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New member Username: Tryst1Post Number: 6 Registered: Jul-05 | Iam setting up a home theatre system but i am confused about the receiver to choose.After reading the reviews i have narrowed down to the following three namely Denon AVR 3805, Harman Kardon AVR 635 & Arcam AVR 300.Please advice which one will have the most value for money. |
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Silver Member Username: JimvmLouisiana U.S.A. Post Number: 121 Registered: Apr-05 | Considering that the HK AVR 635 has been recently advertised by an authorized dealer (jr.com) for as low as $679, I 'd have to say that the HK will give you the most value for your money. |
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AVG Unregistered guest | The Arcam AVR300 is twice as expensive as the other two. Of the three, the Arcam is probably the highest regarded in terms of reviews. If money is no object, I would go with the Arcam. I think the other two would give you more value for your money, since they are both decent receivers. If you're willing to spend enough to buy the Arcam AVR300. you may also want to listen to the following: New - NAD T773, Marantz SR8500 (bit cheaper than the others but great nevertheless), Rotel RSX1067 Used - Marantz SR9300, Elite VSX-59TXi, among others... I haven't heard the 635 or 3805, so I won't try to compare them. In that price range, you may also want to consider the Marantz SR8400 (there are still one or two a week sold online auctions - average price has risen to the mid to upper $600s now due to low supply), the Elite VSX-55TXi, some of the lower end NAD HT receivers or a used Rotel, among others - listed in no particular order. There are two professional reviews online for the latter; it fared well. It is avalailable as a B-stock for $599 + shipping, including a 90 day warranty. I just got one and am impressed with its features and sound. The MCACC alone is great since it eliminates time and gueeswork by automatically calibrating the surround sound settings. It has OSD so you can see its progress - takes about 5 - 10 minutes. The system-determined settings can be overriden manually later. It also has iLink for DIRECT SACD and DVD-A and includes a USB connection for stereo sound from PC audio files (mp3 files etc.) |
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New member Username: Tryst1Post Number: 7 Registered: Jul-05 | Thanks for the advice but then comes the speaker part and the best match thing.Now in this i have narrowed down to B&W 600 series 3 , Paradigm Monotors / Reference Series or the Tannoy Sensys.Which set ogf speakers will go best with the three receivers in question.Don't forget the value for money factor.Iam not gonna rob a bank and end up in jail.Thanks again. |
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New member Username: Tryst1Post Number: 8 Registered: Jul-05 | Thanks for the advice but then comes the speaker part and the best match thing.Now in this i have narrowed down to B&W 600 series 3 , Paradigm Monotors / Reference Series or the Tannoy Sensys.Which set of speakers will go best with the three receivers in question.Don't forget the value for money factor.Iam not gonna rob a bank and end up in jail.Thanks again. |
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Bronze Member Username: AgimatPost Number: 88 Registered: Aug-04 | AVG is right if budget is not an issue, ARCAM is the best of the three. |
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New member Username: Tryst1Post Number: 9 Registered: Jul-05 | How about the Arcam AVR 200, its 5 channel receiver but the price is pretty similar to Denon and HK.My requirement is good sound with 50-50 movies and music. Will the sound differ much from the Arcam AVR 300? |
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New member Username: Tryst1Post Number: 10 Registered: Jul-05 | How about the Arcam 300 and the NAD T763.Seems like both are very warm to listen to, thats what i get from the reviews.Please advice |
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Silver Member Username: Stu_pittNYC, NY Post Number: 293 Registered: May-05 | I think the Arcam is the best H/T receiver on the market. Both sound quality and reliabliity are outstanding. I love the NAD sound (I own their 2 channel stuff), but NAD has had some QC issues with their H/T receivers in the past that would make me stay away (people argue about this all the time, if it happens again, I'm sorry). If I were to buy a H/T receiver today, it would be Arcam, hands down. Sound quality wise, there isn't much of a difference between the AVR 200 and 300. There is difference due to more power, but not a major one. The AVR also has a shorter list of features that if you don't need may be worth saving a few bucks on. |
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Silver Member Username: Stu_pittNYC, NY Post Number: 294 Registered: May-05 | Also keeping in mind that Arcam does a lot of software and hardware upgrades to their equipment through their dealers makes for a pretty safe investment. I don't know how good the others companies you mentioned are with doing this, or if they do this at all. |
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Bronze Member Username: AgimatPost Number: 89 Registered: Aug-04 | I agree with Stu. The difference in sound quality between the 200 and the 300 is not that much considering the price difference. If you will stay with the 5.1, get the 200 and save some money. Last year I listened to the Nad 763 and Arcam 200 and to my ears the Arcam is better. Good luck |
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Bronze Member Username: Tryst1Post Number: 11 Registered: Jul-05 | Its quite evident that Arcam is the best but then value for money is also the key factor. AVR 300 is worth about $1599 and AVR 200 is around $800 (hifitraders) what about the AVR 250.I think it will be pretty budget friendly.Features are all the same except the power output. In case i go for NAD i am thinking of T753 , price is substantially lower with consequent lower power output keeeping the same features.Whats your opinion on this? Then comes the speaker part , narrowed down to Paradigm and B&W 600 Series 3.Which would be the better choice? |
