HK 635 / Bargain Time

[gyusher]

I decided to sell my Denon 3806 and buy this HK. . .I honestly think it was the best deal I ever made.

The Denon is nice but a few things bugged me to the point where every time I looked at it I would get pissed. I paied 865.00 for it new from a Denon dealer, sold it for 899.99 then bought this HK from JR new no refurb for 549.99. . . delivered, free shipping. . .

Now thats a deal. . . I just upgraded its software and now I'm a very happy camper. . .

Best of all she ain't buggy. . .

Likes,
1)- More power, although rated lower (Love HK)
2)- More flexible
3)- EZset + bass EQ
4)- She just looks cool
5)- Logic 7

1299.99 retail now 549.00. . .can't beat that plus the 4.12 firmware . . .you cant beat it. Love the sound and power. .Makes my big old Polks sing. . .

[mhardy6647]

I didn't understand anything I just read :-)

[gyusher]

I didn't understand anything I just read :-)

What is it that you do not understand?? Maybe I can be more clear. . .

I bought a new receiver. . . at a discount.

I sold my old receiver. . .at a small profit.

I like the new one much better than the older one. . .especially after I upgraded the software that controls it. . .

Plus it is much prettier. . .

[mhardy6647]

No, I understood that part... it's the:

"she ain't buggy. . ."
"EZset"
"bass EQ"
"Logic 7"
and
"4.12 firmware"

That's the part I don't get.

I am pretty sure that the Marantz 8B I am working on in the basement this evening doesn't have "4.12 firmware". Just checked. Nope.

;-) (just yanking your chain -- "Toto, I don't think we're in 2-channel anymore")

[gyusher]

;-) (just yanking your chain -- "Toto, I don't think we're in 2-channel anymore")


Man ain't that the truth. . . . :yikes:

[GuyNoir]

Slightly OT, but I had to pipe in. I just bought a late 90's HK 5.1 Dolby AVR 25 MKII. (75x2; 40 peak amps - per H/K)

It's a refurb that I picked up for a very low price, in all but perfect condition.
I ready many glowing reviews from Google and Usenet about it's "controlled sound." I never really understood what they meant until I listened to it in place of my old HK495i. I use to think my L810's were a bit bass heavy or maybe bass sloppy, but it has really tightened up with the new receiver. Some material that sounded slightly overly sibilent with the old receiver now sounds perfectly clean and annunciated. I thought the receiver sounded dry or antiseptic at first, but within 15 minutes, I was in love. I'm hearing things never heard with the old receiver. It might be BPC on the outside, but there's a heart of gold on the inside.

[gyusher]

It might be BPC on the outside, but there's a heart of gold on the inside.

I am of the opinion that audio gear never went down the drain but continues to get better every day. . . That said; I think things changed around 1980 where most manufacturers did offer downsized or cheaper BPC. . . Some at the expense of their good name. . .

My audio buying started in the late 60s and continues today. I generally upgraded something every year or less and I will say that around 1980 it did start getting more complicated where you had to pay more attention to details.

Some of the finest gear I ever owned I bought in the early 80s and most of it was black but it certainly was not BPC although there was mucho BPC around. If you think about it there has always been a market for cheap junk even during the 'golden years'.

I know the HK piece you have. . . I had a buddy that was a HK/Sony/Sony ES/Yamaha/ Paradigm dealer who sold your model. I remember him using HK to drive the early Paradigm speakers that would shut down the Sony's and some Yamaha's. The Sony ES and the HK would drive then crazy and many people left shaking their heads at how much 25wpc was in HK language. . .

[gyusher]

This morning I ordered a new Polk CSi5 center for the last piece of the puzzle. . .

Now I have Monitor 10s up front, Monitor 7s at rear, Monitor 5s at rear surround and now their 'timbre' matched CSi5 at center leaving me with a nice pair of Monitor 4s for a smallish bookshelf for use elsewhere.

Plus I just ordered 2 new SVS "NSD" drivers to replace the older "ISD" drivers. So now I'm done (I think) and can't wait to forget about HT for awhile and concentrate on buying and selling old Pioneer 850/950/980s etc. . .

Let the fun begin. . . :banana: :banana:

[Johncan]

I have the same speakers (except the for the center) and I was thinking about doing the same thing. Do you have any pictures of your setup?

John

[gyusher]

I have the same speakers (except the for the center) and I was thinking about doing the same thing. Do you have any pictures of your setup?

John

No pictures right now but I might shoot a few when I put everything in place.

Right at this moment I am using a single 7 for center and it is great. . . I owned a CSi5 for a couple months last year when I decided to go all JBL but when I finally got the all JBL system I was horrified at just how bad they sounded. The new JBLs I mean (E100x6 plus 1 C35) then I backed up to L-46/56 and that was much better until I found my Polks.

Now I wonder why I did not go Polk a long time ago. . .

[Hyfi]

I just bought one of the 635s from JR last month for $499 shipped. Compared to the quality Hafler gear it replaced I am far from happy. As far as Mass Market HT Reciever goes I guess it is one of the better choices for the money. I had to convert all my speaker cabling to banana plugs as the HK will not allow spades and the cheesy plastic screw terminals stripped the first time I tried to tighten them.

I set up the Dual Zone which was one of the reasons for my purchase but I am having a problem figuring out how to cable the H100A IR reciever from another room since they only come with a 1 foot cable. I need a 25 foot cable to rech a second room and HK gives no info or options to address this.

What did the Software Upgrade do for the reciever? I have downloaded it but not attempted the install.

[gyusher]

What did the Software Upgrade do for the reciever? I have downloaded it but not attempted the install.

It wont fix your troubles thats for sure. . . The instructions explain it better than I could. . .

Personally I would not consider it for stereo. . .thats what vintage gear is for.