Peter_D_Anderson's Full Review: harman/kardon AVR 5 Receiver
The AVR 5 is provides the best value for a pro-logic receiver available today. It has dolby pro-logic, and has 5.1 AC-3 dolby digital inputs. This means that all you have to do is buy a DVD player with a built in decoder and you are ready to go.
One thing to remember when shopping for receivers is that Wattage is pretty meaningless. Some cheaper receivers will say 100 or 120 Watts, but don't be fooled. What is important is the ability to generate a lot of current to achieve constant power. Speakers do not provide a constant resistence, so the ability to generate a large amount of current is what provides the ability to maintain constant power. Read this passage from the Harman Kardon website (I'm an electrical engineer, but they explain it better).
Amplifiers provide the current that powers a loudspeaker. An amplifier's current capability is a function of power supply engineering and storage capacity. Standard amplifier ratings are determined by connecting an amplifier to a precise 8 ohm resistor. This arrangement makes very slight demands for current. For instance, a 40 volt output into an 8 ohm resistor can generate a 100 watts of power with less than 3 amperes of current. Loudspeakers, however, do not exhibit a constant resistance. A loudspeaker's resistance (impedence) varies with frequency response. A speaker rated at 8 ohms can easily fluctuate between 4 and 16 ohms throughout the frequency spectrum. At points, an amplifier may be required to deliver six times the current that is required by a perfectly resistive 8 ohm load. Producing a 100 watt output into a typical 8-ohm loudspeaker may very well require an instantaneous current capability of 20 amperes. When Harman Kardon designed the landmark Citation XX in 1980, it had a rating of 100 amperes peak output. Today, even our lowest priced receivers are engineered with current capabilities that far exceed those for competing products. All Harman Kardon power amplifier circuits, including those in our receivers, are designed to deliver high continuous current in relation to their nominal rated power. It is often noted that Harman Kardon's lowest powered receivers sound more dynamic and powerful than competing units with two to three times the power. This is because the competing units commonly have less than half the current capability. As with cubic inches in an automobile engine, there is no substitute for current capability in an amplifier. High Current Capability and Ultrawide Bandwith are fundamental design principles incorporated into all Harman Kardon receivers and amplifiers. These and other design elements are commonly referred to as RM100 AV Technology.
Hopefully no one will ever be swindled by the idiots at Circuit City again.
This receiver does everything a home theater receiver needs to do and provides harman kardon quality at a ridiculously low price
The AVR5 is a full-featured A V receiver,incorporating a wide variety of listening options. In addition to Dolby* Pro and Dolby 3 Stereo, with 6- Chan...More at eBay
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