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Bronze Member Username: Tryst1Post Number: 12 Registered: Jul-05 | Can anyone suggest me about a good online store or a dealer in UK who ships Arcam products overseas.It will be of great help. |
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Silver Member Username: Stu_pittNYC, NY Post Number: 301 Registered: May-05 | Arcam doesn't honor warantees when purchased online. Check this link out - http://audiophilesystems.com/scam_alert__unauthorized_websit.htm This pretty much sums it up. If you're buying Arcam, either buy from an authorized dealer, or if there isn't one within reasonable distance, call the closest one. They may be able to mail you one. A lot of the companies will honor warantees if an authorized dealer mails equipment to them because there isn't an authorized dealer close enough. |
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Silver Member Username: PetergalbraithRimouski, Quebec Canada Post Number: 972 Registered: Feb-04 | A lot of the companies will honor warantees if an authorized dealer mails equipment to them because there isn't an authorized dealer close enough. Why the heck wouldn't they? I'd think that not honoring it would be illegal... So sorry, you picked up your purchase on a Tuesday. We don't honor those... |
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Silver Member Username: Stu_pittNYC, NY Post Number: 305 Registered: May-05 | Peter - A lot of companies do not honor 'mail order' products warantees. Ever see the "in-store purchase only" on products? I have also seen compnaies that will say something like 'product is available for shipping only if there isn't an authorized dealer in your area.' To paraphrase you're statement - What the heck does that mean? If you haven't seen these things, here's an example - Not honoring the warantee may or may not be illegal (I'm not a lawyer), but it happens all the time, so I guess you did think wrong. So sorry you ordered it online instead of in the store, we don't honor those... |
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Silver Member Username: PetergalbraithRimouski, Quebec Canada Post Number: 981 Registered: Feb-04 | Stu, That link doesn't show anything relevant to me... maybe a cookie needs to be set? Unless you mean "In Store Only" sales for McIntosh gear? That's a different ball of wax. I've seen warnings such as: http://www.klipsch.com/customerservice/legal/unauthorizeddealers.aspx but these say to buy from an authorized dealer for them to honor the warranty, but I've never seen one that said it could not be shipped. |
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Bronze Member Username: KlaussnerPost Number: 14 Registered: Jul-05 | Be careful also with an extra charge to speed the order handling to ship faster and protect against damage. If something is shipped to you and damaged you are not responsible anyway and if you can!t ship my order without asking for money to speed up the process than I will do business elsewhere. |
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Silver Member Username: Stu_pittNYC, NY Post Number: 309 Registered: May-05 | Peter - I've been to that store (in NYC) and asked what it meant. Warantee isn't honored by McIntosh if it was shipped was what I was told. Right or wrong (it wasn't a punk Best Buy type kid), that's what they said. I'd also assume it was right because why would they not ship only one or two brands, and ship everything else? I have seen a few stores web pages (mostly mom and pop kind of places) that say the manufacturers don't allow them to ship to places where there is an authorized dealer with the region. I can't remember off the top of my head which ones they were, but I'll try to find them. If I do, I'll post one here. This was also a few years ago (about 3-5), so maybe this has been changed. |
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Bronze Member Username: RushwjPost Number: 21 Registered: Feb-05 | Prabir, as for speakers I looked at the same B&Ws and the Paradigm studio 20's. In the end i really just liked the sound of the paradigms better, plus i'm doing full surround sound and liked paradigm's center and surrounds much better than B&W's. That's just my opinion though. As for receivers, i'm in the same boat as you w/ the Arcam vs Denon 3805 (i currently own a HK 135 receiver and love it, but just want to upgrade and try something different). Currently leaning towards the Arcam 300 for the extra power (in case i upgrade to paradigm studio 100's) and better sound (than the denon). Like you, i use about 50/50 music/movies. Good luck! -Bill |
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Silver Member Username: Stu_pittNYC, NY Post Number: 310 Registered: May-05 | http://www.qaudio.com/. Clicking on their 'how to order' tab and scrolling down will bring this information up: "Note: We are authorized to sell Paradigm and Paradigm Reference in our local market only. If you are within our local area, call or e-mail us for more information. If you are outside our area, please visit the official Paradigm website for the name of your nearest dealer. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Updated: March 12, 2004 Copyright ©2004" Come to think of it, everyone that I know that carries Paradigm has the same policy, written on their page or not. I guess it varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. |
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Unregistered guest | The Denon 2805 is also an excellent value, and the Marantz 7400 if you can find one as well |
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Silver Member Username: Riches1Atlanta, GA US Post Number: 177 Registered: Apr-04 | The 2805 is good, but the 3805 is better value. For $300 more, you get 4 power supplies in the 3805 vs one PS in the 2805. Also, the PS's in the 3805 are higher quality. Second, the 3805 gives you Burr Brown DAC's, which are much better. Finally, the remote on the 3805 is a backlit touch screen. (oh, and you get more power with the 3805). |