Your opinion of the h/k avr 247? - Blu-ray Forum

jerwin · 12-24-2009, 11:16 AM

I saw a refurbished model on ebay from h/k's store. I'm looking to upgrade my reciever to something that at least does hdmi audio. I have a samsung 1600 which decodes everything, so support for hdmi 1.3 audio is not needed, but multichannel pcm definitely is.

I have b&w 601s3 speakers in the front, 303s in the back, in a 5.1 setup. Currently I'm running them off of an Onkyo TX-SR502.

Is the H/K a good deal, or does it have issues? Are there inexpensive alternatives in the 200--300 range?

Steve · 12-24-2009, 12:57 PM

I don't have any practical experience with them, but HK has a solid reputation and their receivers are known for producing a really nice warm sound. They're also reported to have very accurate power ratings in their specs, as opposed to several other manufacturers out there. If this receiver will do everything you want then you probably won't find a better deal in the price range. However, in their ebay store there are also several AVR 354s up for bid. If you could get a good deal on one of these it might be worth the little bit higher price. Good luck with whichever one you decide to go after.

lojack1976 · 12-25-2009, 06:05 AM

I got mine from the Ebay store and I love it. I managed to get it for $220 shipped at the time. The good thing about buying from the Ebay Harman store is that you still get a one year warranty from them. I'm using this receiver in place of the Onkyo 605 that I now have in the bedroom and I was totally amazed at how much power this thing really outputs. The sound difference is night and day also...this is a much warmer sound than the Onkyo. I don't think you will be disappointed at all.

One thing I will say is that the auto calibration didn't work very well for me so I had to manually set up everything. It seemed to measure distances pretty well but it set the speaker levels all over the place, and after multiple tries I just said the hell with it and did it manually. The end result was still very good. I also had to lower the sub output a lot. The setup menu is pretty straightforward and easy to use. It may be worth it to you to spend more on a 354...I don't know, but for the money the 247 was a great a deal and it does everything that I need it to. Keep in mind that this receiver initially sold for $500 when it was released. All I can say is that I will probably buy Harman again in the future since the sound quality and power is very impressive.

4x12 · 12-25-2009, 09:50 AM

I had an HK-AVR520 receiver for almost 8 years that I paid approx $1600. This was a great unit, it sounded great and was built like a tank. Never let me down once. The HK was limiting my upgrades for the HT and is the ONLY reason I sold it. 2.1 Audio is sounded great, very warm sounding and detailed. I had it hooked up optical for the HT and that sounded very sweet. But the fact that it didnt have HDMI and was only rated a 70w x 5.1 was limiting. I totally regret selling it actually. I could have used it in a nice 2.1 system later on.

I went from that HK to my Pioneer Elite SC-07 and i'm very happy. Its a powerfull, versatile and good sounding system. Looks are killer and theres a lot of tweaking options available.

jerwin · 12-25-2009, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lojack1976

I got mine from the Ebay store and I love it. I managed to get it for $220 shipped at the time. The good thing about buying from the Ebay Harman store is that you still get a one year warranty from them. I'm using this receiver in place of the Onkyo 605 that I now have in the bedroom and I was totally amazed at how much power this thing really outputs. The sound difference is night and day also...this is a much warmer sound than the Onkyo. I don't think you will be disappointed at all.

Good to hear. Thanks.

jerwin · 12-25-2009, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4x12

But the fact that it didnt have HDMI and was only rated a 70w x 5.1 was limiting. I totally regret selling it actually. I could have used it in a nice 2.1 system later on.

Doesn't the 520 have pre-outs? Or were you more interested in 7.1?

4x12 · 12-25-2009, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerwin

Doesn't the 520 have pre-outs? Or were you more interested in 7.1?

It did have pre-outs but I was also getting ready for a 7.1 system. I also needed something new... a new sound. That HK was my first real unit in "higher end" audio and I kept it for 8 years! Plus, I felt like I was missing out on the HD AQ since I couldnt get the latest TrueHD and MasterHD.

