured you may have been replying in general to the entire post, not just mine. I agree that they really aren't on the same playing field.

The original poster ended with a request that any advice would be appreciated, so that is what he has been receiving.

I agree with mdrew. 7300 is above the 3805 in current and power capabilities. A closer match would probably be the 3805 and HK 635. All 3 are very good receivers. Just my $.02

The Numbers are real close to another, therefore I did not seem it necessary to talk about the price.
The input is really helpful.
Please do not hesitate to add to the thread.
Thanks to ALL so far.

Also, I assume the build quality/guts on the 7300 would be ahead of the 3805 also, not to say the Denon is crap, its not, just in a different league...basically it is like comparing apples to oranges

Onkyo's are pretty good too. just had to throw that in there.

but, i dont think onkyo even makes a receiver in the same class as the H/K 7300. not sure about that, and if they did, it would be out of my price range anyway.

bigjohn

Denon: 37.5 lbs, unit weight

Harman Kardon: 55 lbs, unit weight

Pretty obvious to me which puts out more power. Never believe power ratings, they're either conservative or too high(in HK's case, conservative, in Denon's case, too high).

Of course, the HK costs a lot more money.

Weight is a big factor. Even if it's expensive, it can still have a wimpy amp in it. The Yamaha 2500 didn't fare too well at 4 ohms(see here), and it's a pound less than the denon.

I recommend buying refurbished: you get lots more power per dollar. harmanaudio.com has lots of HK refurbs. Also, spearitsound.com has lots of NAD refurbs. NAD rates power conservatively, has lots of dynamic headroom, and for a similar price to the Denon(refurbished), the T773 is 20 lbs heavier. Probably puts out the same as the HK except for a lot less, so it seems like the logical choice excluding features. I'd go with the HK if you only had those two to choose from just because of the more honest power rating.

I haven’t looked that closely at the Denons. I personally think they are overpriced for what you get. Their DVD players however, seem to be leading the charge on technology and consistently score better than the rest of the pack. I can not give you any more feedback than that on their receivers.

As far as the 7300 goes, It was not out when I bought the 7200, so I don’t really know what it has that the 7200 doesn’t. I’m afraid to look because I may feel the “need” to upgrade. But I do like my 7200 though. The bass management functions in particular. And it has more than enough power to drive the M80’s, all day long, at any volume level. I had no burning desire to swap it out for the Rotels, but simply needed to set up a separate stereo system with the M80s, plus a future HT system. The 7200 will be the receiver for the HT - eventually.

If money is an issue, then you would be doing yourself a favor by looking at the HK 635. There are several folks here who have it and praise it. It’s probably less than the 3805 too. You can buy HK on line from several places and still get the full manufactures warrantee. With Denon, your purchasing options are limited.

If money isn’t that big an issue, you might want to look into NAD and Rotel. They are both about in line with the 7300, and comparatively priced (if you don’t go with separates anyway). HK, NAD and Rotel have very conservative power ratings. They don’t play any of the numbers games to increase sales. Their amps put out tremendous amounts of current. When looking around, just take a peak at the weights, and you will see for yourself.

Regards……….mike

You beat me to it Thasp.

I bought my HK from One Call. They usually have pretty good prices on HK’s. they have the 7300 for a little over $1300 right now. Here’s a link you can cut and paste. http://ww3.onecall.com/About_00001000_17_0_0_18_0_0.htm

I own the HK 635 and love it. Both Onecall and J&R World (both authorized dealers) usually have it for $720-750.

I would love to own the 7300 but I haven't cached in that lottery ticket yet.

LINK

bigjohn

Having gone from a Denon 3805 to a HK630, I would take the HK7300 everyday, all day, any time, anywhere!

The Denon is a great unit but it's not the 7300. I would also look at the new Onkyo 1000. It's in the same league and maybe even higher then the HK 7300.

The 3 units mentioned are all excellent choices. If you opt for the HK, they have their own online store where they offer factory remanufactured equipment at substantial savings. They have the 635 listed now, as well as the 7200 and 8000.

Thanks to all- I think I am going with the HK 7300.
Talk to you soon. I will looking for a DVD/cd soon after the purchase.

Peace

I have the HK 630 (from onecall.com) and think it is a great unit and I also have the M80's. The only issue I have with the HK 630 is it tends to run a little hot. I don't know if that is because I'm running the M80's or not, but my guess would be yes.

I keep another external fan on it to keep it cool (check the link in my sig). I don't know if the Denon 3805 has better ventilation or not, nor do I know how hot it runs with the M80's. Maybe a 3805 owner with M80's can post a reply.

Nice setup Shag. Love the NFL helmets.

Yes mdrew,

Bass management! With the H/K is a good feature!

I wish denon had the option of multiple crossovers.