Warm - clean sound. Ample power. Great looks. Fantastic price.

Remote control looks/and is cheap - buy a universal

I was looking to update my 15 year old system - receiver, speakers, cd - with some quality equipment, and started with Harman/Kardon receiver. The style and quality of the face are both excellent. It has all the features I wanted, and none of the extra garbage all the others throw in (and charge you for) like multi zone, etc. I considered the Dennon DRA-685, but couldn''t hear a significant differenct, and didn''t like it''s features. The H/K is a real 2 channel purest machine. The warmth and clarity of sound is excellent - just what I was hoping for. Of course it has plenty of power to drive just about any speaker at half volume, so no worries about distortion at higher listening levels. I initially tried it with a new pair of Vienna Hayden''s ($1067 at Tweeter), but the sound was way to tinny on everything but well recorded classical. Van Morrison or any old jazz was a disaster. Couldn''t tell how much of that sound was the receiver. Eventually tried Klipsch RB-3''s with a REL Q150E sub. Now everything sounds fantastic. Best of all, was the price. $338 delivered from www.acousticsounddesign.com I paid more ($433)for my old Kenwood in 1984!!! Two channel receivers are a bargain right now - A/V''s are overpriced and overrated for music.

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Dennon DRA-685

Great sounding, plenty of power and built like a truck. Very good value for money.

Some low level hiss and signal leakage from the tuner. Some transformer hum.

I bought this to replace my old Proton D-940. I was looking for something that had a similar reputation (i.e. performance approaching separates from a reasonably priced receiver)and this seemed to fit the bill. It also has some "modern" touches my Proton lacked (e.g. subwoofer output, remote volume etc.) I''ve had this unit for a few months now and overall it makes a fine replacement for the Proton. It has plenty of power to drive my 4-ohm speaker set and the sound is very full and warm. I''m enjoying both movies and music through this unit. The Vmax is rather too weird for music and not reccommended since the stereo separation on this amp is so very good. Once in while I have Vmax on for movie watching and its most noticable effect of Vmax is that it sounds louder at the same volume setting. I could live without this feature but it''s fun to play with once in a while (sounds pretty interesting on the old "Thunderbirds" DVDs for example). I agree with other reviewers that the remote is not great but highly recommend a universal remote. Mine (Universal MX-1000) controls the volume far more accurately than the included HK remote and is much easier to use. I guess you can''t expect $300 worth of remote with a $300 receiver. I have a couple of minor gripes that keep the HK3470 from hitting a 5-star rating. First, there is some signal leakage from the tuner. If I have it switched to "cd" or "Aux", for example, and put my ear close to the speaker I can hear whatever station it''s tuned to (if I switch off my powered antenna it becomes a hiss). You have to be really close to hear it, so it doesn''t affect normal listening, but it is there. Also the transformer hums, loud enough to hear if you are close to the unit. Again, nothing that affects tregular listening pleasure but may be an issue for some. In short: a very powerful and sturdy unit, great value for the price it can found, but some signal leakage problems for those who care about such things. I use the HK3470 Receiver with: Adcom GCD-750 CD player Philips Q50 DVD player Ascend CBM-170s bookshelf speakers SVS 20-39PC powered subwoofer Infinity Reference 4 speakers BetterCables Silver Serpent Interconnects Monster MCX-IS speaker cables Monster HTS-1000 AC conditioner Terk powered FM antenna Music: Classical, jazz, world music and loud new rock music.

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Proton D-940

Extremely clean power. Solid build/quality.

After searching for a DO-IT-ALL home theater audio reciever --for many months-- I discovered that 5 and 6 channel recievers CAN NOT play audio stereo very good. Not very good at all.

So I choose to purchase a dedicated stereo reciever (HK3470) for music and a home theater system for movies. THIS WAS A WISE MOVE!!!

Choosing the HK3470 was simple. There is NOTHING as clean and powerful in this price range. Period.

The dynamic range is outstanding. My good old, efficient, Signet 70 watt 3-way floor units play sounds I have never heard before. Truly intoxicating. I can turn the volume up to 12 o'clock with zero distortion -- even thought this is as loud as a live concert. Really Loud. I use 8 or 9 o'clock for "normal" listening.

With no input, I can turn the volume up to MAX, put my ear to the speaker, and there's ZERO HISS. *THAT* is quality.

Regarding the VMAX feature, simply forget it. Too unpredicable.

If you love music and you want to reproduce a soundstage, you can't beat this for the money.

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Sansui, Marantz, Yamaha, Technics, Bose

Clean powerful sound,nice looks,flexibility

cheap remote,looong burn in,fair phono stage,poor headphone output

You must be patient when you buy this rig.It took a week for this thing to sound right.I gave it a day and it sounded bad, I actually thought I had a bad unit.But six days later it sounded great.Nice tight bass on even cheap speakers,clean and LOUD.highs are a little loose(you know,symbals sound like they being slapped rather than stroked).The remote is really bad not up to the unit itself.Compared to the NAD this unit replaced the HK makes much better bass and actually has a phono input but cannot match the crystal clear highs of the NAD.Speaking of the phono stage it is only fair.It made my great sounding Music hall mmf 2.1 suffer.I now use a Nad phono preamp run throgh the AUX inputs.the headphone out put sucks.So if you listen to a lot of records or through headphones this is not your rig.If you are willing to use a phono stage and a headphone amp it is great.

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NAD t740

clear and warm sound

remote and buttons on the front panel seam crap, but they're not so bad if you get used to it...
The volume control on the remote isn't as bad as it sounds here in most reviews. However, a universal remote would be a good idea to replace the one with the HK

It's a good receiver which gives nice warm sound.
The controls on the front panel seam like crap at first, especialy the volume control, but you get used to it. I'm sure it's not going to fall apart. I'm very pleased of this receiver. There might be better receivers on the market at this price, but i'm not sure.

If you want the 100 watts, this is a good choice.
Buy another remote though...

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some old pioneer crap

Lots of power. Crystal clear sound. Nice looking.

The unit did not come with a f.m. antenna. The v-max feature is a little synthetic at times.

This is a fantastic unit for the price. It puts out a lot of power. Sound reproduction is very clear. There is no hiss or noise at high volume levels. My Bose 301's really sound great with this unit. However it seemed to take a little time to burn in. After about 75 hours of operation, the unit seems to have more output. I play it at full volume levels, and it is very clear. The v-max feature is a little wierd at times. For light jazz at low volume levels it sounds good.Most rock and roll sounds synthetic. Movies are really where this feature is nice. Depth of sound in movies are nice with the v-max feature. A friend with a very high end system was totally impressed with this unit.

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Harman Kardon 8380 disc player
Kenwood 10 band equalizer
Bose 301 speakers

Unbelievable power, frequency response and clarity. Simple, elegant design.

HUGE, cheap remote--resembles 60's era Soviet "hi-tech"
Binding posts are a pain.

I got an *excellent* deal on my HK 3470, although I paid more for shipping than one would expect so the total tab came to $310 (but no tax). This unit blows away my previous receiver. I have it hooked up to Polk 800i speakers. The dynamic range, transient response and clarity are awesome. One really can hear all the music. Setting the thing up was a bit difficult--I had numerous "arguments" with the speaker connections, which didn't seem to agree with the monster cable I use. I haven't gotten around to bi-wiring yet (a process I'm not looking forward to). At any rate, the bass response is full and tight (with no subwoofer). High-end response is so clear and HIGH that it is almost too much (others blame this issue on the speakers).

In short, this is a fantastic value. For just about $1200, I have assembled a near-audiophile system (new speakers, receiver and CD player) in the past few months, thanks to the weak economy.

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Sony 100 watt receiver

more than enough power, clean, soundstage, inputs and outputs

remote, VMax

This is a good receiver for a small to medium size room. I have hooked it up to a pair of infinity rs3's. It is a little to powerful for them but very clear. There is a slight hiss at higher volumes, which could be fixed if i get better interconnects. I am very satisfied with the peformance for the price. The remote that came with it is horrible. It doesn't even work half the time and when it does, is ver touchy. Overall, i would definitely reccomend this receiver.

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onkyo tx-8211

Power, clarity, features, looks

Volume control on remote, VMAx is worthless gimmick

This receiver is part of two channel setup in my bedroom. For my purposes, it is wonderful. It has all the necessary features, great sound, and tons of crystal clear power. I'm a single guy, so my bedroom is by no means big. It's not tiny either, but the HK has no problems filling the room with sound. If all you're looking for is two channel, I wouldn't hesitate to put this receiver in a much bigger room. Remember, HK rates its wattage a bit differently than most vendors. 100 HK watts is far more juice than say 100 Sony watts.
As far as strengths, this things has tons. First of all, sound. The sound reproduction is very warm and extraordinarily clean. The bass response is especially noteworthy. It also has all the features you could want. It has plenty of inputs to keep you going and also has the ability to power two sets of speakers simultaneously.
The only real "bell and whistle" is the VMAx sound setting. The purpose is supposed to be to create a surround sound environment from only two speakers. In my opinion, this setting sounds like garbage. It makes whatever you're playing sound just plain awful. However, you don't need to keep it on, so I just ignore its presence.
The bottom line is this is an exceptional receiver for the price. It has all the features you could want and plenty of power for any size speaker or room. I wholeheartedly recommend this receiver to anyone who is in the market for a two channel system.

In case you're curious, here is what I have it hooked up to:

CD player: Yamaha CDX-396 (single disc)
Speakers: Infinity IL-10s

This is a great little setup for anyone on a budget. The whole thing cost roughly $800.

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None

Power, design

compatibility with H/K CDR could be improved

The 3470 is easy on the eyes to begin with -- its hard to imagine a sleeker looking receiver. But its most impressive trait isn't its beauty, but its brawn -- 100w per channel. Its responsible for an easily noticeable improvement in the sound out of my Boston Acoustics subwoofer. While its a powered sub, it just hadn't been pulling its weight when coupled with my 60w/per channel Denon -- now it sounds terrific. My only complaint is that the receiver doesn't have all the necessary jacks to make the most out of my H/K CDR, which is disappointing since its a new model. The VMax feature, which aspires to provide surround sound without surround sound, is hit-or-miss depending on the style of music and your tastes -- I usually leave it off. On this whole this is a terrific piece.

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Denon, Luxman