Guys & Gals,
Now that I'm in the ending phases of my theater construction, it's getting to be the time to pick up my components. After spending most of my budget on the pj and construction-related items, there's not much in the pocket.
This being the case, I'm taking advantage of a buddy of mine that works for a place that can get me a pretty good discount on a narrow range of equipment.
(Note: I'm a complete neophyte when it comes to audio equipment so please be gentle
).
I've narrowed what he can offer down to the Onkyo TX-SR800 and the Harmon/Kardon AVR-325. He can get me the Onkyo for $653 (around $889 street) and the H/K for $560 (around $625 street).
The biggest question I have is whether or not the H/K (at about 50W/channel in 7.1) will have enough power to drive my speakers efficiently vs. the Onkyo which is rated at 100W/channel in all modes. For speakers I just picked up a pair of Paradigm Atoms for my mains, CC-170 for the center and Micros for the rears. Jury's still out on the sub. I'm wired for 7.1 but am waiting to pull the trigger on that for a bit.
The other thing is that the Onkyo is THX Select Certified (should I really care about this at this point???) and the H/K is not.
I guess the whole thing comes down to the experiences of others since I've never owned either brands myself (clarity, build quality, track record, etc). I've got a Denon AVR-95 in my living room HT and have really enjoyed it for the past couple of years and am leaving it upstairs. But given that I can get a pretty good bang for the buck given the discounts, I figured why not at least consider these two before shelling out bigger bucks going a more traditional route for something live a Denon 3803.
Your thoughts and suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Cheers!
- Ed.
Now that I'm in the ending phases of my theater construction, it's getting to be the time to pick up my components. After spending most of my budget on the pj and construction-related items, there's not much in the pocket.
This being the case, I'm taking advantage of a buddy of mine that works for a place that can get me a pretty good discount on a narrow range of equipment.
(Note: I'm a complete neophyte when it comes to audio equipment so please be gentle
I've narrowed what he can offer down to the Onkyo TX-SR800 and the Harmon/Kardon AVR-325. He can get me the Onkyo for $653 (around $889 street) and the H/K for $560 (around $625 street).
The biggest question I have is whether or not the H/K (at about 50W/channel in 7.1) will have enough power to drive my speakers efficiently vs. the Onkyo which is rated at 100W/channel in all modes. For speakers I just picked up a pair of Paradigm Atoms for my mains, CC-170 for the center and Micros for the rears. Jury's still out on the sub. I'm wired for 7.1 but am waiting to pull the trigger on that for a bit.
The other thing is that the Onkyo is THX Select Certified (should I really care about this at this point???) and the H/K is not.
I guess the whole thing comes down to the experiences of others since I've never owned either brands myself (clarity, build quality, track record, etc). I've got a Denon AVR-95 in my living room HT and have really enjoyed it for the past couple of years and am leaving it upstairs. But given that I can get a pretty good bang for the buck given the discounts, I figured why not at least consider these two before shelling out bigger bucks going a more traditional route for something live a Denon 3803.
Your thoughts and suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Cheers!
- Ed.