Simple,clean look. Power very sufficient. Numerous options for a receiver in this price range

Remote and instruction manual

This unit represents a good overall value. It has ample power and has a nice easy-to-see display when navigating through the various functions. The sound is clean with no noticeable hissing or distortion.

Perfect for a home theater set-up. With a good set of front speakers there really is no need for A/B speaker enhancement. I have mine hooked to a pair of Polk Rt800's and it will send some volume. Unlike other units that I shopped for, this one did not lose it's musical balance when I pushed to loud volumes.

As for the remote, it's as bad as previous reviews said it was. While it works once you understand how to manipulate it, it would not control my satallite receiver. Oddly enough the SAT receiver is one of the newest conponents that I have. I called Harman, and they said that the SAT receiver had too high a frequency to be controlled by the remote, hence we are still a two remote family.

The manual is one of the worst I've ever seen. The use a series of ovals and circles to describe the buttons, however these change when exploring options of the remote/receiver. More so, when you need to refer to the pictured schematic of the unit you must flip several pages. The back and forth gets tedeous.

Solid product with a good punch and bad instructions. I give it a high rating because it was a receiver I was after, but this would have been more exciting if I didn't have to spend hours reading and programming.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo, Sony

WOW - Awesome sound for movies and music. Hard to set up, very easy to use once it's dialed in.

Remote, Instructions, not going to win the battle of the stereos.

This is the best receiver on the market under $800.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Kenwood receivers.

Great Looks, Superior sound for its price range,

Bad Remote, Bad owner's manual

I went to CC {Circuit City} to buy the Onkyo 575. Im glad CC has a sound room to hear different receivers at a push of a button.. The Onkyo 575 sounded just fine until i listened to the HK 110. Night and day !! I still cant believe how rich and full the audio on the HK 110 is in comparison to the Onkyo model. This receiver looks very nice also. It has multiple s video, optical and coaxial options on the back so you wont grow out of this system soon. Forget about the fact that it is only rated at 40 watts rms, this rating is modest...my theater room is 12x20 and at -15 on the display its rockin in that room! Dont forget to get a subwoofer {of course = ) }
The remote is just plain awfull. Just as awfull is the pathetic manual. I cant remember when ive seen a more poorly laid out manual for this type of equipment. I had no problem at all though hooking things up and i use a different multiple remote anyway so no biggie on my end. I use the monster optical cable for dts 5 to 1 coming from my Panasonic RV31K DVD player and the sound is great.
Looking to spend 400-$500 on a AVR? I strongly recommend the HK 110. You will get MORE than you paid for IMHO.
Since i didnt need a good manual anyway {hookup was very easy} and use a different remote, i wont take any points off for those two short comings.

Clean sound, Multiple Optical and Coax digital inputs, headroom, no hiss, no fan noise, warm sound, looks (what more could you want?)

As with everyone else, the remote simply sucks, but that is not a reason not to buy it, in my opinion.

There is not a whole lot to be said there that everyone else has not already covered in detail, simply to say "ditto" to most of the comments, EXCEPT, the power issue! My living room is 15' X 20' and I have the HKTS2 speaker system (5 speakers + 100 watt sub) and rarely turn the amp over 0db. Even at 0db, one could not carry on a conversation in the same room. Are you guys DEAF? My neighbor has already commented about the sudden noise emanating from my living room when I was cranking some Van Morrison. I watched Saving Private Ryan last night and there's no way I could have this amp cranked up as high as some of you seem to indicate. If I did, I'm sure the National Guard would be over here in a heart beat.

This is a terrific amp for the money, with lots of headroom, clean (with a nice touch of warmth, unlike some of the more tinny sounding amps I tested). The HK convective cooling system is superb, the oversized capacitors for the amp are usually only found on higher priced systems, the circuit boards have lots of service room, are well thought out and the whole system speaks of quality. It looks terrific too, compared to most of the cheap looking Sony, Kenwood and Yamaha receivers in the same price range (I got a bit of a deal on this receiver, as it was the floor model (never used, not even plugged in). Circuit City in my area says they're having trouble getting this model in and haven't had any shipped in over a month).

