Comments/Reviews of AVR630 & M&K speakers

AngelEyes

Distinguished Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2004
Messages
10,618
Reaction score
1,642
Points
1,776
Location
Detached from reality
Hi,

I am interested in purchasing the following system to go with my current Harman Kardon DVD2552(?) (Silver/Black DVD25) and would welcome any comments you might have with the same or a similiar system.

Harman Kardon AMP:
AVR630 or AVR7300 (when available).

M&K Speakers:
3 x k17 Front
4 x k4 surround
1 x k10 sub

Speaker Cable:
Please suggest something suitable?


I have had no previous experience with M&K speakers or HK Amps.

If you can point me at a review of any of these products that would be really helpful too.

Many thanks.
 
Angel Eyes, did you ever get this? I have the avr630 together with K7 fronts and K4 rears. I forewent the K10 as it was a bit overblown for my room and went with a REL Stampede instead. I am very happy with the combination of speakers/amp. It prevents a very cohesive sound. No holes in the middle and a soundstage that belies the speakers size. Sounds almost as good with music as movies too. It gets a bit hot though so make sure you give it room to breathe.
 
I really appreciate your feedback, it is always great to hear from someone other than a magazine about how something sounds.

btw what kind of speaker cabling do you use/recommend?

Many thanks!
 
All M&K speakers are power hungry and hence need a lot of driving. I personally wouldnt recommend using average integrated recievers with them however Harmon Kardon seem to be the exception. I am sure that Gonzo of these forums was driving his M&K 850's with a HK receiver (cant remember which one) to his satisfation.

Not sure how much the K10 costs but I would definately recommend trying other subwoofers before you buy.

Edit - actually I do - approx £700. Seriously for that kind of money you can get some devilishly good subs which will pretty much blow away the K10 with its 8 inch driver. Try the B&W ASW675, read up on the various SVS subs available, the smaller Velodynes and even the REL's. I think you will find that many of them will do a better job than the K10 - demoing them is the most important thing. Dont get stuck on trying to buy the same brand for your sub - not important at all.
 
Regarding speaker cable which can have a small impact on the sound try using a copper based wire. M&K are pretty bright sounding speakers so avoid the silver ones if possible
 
Rags,

Thanks for the advice on the sub, I was pretty much going to stick with a one make speaker option but I'll give some others a listen.

Some reviews of the AVR630 suggested that some other similiar priced receivers e.g. Arcam and Denon, might be a little better and i have to say I have a Harmon Kardan DVD player and the remote is crap with that and I hear the Receiver ones aren't too great either.

Do you have any recommendations for other amps to use with the M&ks?

(I would consider doubling the budget on the receiever if the speakers are up to the job?)

Thanks!

AngelEyes
 
Angeleyes - I have very little experience in the integrated amp department. I have read the HK's have pretty good amps in them but as far as overall performance goes I dont really have too much first hand experience.

If you talk to M&K they will tell you that just about anything will drive their speakers even though they are a tough 4 ohm load. IMHO thats a bit of a nonsense as the overall SQ improves significantly with more power. I moved from a Yamaha DSPA2 to a Rotel 1095 power amp to drive the M&K 850's that I used t own and the difference was night and day (I was still using the DSPA2 as a processor).

Not sure what your budget is but if you can stretch to it consider something like a Rotel 1075/1068 combo or a good second hand processor like some of the Tags that are going cheap with the 1075 or a Parasound 1205A. Or get a better integrated but then your probably getting into the seperate prices I have described above.
 
Hi
Rags is right about m&ks being power hungry thats why i chose my harman kardon avr 8500 which is only 5 channels but weighs 25kg its got loads of power and is a real work horse,As for the remote the one with my receiver is great it can learn everything ive wanted it too no trouble at all and its back lit.I would look at the new nad receivers as well as the others youve been looking at these too have excellent power supplies which in turn will drive the m&ks better than lesser amps, real power does make a difference when driving difficult loads at high volumes.
Cheers Gonzo.
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom