Comparison with Harmon Kardon 3480 and Denin 395
Written: Feb 16 '05
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Pros: perfectly adequate
Cons: none serious
The Bottom Line: perfectly adequate
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| dgordon562's Full Review: Onkyo TX-8511 2 Channels Receiver |
This is a review of the Harmon Kardon 3480, the Denin 395, and the
Onkyo TX8511 for those of us who are busy and mainly listen to music
while we are doing something else (getting ready for work, cooking, etc)
Summary: All 3 are adequate for phonograph, CDs, and listening to FM
stations. Harmon Kardon 3480 looks best; Denin 395 takes too long to
come on. You would not be able to detect the subtle differences in
sound if you were doing other things while listening.
Since we listen to music while doing other things, our requirements
are different many of the reviews here.
One thing that matters to us is how the receiver LOOKS on the shelf.
In that regard, the Harmon Kardon 3480 wins hands down--metal and glass
with a very cool blue lighted dial.
Another requirement is that the receiver come on right away: in this regard I
find the Denin 395 intolerable--after I turn it on, I can walk to the
kitchen, open the refrigerator, take out something, then finally the
music turns on and I discover it is on way too loud or too soft. What
a nuisance! The Harmon Kardon and Onkyo take half the time to start
up, although faster would be nicer.
We also tested each receiver for the ability to pull in various FM
stations and they were all perfectly adequate.
We listened to phonograph records and each worked fine, with the
Harmon Kardon having the least hum. (If the music is playing, you
can't hear the hum on any of them.)
We tried the Denin, the Harmon Kardon and Onkyo with the same CD
player, the same CDs and the same speakers. All 3 are fine with some
subtle differences (if a cello, violin, and harpsichord are playing,
with the Onkyo you can hear the cello most distinctly while with the
Harmon Kardon you can hear the harpsichord most distinctly), but you
would never be able to hear this subtlety if you were, like us, doing
something else while you had music on.
The Denin is more difficult to use: rather than having a good old-fashioned knob for balance, a knob for treble, and knob for bass, it has 3 buttons: one selects treble, bass, or balance, and the other two increase or decrease the selected option. I found it a bother.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 350
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Epinions.com ID:
dgordon562
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Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 0 members
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