I too, hate the remote, but mostly because it does not seem to want to run many of my accessories, such as my Sony WEGA TV, my cable box or my Sony DVD. Regardless, I need a universal remote anyway, the end table by my chair is getting overrun with remotes! A great value for the money, in my opinion.

Similar Products Used:

JVC, HK

none in the reciever and Ken Smith

KEN I OWN THE RXV-596 AND I WILL TRADE YOU YOUR AVR110 FOR IT SO EMAIL ME AND WHY WOULD YOU BUY SOMETHING YOU DIDN"T DEMO AND THEN GIVE IT A MORONIC REVIEW.
Anyways I will use the site how it is supposed to be used.
Onkyo doesn't have a 4ohm rating,no digital out,sounds crappy in music and needs to be crancked, fan problems along with many others.
Denon has major fan squeeling problems along with no features but they sound better than the onkyo's in music.
Yamaha has lots of features and when their equipmant has variable loudness controls they can't be beat like the AX-596 integrated amp but their reciever do not and the RXV-596 also has no digital out or pre-outs and it sounds very thin in music.

ALL of the recievers that I am comparing the H/K to are more expensive and have major flaws and I wish I would have taken the H/K over the Yamaha anyday and don't let the conservative rating fool you.Their are many other products from sony,JVC,pioneer and the list goes on but if they don't know how to measure watts properly they sure as hell can't make a good quality reciever.DEMO before you BUY and see what you prefer and don't ruin a good site because of your lazyness to take the time and spend your money wiselly.This reciever has every feature that I would need except pre-outs but the AVR 210 has them and I would rather H/K spend money on the sound quality and you can't find a better reciever in the PRICE RANGE that has the same quality sound with a good remote so DON"T WASTE YOUR TIME.Thanks and think before you speak because you might end up with an alligator mouse and a tweety bird behind.

Great Music Modes and Functions

The Remote

I have been a HK user for 5 years now and I have to say, they have never let me down. When I first bought my avr 110, I was not use to the digital revolution since I always used pro logic. After finally figuring it all out I fell in love with the unit. It has given me rich and clean audio from my dvd/dss systems and with my bose surround speakers and sub I cant think of anything that sounds better.
The remote is very hard to use in my opinion but for those of you how deal with the same problem, I got a great solution. The sony RM-AV1000 touchscreen remote, its about 180 bucks form sony and its learning, yes LEARNING but it does it all from controlling your receiver to your drapes.

Similar Products Used:

HK avr 20II

UNIT IS A REAL LOOKER, CLEAN SOUND,ALOT OF OPTIONS FOR THE MONEY.

THE REMOTE SUCKS, OWNERS MANUAL IS VAGUE

I HAVE ONLY HAD THE AVR 110 FOR APPROX. 2 WEEKS. THE SOUND IS SO INCREDIBLE. YOU CANNOT GO WRONG WITH THIS UNIT.

Great sound great price

remote

I've wanted to upgrade my old HK 3300 stereo amp, and join the world of DTS surround sound. I finally decided to bite when I saw how digital amps have suddenly dropped in price. I've always enjoyed HK, and feel they sound better then Onkyo. I can't get over how many bells and whistles this HK receiver has. It compares favorably with a $750 Onkyo my dad bought months ago. He even had problems with it, and had to get it exchanged. This $330 investment is still working perfectly. In fact, I think it even sounds better then his. While some people have complained about lack of wattage/ low power, I think this unit is more then adequate for most normal sized rooms. You do have to raise the volume quite a bit, but it stays crystal clear. I've never had to take it anywhere near max, and it should be adequate for most people. I also think the surround effects are phenomenal. So with all this going for it, I don't mind the poorly designed remote. It's very functional, but it doesn't seem to support many products. I don't like how it switches functions to the device input you've switched to. Whenever I hit DVD, to switch to that input, the remote will then go into DVD mode. Of course since my DVD player isn't supported, it's now not functional until I switch back again to the receiver. It's annoying, but something I'm willing to live with.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo

