Home Theater here I come!
Written: Nov 20 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Sounds Great!
Cons: DTS is 5.1 and not 6.1 ready.
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| surferdude7's Full Review: harman/kardon AVR 500 Receiver |
This receiver is nice for the average user, you get Dolby 5.1 and DTS sound. It is an attractive receiver with nice LED display and front AVI hookups. This receiver is designed for the person wanting great sound for their Home Theater, a receiver with DTS and Digital Dolby 5.1 is the only way to go. It is also great for the stereo sounds.
With this receiver you can hookup your TV, DVD Player, VCR, CD Player and more. One receiver that controls all of your entertainment
It delivers 70 watts x 5 speakers and 80 watts x 2 speakers. It has Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro-Logic and DTS decoding with, Logic 7 and VMAx surround processing. You can preset 30 AM/FM stations from the Digital tuner, this is more stations than I can use.
Harmon Kardon’s Exclusive
Harmon Kardon has two exclusive sound modes, Logic 7 and VMAx.
Logic 7 gives you better surround sound than Pro-Logic. Logic 7 will not work with DTS or Dolby 5.1. It is great for those other surround sound VHS tapes you have on hand. It does sound good for surround sound.
VMAx it delivers surround sound from two channels. This is fair, I personally do not care for it.
Hookups
There are plenty of hookups that will keep you busy getting it ready the first time.
1. 4 – Digital input connections - two are optical and two coaxial.
2. 2 - Digital output connections – one is optical and one is coaxial.
3. Tape Dubbing Inputs & Outputs
4. Audio & Video inputs including S-video, a total of four and one in the front.
5. Audio & Video output only one including S-video.
6. Monitor Output - Composite and S-video.
7. 5.1-Channel Inputs for a surround decoder.
8. 5.1-Channel Preamp Outputs, Subwoofer Output included.
9. Tape Dubbing – Input & Output.
10. IR Remote Input & Output with multi-room stereo outputs.
11. Headphone Jack
Pros
The remote is nice, it is backlit and is programmable, I really like a remote that has this.
Another nice feature is on-screen display, you can fine-tune your receiver and your speakers the way you wish.
Cons
It is DTS ready but only in 5.1 and not 6.1. The difference is 5.1 has a center speaker in the front and 6.1 has one also in the rear for more sound effects. If you must have the DTS 6.1 sound then I recommend the Harmon Kardon AVR 7000.
I think it should have at least 100 watts instead of the 70 watts per 5 channels.
Overall
Harmon Kardon has always delivered good quality and now they have the looks to go with it. This receiver has plenty of power and can do most anything that is needed by a good receiver.
The sound is crisp and clear you can add enough base with a sub-woofer to make you jump. (I don’t mean ba-boom, ba-boom, I mean when there is an explosion on the movie, it will make you jump because it sounds like you are right there.) You get the true theater sound when you use the 5.1 speaker system.
They give you two years on parts and labor for warranty.
Shop around for the best deal, Prices very from $699 to $497.
Recommended:
Yes
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surferdude7
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Location: Elizabethtown, Ky.
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