Just adding to my review below.

Although I love the reciever, once I found out that the AVR 510 was only 200 more I wanted to take it back and spend the extra 200 to get it. But it was two late I had the reciever for more than 30 days. Unless someone takes the 310 plus 200 I will just have to be happy with it. That should not be to hard.

Buttloads of CLEAN hi current power, logic 7 modes, lots of digital i/o, simple and elegant looks, K.I.S.S design philosophy (Keep It Simple Stupid!), did I mention clean sound?

remote, reliability?

I always wanted a nice HK reciever but couldn't justify paying $700 for one. But one day I decided to look on ebay and I found a brand new 310 for $400. Unfortunately, the reciever wouldn't work right out of the box. However, I managed to convice HK that I was the original owner (I'm not the original buyer, but I'm the first one to use it) so they repared it under warranty (nothing major, they just needed to put to spots of solder on it).

Anyway, when I finally got it back it performed beautifully. Don't let the 50w x 5 rating fool you- it will take a 100 wpc sony, eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner - and then have an Aiwa or JVC for a midnight snack. it makes my speakers sing louder then I can stand-and without any hiss either.

the logic 7 mode is sheer brilliance as well, it creates a very diffused, enveloping soundfield in you room without adding all that artificial sounding reverb that sony's "soundfields" do. I find it preferable to straight stereo. The lone acoustic guitars on Johnny Cash's American III have such a presence in the room it's scary.

I also implore everyone to connect their CD players to their recievers with optical or coax digital cable - zero signal change over the cable run. any cheap digital cable will work as well as one costing much much more. spend the money you save on better speaker wire.

about the only gripe I have is the remote (of course). it refuses to control my other components and it is rather ugly compared to the reciever itself. oh well, one can always get a third party remote.

In any case, I am stunned by the sonic improvement that this unit has brought to my system. I had no idea that it could make such a difference.

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sony, and RCA POS...

clean very detailed

remote died

This is like night and day . The sound is super and the price was right. Harmon Karden also has a great 2 year warranty and treats you excellent. I need to buy another as my wife now wants one for her tv. U bid does charge an arm and leg for shipping and UPS just dumped on my front door .Miracle it was not stolen by the mailman. It was a refurb but I know the plant that does there refurb work and it is a high clasa quality operation.

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jvc9000

Clean, powerfull sound. Status. Lots of imputs. Power underrated, even when compared with Onkyo. Makes me listen to music I have not listed to for a long time...just to see how good it sounds.

DTS and 5.1 with optical outputs on my dvd sound so incredible, that my regular digital cable sounds weak.

Using JBL LX 500 speakers

This unit is really, really nice. I was able to get it cheap on UBid. Don't hesitate to buy one if you can. I can honestly say that this reciver, right now, is the best thing that I own.

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Onkyo (older Dolby Pro Logic with discreate output)

Sleek, clean sound, easy to learn

remote, but that's it

From what I've seen and heard, at this price level, this cannot be beat. Rated only 50 watts X 5 but the room filling sound is awesome. This is the first receiver I've bought for HT and the set up was child's play. From my perspective this thing has been easy to learn and killer for the money. If you find this model for $360 or less, get it, don't hesitate.

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first avr

Sound quality, Remote

Remote, lack of audio inputs

Bought a refurb off of ubid.com to replace an older surround sound JVC receiver. I needed digital inputs & S-video switching. Sounds & looks great so far. I've had it about 2 weeks.

Positives:
The sound quality is a noticeable improvement over the JVC. 4 video inputs, including a set on the front, makes for easy connections. On-Screen Display is fairly straight-forward.

Negatives:
I would like a few more audio-only inputs. There's just 2, Tape and CD. If you want hook up a TV-sound monitor, portable MP3 player, PC sound, etc, you have two options:
1) Use the audio-in from a spare video input. The downside here is that if you switch to a video input for sound, you'll switch the video as well and lose whatever you were watching.
2) Use the FL & FR sockets from the 6-channel direct input pannel. Bit of a kluge, but it works. This buys you one extra audio input, basically.
An input-renaming feature would be nice as well, something so that instead of "Video1", "Video2", etc, you could have it say "PS2", "Secondary VCR", "DirecTV" or whatever on the on-screen Display.

Lastly, about that remote...
It's a strength, because ultimately I was able to make it do everything I wanted it to. The learning feature compensates for the poor coverage of built-in codes. Programming took about 20 minutes, and hopefully won't need to be repeated when I change batteries. It also has very handy volume and channel "punch-through" options, where the function of certain buttons on the remote can be slaved to specific devices, regardless of what device the remote is currently operating.

But the remote is also a weakness...
Because of the fact I had to use the learning feature in the first place. Only 1 of my 4 components responded to a built-in code. The rest were programmed by learning each individual button. And a big gripe from the user-interface perspective: Every other remote (and phone, for that matter) that I own has the 0-9 buttons in the same layout. For some inexplicable reason, this remote is different. Not a big problem, but it wouldn't have cost anymore to use the standard layout. Why they didn't is a mystery.

