Solid High End Sound
Written: Dec 06 '02
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Pros: clear crisp well defined sound, lots of power, many features and stunning looks
Cons: Possible quality control problems
The Bottom Line: Sound quality approaching that of live music and amazingly realistic movie sound. Even if you do experience technical problems (defects) H/K will stand behind its product.
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| bojangles89's Full Review: harman/kardon AVR 520 5.1 Channels Receiver |
I started out with an AVR 510 and after many problems it fried, literally burned up smoked etc. H/K gave me a new AVR 520. This whole process was an extreme hassle but this has nothing to do with the 520 except that some sales people I have talked to say that H/K products come in for repairs more often than other brands.
This caution aside once I got the AVR 520 hooked up and listened to it I knew the trouble was all worth it. The sound is incredible and so clear it is unbelievable. It has all the power I need at this time. My living room is quite dead sonically with thick carpet and walls that seem to eat sound. Even so music and movies are both extremely impressive.
The ability to fine tune crossover points is quite useful in getting the sub to blend seamlessly with the rest of the system. I must agree that Polk speakers sound great with this receiver as I saw another reviewer mention. I have listened to other receivers in stores and I researched extensively and did not find anything that appeared to be better in my price range. Combine the sound quality with the looks of this unit and it’s unbeatable for the price. Of course, I would love to have the AVR 8000 but that will come later. ;) Or maybe Ill go the route of separate amplifiers for each channel since this is possible with the 520.
If you buy this unit you will most likely be delighted with it. My only concern is long term build quality. If one puts an ear right in front of each speaker it is possible to notice a slight hiss in all channels. This is in my opinion normal but the center channel does appear to have a slightly louder hiss than the rest. This hiss occurs at all volumes and is not influenced by the volume. Thus you can hear the same hiss at the same level regardless of volume setting unless it all the way down
(-80) then auto muting kicks in and nothing is heard. All of this picky listening was done without any signal from a source. I am probably just paranoid but it doesn’t seem like the center channel should have a louder hiss than any other channel. The only way the hiss from any channel could interfere with sound quality however would be at very low listening levels perhaps in a sound proof theater or something. It is certainly not noticeable at any sound level even very low from where one would normally listen i.e. your ear must be two inches from the speaker to hear.
Also the unit gets very hot so take precautions for that. At any rate this receiver is a great unit. This price listed really doesn’t apply since that’s what I paid for the 510 and it was a display, which could be why it had so many defects in the first place.
I also wanted to add about the power ratings H/K has they also list dynamic current capabilities of their receivers. The wattage may not be hugh but the current is the AVR 520 puts out /- 45 amps of current. This gives the receive punch without the need for falsely inflated wattage ratings.
System:
Harman Kardon AVR 520
Sony 5-disc DVP-NC615 dvd player
Polk R-40 fronts
Polk Csi-30 center
Paradigm Performance Series ADP-170 Ver.3 surrounds
AR PS112 sub
Samsung tv (nothing special needs to be replaced)
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 550
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Epinions.com ID:
bojangles89
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Reviews written: 1
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