Good luck on the purchase and you won't be dissapointed with an HK unit.

jerwin · 12-29-2009, 04:18 PM

It's ordered. $244 shipped. I really didn't want to mess around with auctions...

I have hopes that it will tame some of the harshness with my current setup.

Steve · 12-29-2009, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerwin

It's ordered. $244 shipped. I really didn't want to mess around with auctions...

I have hopes that it will tame some of the harshness with my current setup.

HK is reputed to have a very warm sound, so if anything can tame bright speakers it can.

4x12 · 12-29-2009, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fireman325

HK is reputed to have a very warm sound, so if anything can tame bright speakers it can.

+1

let us know what you think once you have it installed.

Bad8511 · 12-29-2009, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerwin

It's ordered. $244 shipped. I really didn't want to mess around with auctions...

I have hopes that it will tame some of the harshness with my current setup.

To bad, I have one in my closet I've been trying to sell for like 6 months now. Would have given it to you for $125. I have had this posted in the trading forums forever.

seedubxj · 12-29-2009, 08:25 PM

Bad8511, you have a PM.

jerwin · 01-06-2010, 02:37 AM

Well... I recieved it today. Played around with all the various settings, spun a few CDs, tested the lossless audio with casino royale. I turn up the volume, and it sounds great--really makes my speakers sing.

Then... It starts going into protect mode. I start disconnecting speakers, checking for shorts-- no dice. Either it goes into protect mode immediately, or it shuts down after a few minutes.

I'm really bummed. It sounds a lot better than my old receiver, when it worked. But it doesn't, at least not for very long.

lojack1976 · 01-06-2010, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerwin

Well... I recieved it today. Played around with all the various settings, spun a few CDs, tested the lossless audio with casino royale. I turn up the volume, and it sounds great--really makes my speakers sing.

Then... It starts going into protect mode. I start disconnecting speakers, checking for shorts-- no dice. Either it goes into protect mode immediately, or it shuts down after a few minutes.

I'm really bummed. It sounds a lot better than my old receiver, when it worked. But it doesn't, at least not for very long.

Is it getting hot? Try turning it on without anything connected to it and crank up the volume and see if it does the same thing. If it cuts off or goes into protect mode with nothing connected you may have gotten a bad unit. If it doesn't then recheck your wire connections to ensure no wire is touching another wire or the chassis since it could be grounding out which can also cause a receiver to go into protect mode.

jerwin · 01-06-2010, 11:30 AM

It did get hot--very hot, so I rearranged my rack to promote better cooling. And that was when the troubles began.

jerwin · 01-19-2010, 01:15 AM

H/K took it back and delivered a replacement this afternoon. Ah, it's good to have that sweet sound back.

lojack1976 · 01-19-2010, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerwin

H/K took it back and delivered a replacement this afternoon. Ah, it's good to have that sweet sound back.

I'm glad to hear that. From what I know their service is very good, and I see that they have taken care of you well. Sometimes you get a bad unit...it happens, but now that you have a good one I hope that you enjoy it as much as I enjoy mine.

Steve · 01-19-2010, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerwin

H/K took it back and delivered a replacement this afternoon. Ah, it's good to have that sweet sound back.

I'm glad to hear you're back up and running. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with your receiver right out of the box.

12-24-2009, 11:16 AM	#1
jerwin Active Member Member since:Nov 2009 Blu-ray collection:58	Your opinion of the h/k avr 247? I saw a refurbished model on ebay from h/k's store. I'm looking to upgrade my reciever to something that at least does hdmi audio. I have a samsung 1600 which decodes everything, so support for hdmi 1.3 audio is not needed, but multichannel pcm definitely is. I have b&w 601s3 speakers in the front, 303s in the back, in a 5.1 setup. Currently I'm running them off of an Onkyo TX-SR502. Is the H/K a good deal, or does it have issues? Are there inexpensive alternatives in the 200--300 range? Last edited by jerwin; 12-24-2009 at 01:32 PM.

