I received the 990 processor yesterday, I just finished setting it up, and I must say I 'm not impressed. The thing sounds like an FM radio station compared to my Harman Kardon 525 receiver.

I'm really disappointed, I should have suspected it. I posted many topics before ordering the thing asking for info on the musicality of this thing, no one on this forum or other forums can give me a direct answer. Then, I read the review from one idiot claiming that the thing sounds better than his Lexicon MC1. (#!#@*!#! what a big fat lie! ).

It will cost me another $60 returning the thing back + I won't get back the extra 3% my credit card charged me to do the USD/CND conversion, plus I'm wondering whether I will get the $280 (UPS Custom charge +GST/PST) the Canadian customs charged me.

First, I noticed, the HK volume range is around -76dB to +10dB the 990 is -76dB to +8dB. With the HK in stereo my volume level is usually set to -35dB (-28dB for moderate listening). With the 990 even at -19dB the thing is nowhere near the level the HK(-28dB) put out.

Second, the subwoofer output (With the tone->bass set to +6) compared to the HK is not even half of the HK bass output.

Third, the sound is so flat compared to the HK525 even in the upsample mode.

Fourth, this thing for a pre/pro is huge. It is almost twice the size of my HK 525 receiver, but only weights a third the weight of the HK.

I won't call the $1100 price tag a rip off but it does not worth that much if you take into account an HK 635 can be bought for around $700.

The only things I like about this unit are the Auto setup feature, and the easy setup. Remote control is also good.

Anyone who really thinks of putting this thing in the same league with the Anthem, Lexicon or for god sake a high end receiver such as HK needs some real professional help.

Sorry to hear you're not happy with the 990. If it sounds as bad as you say, I'm wondering if maybe there's some flaw with your unit.
How are you connecting you audio source to the 990? Analogue or digital? CD's sounds great on mine...stereo, upsampled or bypass. My previous pre/pro was an Adcom GTP 600, with which I used the analogue-out from a CD player and it functined purely as a preamp. Going digital out from my player to my 990, CD's sound better.
Of course, movie sound tracks are a world of difference, as my Adcom was pre-Dolby Digital (DPL only). DVD-A via the 7.1 direct input sounds great also. But I have no experience with your HK, so I won't attempt to tell you that what you're hearing isn't valid. It does however make me think there may be some malfunction with your unit or setup if it sounds that bad.

Its too bad you feel that way. Obviously these things are subjective. I think in the long run you will find most consumers and professional reviewers will disagree with you, but that doesn't mean you are wrong. It may not matter to you, but I think calling Steve Simon a liar and also insinuating that you were suckered into buying the 990 is in bad form but like I said, thats your opinion. You may want to contact Outlaw to see if you received a faulty unit. If you end up sending it back, good luck with your HK gear. Funny, I disagree with pretty much everything you say including the positives. The auto setup is mediocre, the setup is severely hindered by not having front panel capabilities, and the remote, IMO, is lacking.

I am sorry you are disapointed.

You are free, of course, to send the unit back.

While the difficulty of dealing with Canada/US customs, customs broker fees, credit card currency exchange rates, and trying to recover GST/PST will no doubt increase your aggavation and expense compared to a U.S. resident customer, that is not Outlaw's fault. The evaluation risk for an out of country buyer is just plain greater than for one within the U.S.

It may be the case that you received a defective unit. Perhaps ytou should try to see if Outlaw thinks so, based on your experience with the unit. But, I would ask some friends what they think first.

I hate to say this, but my BS detector is starting to go off. Perhaps there is a reasonable explanation for my suspicions, but I wonder about the following:

1) Are you seriously comparing a HK 525 Receiver with 70 W/ch outputs against a generally recognized decent A/V pre/pro with 200 W/ch THX Ultra2-certified Aragon 2005 and 2002 amps? That's some $4k of amps there. I could see that you might consider the 990 inferior to the build quality of these amps, but not using the HK 525 as a reference.

2) The HK, like many cheap mid-fi receivers is likely "disco-equalized": boosted in the treble and bass, with a subdued midrange. (Note: I have not verified this, but it is common with mid-fi equipment). This makes it sound "louder" than it is and the effect is often initally pleasing: the music has "presence". It also tends to be tiring on most critical listener's ears after a short while. A higher-end pre/pro would tend to be more neutral and thus seam "dark" and quiet to you. Perhaps you like the sound of the HK.

3) If you went ahead and purchased $4k of Aragon amps, why are you kvetching about the shipping and customs cost of returning a $1.1k pre/pro? Chalk it up to experience. Just bite the bullet and pick up a nice Krell A/V pre/pro, often discounted for US$2.5k. Personally, I think the 990 is just as good, and if you really dislike the sound of one, you'll probably dislike the sound of the other. If anything, the Krell is a bit less hot than the 990, though not to a degree really worth mentioning.

4) Complaining about a difference of 2 db in attenuation/gain range? That really isn't audible. FWIW, when I run my 990 at -10dB to -6dB through my 150 W/ch Odyssey Stratos driving Radia 520i speakers (not known for their efficiency: about 86-88 dB/W/1m), it is about as loud as I ever care for it to be. If anything, attenuation all the way down to -76 dB might be a bit much, but hey.


