I shop online for the first time.
Written: Mar 25 '02
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Pros: Great Sound, Great Buy
Cons: Underpowered in some situations.
The Bottom Line: A Great Buy for a Home Theater Amp unless you like Van Halen
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| jay_score's Full Review: Samsung AVR 7000 6.1 Channels Receiver |
This review is mated to a review I wrote on the RCA widescreen HDTV. The Harmon Kardon and RCA comprise my Home theater system.
My Experience:
My first stereo system was built using a Bell Reel to Reel tape recorder and speakers I built it my self when I was 12.
My second System was a Magnavox receiver and a pair of Warfdale speakers with a Thorens turntable. This was replaced by a Pioneer Amp and the Magnavox receiver and the Warfdales. This was followed by a Kenwood receiver, Pioneer speakers and the thorens turntable. This was replaced by separate components from Marantz, Amp,Preamp,Tuner,cassette player turntable and Marantz speakers. This was replaced by Polk studio Monitor speakers, Luxman 100 watts per channel receiver, Magnavox VCR and Pioneer CD player. The receiver was replaced with a 170 watts per channel Luxman and a sony DVD player was added with a 42 inch rear projection Magnavox TV.
Today:
Receiver H/K AVR 7000
Speakers:
Fronts - Polk Studio Monitors
Center - Polk cti 400
Rears - Polk sti 800
Subwoofer - Infinity
TV RCA widescreen HDTV
CD - Pioneer 100 disc CD player
VCR - Toshiba
DVD - Sony progressive scan.
I've been into audio for a long time and buy the nicest setup I can afford.
The upshot is after getting the RCA HDTV I wanted to get into the 5.1 home theater sound almost immediately. It all went together. Now don't get me wrong the 170 watt per channel Luxman is one fine stereo receiver and only blew my tweeter twice while in my cups listening to Van Halen. The sunshine audio guy was Great but the second time he saw me coming he said "Don't tell me, drinking beer and listing to Van Halen again eh ?". Weeeell. shucks.
Anyway I was doing research into AVR receivers on the net and found the Harmonaudio site. This site is Harmon Kardons Factory direct site. The AVR 8000 was out and the AVR 7000 was available a reconditioned model for $ 845.00. Now as this model retailed $ 1,800 this is quite a discount. Full Harmon Kardon Factory warranty was promised so with some trepidation I went for the deal.
The receiver arrived has worked flawlessly is has a full H/K guarantee if it breaks. All connections, remote, manual were present like a brand new H/K and only one small scuff mark on the remote. GREAT DEAL. Some are still available at www.harmonaudio.com.
Sound:
Very good. Clear Highs, midrange, and the sub pumps out the bass bigtime. There is a display on the front panel that even shows which speakers are active. The speakers can be set small, Large or none. The are delay settings for rear Dolby digital time delay and -5 to +5 dB adjustments for each speaker.
Surrond setup is best using a S-video cable to connect the H/K to your TV so you can see the on screen display but not impossible to configure using the controls on the receivers front panel. For movie sound I have rarely been disappointed with the H/K's sound quality and it packs plenty of oomph. For parties with a room full of people swilling the sauce it is noticeably weak compared to my old Luxman.
Now I am not debating the morality of consuming alcohol but I can tell you It defiantly dulls an individuals perception of sound volume after you have had a few/lots. It's not the amps fault that you are out of It. Turn it off before you go to bed but leave the level where you had it. The next morning turn it on and stand back ! 5 will get 10 that it will sound really LOUD.
Connections:
Everything I needed including some I don't use. I recommend banana plugs for hooking up the speakers to the back of the H/K. It was very hard using gold spike connectors because the terminal posts are very close together.
Ease of Use:
I found a little study of the manual went a long way toward my enjoying this unit. One I had it set up the way I liked it , everything was just fine and using it has become second nature.
Remote:
Plenty of features including backlit keys if you need them.
Overall:
A this price, such a deal !
Caveat on E-tailers:
Ever wonder how some E -tailers can sell a product way below
retail ? Vell they just don't be givin the factory warranty coverage you know. I know because searching for warranty on many sites produces no hits or leads you to mack extended warrantys. Denon claims some places are altering the serial numbers and won't honor such purchases with factory warranty service. So if you save $1000 but have no coverage you may be in a hair pulling experience with some shmoe 1000 miles away and the time and aggravation isn't worth it in the long run. In the case of the Denon AVR 5800 the lowest price is $1,300 below retail and warranty is a unknown word to the web site. Caveat Emptor.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 845
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Epinions.com ID:
jay_score
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Reviews written: 7
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