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12-24-2009, 12:57 PM	#2
Steve Blu-ray Knight Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:May 2008 Location:Anna, TX 4K collection:128 Blu-ray collection:416 Trading Score:41	I don't have any practical experience with them, but HK has a solid reputation and their receivers are known for producing a really nice warm sound. They're also reported to have very accurate power ratings in their specs, as opposed to several other manufacturers out there. If this receiver will do everything you want then you probably won't find a better deal in the price range. However, in their ebay store there are also several AVR 354s up for bid. If you could get a good deal on one of these it might be worth the little bit higher price. Good luck with whichever one you decide to go after.

12-25-2009, 06:05 AM	#3
lojack1976 Blu-ray Guru Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Aug 2008 Location:7 Cities, VA Home Theater Gallery:62 Blu-ray collection:203	I got mine from the Ebay store and I love it. I managed to get it for $220 shipped at the time. The good thing about buying from the Ebay Harman store is that you still get a one year warranty from them. I'm using this receiver in place of the Onkyo 605 that I now have in the bedroom and I was totally amazed at how much power this thing really outputs. The sound difference is night and day also...this is a much warmer sound than the Onkyo. I don't think you will be disappointed at all. One thing I will say is that the auto calibration didn't work very well for me so I had to manually set up everything. It seemed to measure distances pretty well but it set the speaker levels all over the place, and after multiple tries I just said the hell with it and did it manually. The end result was still very good. I also had to lower the sub output a lot. The setup menu is pretty straightforward and easy to use. It may be worth it to you to spend more on a 354...I don't know, but for the money the 247 was a great a deal and it does everything that I need it to. Keep in mind that this receiver initially sold for $500 when it was released. All I can say is that I will probably buy Harman again in the future since the sound quality and power is very impressive.

12-25-2009, 09:50 AM	#4
4x12 Blu-ray Guru Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Dec 2008 Location:Berthierville, Qc Home Theater Gallery:70 Blu-ray collection:536 Blu-ray reviews: 10	I had an HK-AVR520 receiver for almost 8 years that I paid approx $1600. This was a great unit, it sounded great and was built like a tank. Never let me down once. The HK was limiting my upgrades for the HT and is the ONLY reason I sold it. 2.1 Audio is sounded great, very warm sounding and detailed. I had it hooked up optical for the HT and that sounded very sweet. But the fact that it didnt have HDMI and was only rated a 70w x 5.1 was limiting. I totally regret selling it actually. I could have used it in a nice 2.1 system later on. I went from that HK to my Pioneer Elite SC-07 and i'm very happy. Its a powerfull, versatile and good sounding system. Looks are killer and theres a lot of tweaking options available.

12-29-2009, 04:18 PM	#8
jerwin Active Member Member since:Nov 2009 Blu-ray collection:58	It's ordered. $244 shipped. I really didn't want to mess around with auctions... I have hopes that it will tame some of the harshness with my current setup.

12-29-2009, 08:25 PM	#12
seedubxj Active Member Member since:Dec 2009 Location:Folsom, CA Blu-ray collection:17	Bad8511, you have a PM.

01-06-2010, 02:37 AM	#13
jerwin Active Member Member since:Nov 2009 Blu-ray collection:58	Well... I recieved it today. Played around with all the various settings, spun a few CDs, tested the lossless audio with casino royale. I turn up the volume, and it sounds great--really makes my speakers sing. Then... It starts going into protect mode. I start disconnecting speakers, checking for shorts-- no dice. Either it goes into protect mode immediately, or it shuts down after a few minutes. I'm really bummed. It sounds a lot better than my old receiver, when it worked. But it doesn't, at least not for very long.

01-06-2010, 11:30 AM	#15
jerwin Active Member Member since:Nov 2009 Blu-ray collection:58	It did get hot--very hot, so I rearranged my rack to promote better cooling. And that was when the troubles began.

01-19-2010, 01:15 AM	#16
jerwin Active Member Member since:Nov 2009 Blu-ray collection:58	H/K took it back and delivered a replacement this afternoon. Ah, it's good to have that sweet sound back.

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