5) You say automatic setup was "easy" but then you complain about the result. Doesn't sound "easy" to me.

Wow. I have a very different opinion of the 990 than Pythagore but listening enjoyment is very subjective. What one person considers to be tight well defined bass, another considers to be a lack of bass. I have also heard people describe the treble response of a particular speaker as extended and clear while others describe those same speakers as harsh. Possibly some of us just have hearing that is more sensitive to certain frequencies than others or we may have a decided bias toward a certain type of sound.

I have also found that while spending some time listening to a new component my opinion has sometimes changed. People disagree as to the cause of this and I don't have the ultimate answer but I do know that we have a tendency to get used to a certain type of sound and then compare it to anything different. If Pythagore liked the sound of his HK receiver and doesn't like the sound of the 990, it may just indicate that the 990 sounds different than the sound that he was used to and enjoyed from his HK. I thought that my 990 sounded different than my Denon receiver but I liked the difference, therefore I was very pleased with the 990.

Sorry to hear that you have been disappointed. As a rule, I always recommend waiting a little while before condemning a new piece of gear with a solid reputation such as the 990. There have been many cases in the past of people setting up new components (especially receivers or processors) and initially being disappointed, only to discover that they overlooked something that completely changes the overall sound. I had a co-worker who brought home a Rotel 1068 a year or so ago and was ready to box it back up after a day or so because it sounded so bad, only to discover that the speaker setup was steering everything below 80Hz to a nonexistent subwoofer. It's an extreme example, of course, but it still points out the potential for simple setting changes to radically change the overall sound.

If both units are calibrated to the same level with the volume set to 0dB, this should not be happening. It sounds like either the HK was calibrated significantly hotter than the 990, or the 990 calibration needs to be re-visited. I like the 990's auto-setup, but I'm a bit old-fashioned - I still recommend keeping a Radio Shack SPL meter handy.

Again, there's either something awry with the calibration, or the HK has some sort of bass boost going on. The 990's design does not under normal circumstances "lose" low frequency information.

I haven't heard the HK, but I can speak to how the 990 sounds in my system, and I would certainly not classify the sound as "flat." Does that mean it is not flat in your system and to your ear? No, it doesn't. But the fact that it sounds flat to you at the moment does not mean that the unit sounds flat in every system and to every ear. Or are all of the Model 990 and Sherwood P-965 owners idiots for liking how their systems sound? Based on some comments in your post, that seems to be your assertion, and I simply can't agree with that.

Oh, yeah, it's definitely big. There's some interesting lineage going on in the design here: The P-965 that the 990 is based on has a receiver cousin called the R-965, which is identical to the P-965 except for the addition of seven channels of amplification on the left and right sides of the cabinet (binding posts located where the 990 has balanced outputs and DVI switching). The P-965 has large expanses of blank space on the sides of the rear panel. That's the reason that the 990 and P-965 ended up tucked into such a large cabinet. As to the weight, the fact that the 990 is only a third of the weight suggests that the pre/pro section has a lot more of something packed in, because the HK has a bunch of heavy amp channels, power supply, and heat sinks weighing it down. When compared to other processors , the 990 is actually on the heavy side.

That's a rather bold statement. Personally, I don't have the first-hand experience to speak to how it compares to Anthem or Lexicon. I will say that if your HK sounds that much better, then either you have a strong personal preference for the sonic characteristics of the HK (which can't be ruled out and is an entirely possible scenario) or there may be something wrong with the setup of the 990. As an aside, I'd be sincerely curious to hear a comparison of your HK as pre/pro to an Anthem or Lexicon if you've been able to make such a comparison.

not to be rude but I listened to an HK avr7300 and it didn't come close to the 990 so there must be something wrong with your calibration.

Agreed.

To the original poster, before you send it back, since you've got some time...

In my admittedly limited experience, these kinds of things are classic symptoms of setup problems. There's absolutely no reason why the raw sub output should be so much lower, for instance. I'd check for things like proper polarity, try manual setup instead of the auto setup (use a sound meter if you have one), and see if you can't get it to sound a whole lot better.

If that still doesn't do it for you, then by all means send it back. Hope you can recoup the other fees in that case.

(Disclaimer: I don't own a 990, but have a 950.)

he mentions no amplifier??? what amp did he go with??? i'll admit hk's are nice recievers and decent as prepros .. but the 990 is better ... ive used my hk avr310 and my avr7300 as recievers and prepros.. now they are just recievers in other rooms.. the 990 won easily.. i used the same ati1506 amplifier on all three.. and i find the upsampling very impressive,, oh and to ever said HK is disco .. no hk is about the best at giving midrange in mass produced recievers..,, i run tannoy dual concentrics all around .. great mids.. i was planning on testing the 990 out being disapointed and sending back... found the opposite.. oh and bass output is fine in my system

Based on his sig, he was already running an Aragon 2002 for the fronts and an Aragon 2005 for the center and surrounds.