Best stereo integrated?

The Hk 3490 imo is probably one of the best values in a stereo receiver.
I personally would not discount it.
120 wpc, digital inputs etc.....I have spotted it online for under $275.

How bout this one? Only 4.5" high too.
http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo...umber=CA840AV2

The H/K is probably not high end enough of a brand for people commenting on dedicated 2 channel integrated or separates setups. Another more logical possibility is that H/K's reputation also took a bit of a hit as the recent AVR's had some quality/firmware issues. However even considering that the 2-ch units were not part of the problem.

If you can deal with the size you are not going to find much better of a value than the H/K without considering used, and the amplifier section is certainly robust and very smooth. Of all the criticisms I have heard or offered on H/K, basic amplifier sound quality has never been one of them.

If you don't need the power there is also a 2x80w 3390 version for less cost.

H/K has offered these same two tiers (2x80 and 2x120) of stereo receivers for many, many years, just updating the styling and remote. If the remote and styling are of little consequence to you, you could save even more with the older models.

I would give a H/K a chance from a vendor who accepts returns first. Spend the other $750 later should you decide it is not OK.

Have you checked out Audio Advisor for one of these. Excellent selection from different brands and models. Great people to do business with.



http://www.audioadvisor.com/products.asp?dept=9

Being that you have not specified the budget for this endeavor,
May I suggest the Anthem Integrated 225.

Integrated 225

I had a chance to listen to it with a pair of Golden Ears Triton Two towers. Simply put, Remarkable combination. The Anthem is powerful and well built. It's worth a look.

My apologies for missing the budget you stated in the original post.

A cost effective but high quality alternative to the Cambridge Audio Azur 840A is the 651A Integrated Amp which is well under the $1K threshold. Not only that, like the 840, it falls within your dimension requirements.

651A

Buy the HK 3490 for ~ $300. You're just wasting money by going with any of the others.
The 3490 is a great value.

I would go HK990 if you can afford it. $1600 at most and as cheap as $800 at jr.com Pure A/B clean brute power.
I did not catch your budget but the advantage of the peachtree is the beautiful DAC and a tube pre that will make you never feel the need to choose between solid state or tube amp. It's really quite genius. Also you can use it as just a pre-amp later down the road and buy a power amplifier which i suggest EVERYONE does. If you've ever heard high end then you know that a seperate power amplifier is pretty much a must unless you get a good integrated like the hk990 or even the mcintosh ms6500. The comment about the peachtree power being lacky in the bottom end is because it's D amplification. Doesn't sound bad but once you move onto better amplification you start to really get the audiophile qualities like superior instrument separation, imaging and life to everything. Never judge a speaker when listening through anything other than high quality components. One speaker might sound like ass through one receiver and another speaker sound good through the same receiver. put both those speakers through good amplification and a good source and that speaker that didn't sound good might open up and blow your mind while the other might have hardly changed and sounds like a typical budget speaker.

If you can get the hk990 for cheap enough then go for an idac from peachtree right now for only $600 and your system will sound great.
If not then go with a peachtree integrated and then just upgrade to a power amp later and use is as a pre-amp.

Sooooo many peope are told to buy this or that on this website but i guarantee that if you listen to what i say you will have an actual AUDIOPHILE system. Alot of people that post on here don't have a system that would make me bother turning my head. That doesn't mean they didn't spend enough, just that there's so much out there and lets be honest with each other. There are a lot of people that spend a week or two reading the forums that think they know everything and give people information they read. Who's to say that what they read isn't from another poster in his same shoes. People always say you have to go to a store and try out different speakers and find what one you like. That's correct but i can tell you that if you don't go there knowing what you're doing then you'll probably leaving wanting something you can't afford and something in your hand you didn't really want. Don't EVER listen to a speaker through a receiver. Some can sound alright but if you really want to know what the speaker is capable of have a list of speakers in your range and then even if you can't afford a poweramp call and have them set up a few different sets of speakers to a good component stack. Let them know that your intentions are to see what the speakers are capable of because you will plan on upgrading in the future. You will be very very very suprised in the differences of speakers in every price range.. Some are amazing and some are a straight up rip off

^^^

you necro'd a thread to post that, ummm, somewhat less than useful information...

i'll give you credit for one thing... the last sentence of your last post is true...

the rest of it is hooey... piled very deep, no less...

you are a negative person and have a problem with insulting people. Atleast give me a chance by arguing with me a little. You're basically saying that power amps are useless and everything you need and more is in an av receiver and anything more than a receiver is a rip off.

Edited by Bill Mac - 10/4/12 at 12:57pm

sorry i spent more time at a speaker shop than typing on this forum

maybe i was a little drunk when i wrote the whole "if you listen to me i promise" part

there's nothing to "argue" about. other than the parti highlighted, you are simply wrong...

No one highlighted anything that would prove that my advice was wrong. Only pointed out that what i said about how "if you listen to me i promise," was a little overboard, but hey i can admit that i was drunk and that made it sound like i was begging someone to take my advice. Sounds to me like you've been on these forums to long and have a problem with insulting people that mess up a little. Bet you're not such a king of the hill in real life and that's why you're on here all the time. But anyways, what's wrong with my suggestion of going with a good integrated with pre-out so later they could upgrade. I personally have heard a lot of speakers and know how much a good amplifier can help out a system. Go ahead, go buy some 802D's and by a marantz receiver to pair them with. Granted they can take 500w but you can drive them pretty loud being they're 90 dB at 8 ohm. You wouldn't.

Because what you suggest has been debunked so many times on this forum, it really isn't necessary to spell it out. Particularly to someone who responds to an succinct correction with insults, which you repeat again in this post.

Spend some time here reading with an eye to unlearning what you think you "know". Or if you want to take the harder road, try and support your statements regarding the alleged inferiority of receivers with some form of valid science based explanation of why you believe that to be true. Good luck if you try that....

Around $1000? Go give Yamaha A-S1000 a try. (bought one two years ago, I will keep it until A-S3000 comes out next spring)

What has been debunked?