A great receiver
Written: Apr 06 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Sound, Dolby Digital/DTS, Good assortment of A/V hookups
Cons: Remote, Small amount of hiss from Center Channel speaker
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| dfordham's Full Review: harman/kardon AVR 65 Receiver |
I recently purchased a Harman Kardon AVR 65 receiver and I love it. It has most everything that I wanted in a receiver and nothing that I did not want.
Likes:
Most receivers today have a lot of different sound fields like Hall, and Stadium that are supposed to enhance the sound of the music you are listening to. I guess the sound fields work nice but I really did not want to pay for something that I knew I would not use. The fact that the Harman Kardon AVR 65 receiver does not have all of the sound fields, is one of the reasons I bought this receiver.
The other features of the AVR 65, and all Harman Kardon receivers and amplifiers for that matter, that caught my attention was the Ultra-wide Bandwidth and High Current Capability of the amplifiers within the receiver. This allows the receiver to power a speaker regardless of the ohm load the speaker places on an amplifier at any given point in time. Speakers do not maintain a constant 8-ohm value and because of this different current loads are placed on an amplifier. Audiophiles know that current not voltage is the primary driver of speakers. So even though the AVR 65 is rated at 65 watts of power in surround mode, that is 65 constant watts of power, not peak power as is the case with a lot of higher powered receivers on the market today.
Other features that caught my attention were the S-video inputs and output and the digital inputs. I would have liked a digital output, but for the price I paid for the receiver I can’t complain. The digital inputs can be assigned to anything that has a digital output. The receiver also has more than enough A/V inputs for my modest Home Theater setup (CD, VCR, DVD, Tape, Video 1 and Video 2). I like the banana plugs for the speaker wires too. They are a lot easier to use than the spring terminals found on some receivers.
I also like the looks of the receiver, very conservative. And of course the sound. My main speakers are fairly old but very good speakers and the AVR 65 drives them with authority. The bass is tight and the treble is very detailed. When watching movies the sound is incredible! It is amazing the difference between Dolby Digital/DTS and Dolby Pro Logic.
Dislikes:
The remote can be a little troubling at times. Mainly when switching from one component to anther. It is not intuitively obvious at times, which component the remote is trying to operate and it can be frustrating. I do like the back-lighting on the remote though. Very nice when the room is dark.
The only other complaint I have about the receiver is the small amount of hiss emanating from the center channel speaker even though the receiver is not in a surround mode. I talked to Harman Kardon about this and they said that it is normal because all of the amplifiers are in the “on” state regardless if they are being used or not. The hiss is small and only noticeable when standing near the speaker.
All in all, I really like the receiver and would recommend it to anyone.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
dfordham
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Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 3 members
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