3 Optical and 3 coaxil inputs, High quality High current power, price. Clean sound - S Video routing

No B speaker output, Remote does not light up, Input selections except dvd can't be labled ex:cable/VCR etc. Missing remote code

I did lots of research when I needed two digital coaxil inputs, just about everything only has one within the price I wanted to pay. The Yamaha RX-V596 fits the bill but the HK was the way to go when you hear it, plus I get an extra digital input (6 total). The power this thing has seems way more than 40-45 watts, It is true high current and can totaly drive my home theatre system way above a normal listening level. This unit is very clear I hear things I never did with an old kenwood unit. The quality of this unit is great, the s-video routing seems to have improved my picture if that is even possible. The setup is easy although I wish I could label video inputs 1-3 as VCR/CABLE etc. This would be nice. I also miss the speaker B for my outside pool. The remote is nice but I can't seem to get a code for the Sceintific Atlanta Explorer 2100 cable box. It runs my other stuff great. This is the best receiver to by in the $400.00 range with s-Video routing. You can't go wrong.

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood VR-307/309 Harman Kardon AVR65, Yamaha RX-V596 and 496

SWEET- Bang for the Buck! Warm sound, Speaker and Channel Adj., MP3 decoding, I'm sure there's more...

Remote (see review)

I had my heart set on replacing my 15+ year old JVC w/Dolby Surround, with a new JVC considering the reliability of my previous JVC (RX777VBK). I spent hours watching UBid for the right time to bid on a new or refurb unit, and this led me to research some other brands. Those considered were Sony, Pioneer, Yamaha, and Onkyo. My researching brought me to Audioreview.com, and boy am I glad:

1. JVC's recent quality is in the toilet!
2. Sony's hiss.
3. Yamaha was too expensive.
4. Onkyo lost out mostly on style points.

I intended to buy a receiver for >200.00. At this price point the JVC or Pioneer probably would have been my final choice, even if quality suffered a bit.

Then I realized if I'm going to keep this one another 15+ years, I better get a good one. Enter the Harmon-Kardon/Onkyo showdown.

As soon as I saw the HK, I was hooked on it's appearance, VERY COOL! I like multi-colors, and lot of details. The Onkyo 484 seemed like the best bang for the buck at >300.00, and I was going to do it, but couldn't keep from looking back at those killer HK looks! And the Onkyo's were showing a few returned on this site.

Then I saw the package. AVR110 w/HK2 Speaker package w/100 watt 10" sub, 4 satellites, and center. The whole shabang for 750.00! The sub really knocked me over too, as it was pumping out clean bass barely cranked, keeping up with other subs that cost 350.00 alone! I couldn't put together an Onkyo system with all the parts for anything close to 750.00, so for the price I got the whole outfit, and the HK receiver I fell in love with.

I got it set up within 90 mins, and was planning to premier a 5.1 DVD. Instead I grabbed Star Wars Episode1 on VHS, for whatever reason, and was Blown Away at the sound this system was producing, from a mere VHS tape. I was even more thrilled when I put on a 5.1 DVD a little later.

This is a great package for the Critical, but Casual audio/video enthusiast trying to do a great home theater on a budget. Read the instructions, place your speakers carefully with regard to what the manual has to say about it.

The remote is average. The numbers aren't laid out in the typical phone-style pattern, which can cause confusion in a darker room, or if your nearsighted, and wearing contacts. It looks like it could work well, but I have to seek a replacement, as many others have here due to code confusion. I'll eventually get another universal anyway.

I'm not going to knock a star for the remote, since the issue is secondary to the purchase, runs the receiver fine, and will eventually be shelved anyway.

Nuff said, go for it!!

Similar Products Used:

JVC