I have been lucky enough to own the HK AVRMKII for a year now. The reason for the purchase of a receiver instead of seperates was my budget. When I first purchased the HK my speakers were Infinity Ref 20006 which were very efficeint (93dbl) and I knew that the HK wouldn't have a problem with them even though it is not a powerhouse of an amp. Since then I have upgraded my speakers to Carver ALIII which are real hell on most amps and manage to shut down a friends Onkyo M-504 power amp. To my surprise the Hk has not had a problem with such inefficeint speakers. The HK's sound is very smooth with nice tight, deep bass, and a detailed, rich midrange (not the harsh gritty sound of most budget av receivers). The prologic decoding is also great, the AVRMKII uses an analog surround sound chip that is a lot smoother and more natural than most receivers digital signal processors.
One added benefit is the addition of pre-outs on all channels and main ins, this does give the user the benefit of upgrading later. Because of the performance of the Hk I am looking forward to adding a HK PA5800 power amp to the mix to really make the Carver speakers sing.
Way to go Harman/Kardon in this age of bells and whistles it is nice to know that a company still cares about performance first and features second. Remember, keep it simple and keep the same dedication to sound quality on your future products and watch your sales climb.

thanks
Steve C

I also purchased mine at a discounted price. This is the best receiver onecan buy for around $500! Enough said...NO!

Music reproduction at this price is unrivaled!
Pro Logic is clean and clear.
Music and theater sound equally as impressive.
The two surround modes(Stadium & Theater) sound very good, not artificial!
Massive power for 4 ohm speakers! High current all discrete amplifiers!
+/-40 amperes high current capability!
Tone control bypass(Direct)
Preamp outputs for all channels + subwoofer

Easy to use
Thoughtful design and aesthetically pleasing as well!

Missing S-video & Dolby Digital inputs but for this price, I can wait until
the DVD's are perfected.

Like I said earlier, this is the best receiver for around $500!

No Denon, Yamaha, Onkyo, Kenwood, or any other brand can match the hk's
performance at this price so don't even try to say they do, I know now!

Great sound for a cheap price, I got it from one-call for $444, now it's even cheaper, can't beat that. I was debating if I should get Dolby digital, but for this price, I figure in about a year I can buy an Amp with dolby digital for $500. This HK is the best looking receiver. Unlike most Japanese brand, I don't need the manual every time I want to operate it, the control are simple and to the point. I match this with the atlantic technology 250.1 speaker system and toshiba 50" TV, all for under $4k. The first time I have it, I watch all 3 Star wars in one seating, I only have the volume slightly under half way, I think I crack the hardwood floor on my house!

I had Carver HTR-880 because it looks more expensive and had more power.however, the remote of Carver had very serious problem so I changed to
H/K receiver. And I found H/K sound whole lot better than Carver. I wouldn't recomend
Harver to anybody. For the people who are looking for nicely priced home theater receiver,
I strongly suggest "H/K AVR 25mkII.". You cannot get any others who perform better for
less than $500. ( I paid $450 + 5% of tax......hmm, you have calculator, right?)

Harmon AVR25MKII matched with a full set of Paradigm 9mk3se's is the best sound you can get for under $3000 and i only paid $1400 for it. Dont be fooled by Yamaha 990, although the surround chip is a little better soundin, the HK blows it away in all aspects of music reproduction!!! I have owned Yamaha's 990, HKavr20, and HKavr25.......the 25 is by far the best of the three!!! Buy one, you'll be a Harmon Kardon fan for life!!!!!

Nice power. It drives all of my speakers VERY cleanly and never fails to represent. Clean and simple inferface.

The only weaknesses I can see are the limited connections for 'newer' technologies. Things like S-video, optical, etc.

I find this receiver to be a very good element in my overall system. Although it's power rating is not exceptionally high, I feel that the HK products seem to put out more power than some other manuf's claims.

What it comes down to is this... I have recommended this product to my friends and I don't believe that any of us have been disappointed in the least.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Pioneer, Kenwood.

I have owned my H/K AVR25MKII since July of 1997. When I purchased it, I was finally upgrading from my 1989 H/K 550 Vxi--which is still pounding out great tunes!! The AVR25MKII was not my first choice (AVR80), but the price was right. Lucky for me, because this receiver is unbelievable.
It easlily handles my system load which consists of:
Front: Rear: Center: PSW:
JBL ARC 90's JBL 20LT's JBL SC305 JBL PSW1200
Advent B2R's

MY house rocks with my H/K and JBL setup!!! Why go to a movie theatre when your own system sounds BETTER!

I purchased the H/K AVR25mkII Jan. 98 from mailorder for $349.00 (free shipping and no tax) because of recomondations of H/K quality, had pre-amp outs for all channels, and (I thought) a great price. (From reading posts I see I could have gotten it cheaper, oh well). It was at the time going to be used as a pre-amp for L-R front channels and it's amps for center and rears. I was using for the front amp a Peavey CS-400 running to generic PA speakers (15 inch front loaded woofers, mid-horn, and tweeter). The speakers are also a 4 ohm impedence which was another reason for buying the AVR25mkII for it is stable to a 2-ohm load. I have been using this set-up for my audio for some time.
I know what your thinking,"My goodness what a noisy system!" and your right. But I use it for movies and like the headroom of 400+ watts to really feel the bottom end. I don't need a sub. Well anyway I had to try it without the Peavey just to listen and then rehook it back up because I knew there was no way that those measley 65 watts (in surround mode) could compare.

Well to my surprise I really couldn't tell much difference in the bottom end! The sound was great and I have since taken the Peavey to the basement. This unit is unbelievable for the money. Digital Dolby still isn't that important to me for I live in a semi-rural area and don't have much access to DVD so I give this unit a

Very warm, seamless musical production. Great aesthetics and simple to use. Build quality.

The remote. It just has too many small buttons of the same size.

After more than 4 years of pretty much constant use, I have nothing but praise for the AVR 25 mkII. When I bought it I was on a bit of a budget and shopped everything out there. While some of the similiarly priced Yamaha, Denon, and Onkyo receivers were good, I thought the musicality of the HK blew the others away. Still love the sound through my Signet SL 280ex towers. I have audiophile friends that are amazed at the sound when they hear what the system cost. I am building a dedicated home theater now and will probably buy one of the upper level HK's for it.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha, Pioneer, Kenwood.

This is the best receiver I ever stole. It bumps good. I got if 4 free so it be good deal!Da Bomb yo!