In my opinion, Denon does. I heard one side by side with a yamaha when I bought mine and there was no comparison. As far as hk , my buddy has one and it sounds great but I still like my Denon.
I just finished sampling those same brands. I found that if you like the various sound processing options (stadium, concert hall, etc.), then Yamaha is your best choice. Harman Kardon makes excellent receivers, very clean sound, but I personally found them better for music, not home theater. My decision came down to a Denon and Marantz. It was hard to distinguish the difference, although my ears are definitely not as experienced than 99% of the people on this forum, I decided to go with the Denon.
I auditioned all the brands mentioned so far and went with the Marantz. IMHO it has a better sound than the others mentioned and build quality is on a different level.
Unless you're talking Pioneer's Elite series (if they still make those, and maybe not even then), not in the same ballpark with Denon and Marantz. You're right. Everyone's ears are different. Some are trained and know what to listen for, and others are not.
I'VE HAD SONY,PIONEER ,ONKYO,AND DENON,3805.THE DENON OUTPERFORMS THE OTHERS BY A LONGSHOT..
wiliam
Unregistered guest
Posted on
i had sony, panasonic,sharp,jc karen,denon,yamaha, samsung,pioneer,marantz,lg,singer,jvc,sanyo,hitachi and that sets give me a great and loud sound
Anonymous
Posted on
I have used Yamaha (RX-Z1), HK (DPR) and Marantz (SR8500)in that order and they do have a signature sound for each brand. However, the Marantz to me is the closest to neutral/natural sounding for Music. Yamaha was a close second. HK appears to be processed and a little less natural. I have heard Denon but do not like the sound.
Just auditioned a HarmanKardon AVR135 and a Marantz 4500, which are both 350 quid before discount. Between the two, I chose Harman Kardon. Had a NAD for a couple of days, loved the sound but hated the constant loud hiss coming from the speakers (a design fault which appears to be due to some inconsistent quality control at NAD). I found the HarmanKardon very similar to the NAD. The Marantz was more similar to Yamaha, as others said, better for Cinema but not as good for Music. Remember speakers make a huge difference. I use Tannoy bookshelf speakers all round and they match the Harman Kardon / Nad better than the Yamaha / Marantz / Denon.
I autioned many receivers and it came down to 2 - the Yamaha RX-Z1 and the Denon 5803. I wound up going with the Denon 5803, it matched the quality of many separate setups that I listened to but the price was in my budget. I've had it for a few years now and have been very happy with it. I'm using it to drive a Mirage setup on the fronts two OM-5 front speakers, OMC2 center channel and a BPSS-210 subwoofer and 4 NHT 6.3 Surrounds. I listen to probably half movies and half music on it. Enveloping and rich sound is the best way I can describe it.