On the whole, I really like this unit. Buying a refurb gives incredible features & quality for the money. The above problems all have work-arounds, and are more an annoyance than a serious fault.

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JVC

Sound quality, ease of set up, flexible input scheme. Excellent build quality for the money!

Gold buttons on the front.

Fist off I'm an installer/dealer. The AVR310 is an excellent receiver overall. It is easy to set up. The manual is straight forward. If you have never set up a modern A/V receiver you will go thru a few growing pains in the process. Read the manual!

The display is readable from accross the room. The sound quality is that, of much more expensive gear. It is smooth, pleasant to the ears, and musical. The highend has ample detail. The bass is natural sounding on music and explosive for home theater effects. The remote is easy to use with back lighting. Connectors on the back are pretty solid with ample space to install/remove neighboring interconnects. It has more inputs/outputs than my separate preamp/processor. The receiver is a little on the large size. This is good for cooling though.

The new Harmon Kardon line of receivers are among the best I have heard and set up. Even entry level seperate preamp and power amp combos will have a tough time beating them. The Krell ($$$) receiver is the only one I have heard that is a notable improvement.

If you looking for an audiophile receiver for a reasonable price, this is it!

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Denon, Yamaha, sony, technics

Excellent Clarity, Plenty of Power, multiple inputs and outputs (including digital / optical, and S Video), great features, power and performance for the price.

none

Excellent unit. I bought it a few weeks after introduction and have had no problems whatsoever. Clear, crisp, clean sound. You'll hear items you have never heard before in music you have previously listened to over and over again.

I've got the unit matched to a pair of Infinity SM 215's, a CC1, and small Minuette speakers for surround. (I do more audio than video.) I decided to finally treat myself to a good receiver and trash my old Pioneer (Piece of crap as you all know. I got it before I knew any better years ago.) I used to work for Circuit City and the HK always produced the best sound of anything we sound with the exception of a couple of "higher" end systems (Carver at the time.) This unit is no different. I looked at Onkyo as well, but as has always been the case, the HK sounded cleaner, had a little better separation, and better bottom end. (Notice that I don't even mention the others I have used.) The claim is that Onkyo is better for movies and HK better for stereo (due to Onkyo having more processing modes). That is not the case here. There are PLENTY of modes for you to choose from, and the sound will be better than that of the Onkyo. You will not be disappointed.

As far as power goes, I have not been above -30 in stereo and that was PLENTY loud enough. True enough, the SM215's are fairly efficient, but that doesn't really matter here. I can't see many people needing more power than what this unit provides. DO NOT be fooled by the wattage rating. It's the "high - current" design that matters. You will not be lacking in power.

Setup is not as difficult as people make it out to be. The only thing is that people are not used to having to actually read the manual or even skim through it. READ THE MANUAL. If you at least do this, setup is a breeze.

I also have not had any problems with the remote. EZ or the regular one. Sit in your typical listening space for movies, follow the instructions and the EZ remote does the work. Most people's listening space is not perfect as with the case with mine. The remote set the left side speakers higher than the right side as it should have, seeing that the left side is farther away from my ideal listening space. Works as it should. Sounds as it should.

Bottom line is that this is an excellent receiver that I would recommend to anyone. Probably does more than the average person will use, but it's nice to have the extra features for down the road. Essentially, you get higher end performance for mid priced expense. Not a bad deal in my book.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo, Sony, HK AVR 40, Kenwood, Pioneer

None

Bad Quality

Bad quality,Was dead in the box.Returned it for a Denon 3801
The Denon is Excellent.

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Denon 3801

No HDCD on this model and sorry but I hate that remote.

I love the looks of this receiver, I love the connectivity it offers, and oh yeah it sounds amazing no matter if you are a quiet listener or you like it LOUD..this will satisfy your ears, I guarentee! I have a pair of JBLs studio series S312s connected to the back of this beasty amp and my old Cerwin Vega HT15 subwoofer takes care of anything the stunning JBLs might not be able to handle on the LFE side. The only people I wouldn't recommend this amp for are people who like high end equiptment but are out to buy an amp they won't have to be replaced for ten years. If this is you then pick up the new Harman Kardon AVR8000 that should hit the market by the end of summer. It has all the crazy new stuff like high def component video switching and 7.1 surround. I went with the AVR310 knowing I would be buying a new amp in the next two to three years if I want such high end options.
Dolby Digital and DTS are a must which this A/V receiver has, Logic 7 works fantastic for surround sources and if kept in a dimmly lit room the fully illuminated options on the front of this amp look outrageous to say the least. The only thing I really didn't like was the remote, it didn't work well with other products (even my H/K CD player!) and why couldn't they throw the backlight on it like the AVR510, come on guys! I knew of this before I bought it though, so it obviosly wasn't enough to detur yours truely.
So go do your comparison shopping, then buy yourself an H/K!! I know I left some of my thoughts out, but I don't want to bore anyone. Thanks.

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Harman/Kardon20II, Pioneer606