I recently purchased the HK AVR40 as a X'mas present for myself. Since I have a small living room and reside in an apartment in Westwood, I was limited in both space and budget. My AVR40 is hooked up with a set of Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble IV Home Theatre System. I have to say that these components gives you the most "BANG" for your buck in its respective price categories. For around $275 (shipping included), I have a solid amp/receiver that does its job beautifully. Even though the AVR40 is not "Digital Ready", it is very good in its stereo and home theatre settings. The power is more than adequate and the sound is clean. I do have a gripe about the remote: it looks heinous and not very functional, plus it is extremely left hand unfriendly. The Ensembles also are unbeatable in its price range. For $325 (shipping included), I have small satellites that are great for both music listening and home theatre. Warning, I did have quite a few problems with the sales reps at Cambridge Soundworks though, my order was processed incorrectly and only corrected after about 7 to 8 phone calls.

Minimalist styling, full pre-amp outputs(!)Interesting spatial/wrap control to widen Dolby surround effects.

Needs a bit more power. Psychotic looking remote (early models).

Not Dolby-Digital, but for Pro-logic a great receiver.
I use it as a pre-amp, with separate power amps for front and rear. The receiver only powers my center speaker...

Compared to my Hafler preamp, not quite as clean as the volume is turned up. But still a pretty clean, no nonsense unit. Try to find one used.

has a nice clean and warm sound with nice bass. it's an HK for sure.

the dolby i don't care for but the stereo is over the line that separates high end from mid.i have always felt harman kardon has better sound for the money and the current supply is always there for strength during long throw lows.

people just have so many different opinions. I have read thru them all almost.some say bright or lack of bass or whatever. I get so tired of people who think they are audiophiles or think they have this given ability to hear sounds. well there is no perfect speaker or amplifier out there you just appreciate the sound u like and live with the rest. in other words stop criticizing things and appreciate what u have. i know i could have better but i also know my set up is good and is not easily blown away. i have studied stereos for a long time now and there is a lot of over emphasis on speaker wire, or which amplifier sounds better. i get tired of it . i have heard good sound out of seemingly
obsolete equipment merely because the person who owned it had a lot of experience over time lisrening to different equipment and knew what to listen for.i have literally heard the drum beats reach out and grab u where u r at.wow did i ever learn from that person and knew after that what i wanted in my home.

Similar Products Used:

Harman kardon HK 870 power amp, marantz 4300 quad and denon.

I bought the AVR 40 a while back and I am extremely happy with it. As pointed out in the earlier review, this receiver is really good with music, and it does a really good job with Pro Logic. The player has enough A/V inputs, and the elegant look of this receiver is great. The main problem, as with most receiver in this price range, is not enough power. But then again a good power supply adds substantial cost!I auditioned some other receivers, including some Sony's, Marantz's, and Denon's with similar price points, and this receiver had the smoothest sound. I bought it for $399, but it seems like you can now mail order this player for under $300. For that price, this receiver is really good.

I am a college student, thus on a limited budget. I had planned to spend up to $600 on a reciever, but after repeated listenings and comparing the AVR 40 with Onkyo, Yamaha, and even Deno receivers I went with the HK. I got it at Circuit City for $329.
I purchsed a pair of JBL TLX 171s and combined with this reciever I had one of the best sytems in my fraternity. Rarely do I have to turn the volume half way to create loud music, but when I do this reciever responds perfectly. The music is crystal clear. I was concerned about the 65 watt rrating but with the continous output, this reciever was louder than a $450 Sony and $469 Kenwood when it was half way turned up compared to them both CRANKED. Unbelieavable.

I have yet to expand to rear, center, and a sub, but this reciever is ready for it. The only caution I would have to would be buyers is that it is not Dolby Digital ready. But, when I hooked up a firends center and surrounds, I was impressed (as was he, and he has an Onkyo reciever/pre-amp and Carver amp)

For the money and results I have gotten I give this product a Five Star rating, however it does lack Dolby Digital and the remote does not aloow you to adjust bass and treble. Otherwise a BARGAIN for anyone looking for a great reciever.

I purchased this reciever at a discount for $320. It excels with music and holds it's own in pro logic. In the price range it is far and away the most acurate and precise reciever out there. It beats Sony ES, Marantz, Denon and many others costing up to five times what the HK costs. It actually runs 65 watts a channel in stereo and 55 watts in pro logic. It some cases it sounded better in pro logic than some of the digital recievers I auditioned such as Pioneer and other shelf models (low end). I strongly recommend the HK to music lovers and money lovers (you could do far worse with $1500).

Excellent product! Purchased it over mail order for $329 USD, which is great for my student budget. It has a very discrete look to it, no buttons jump out at you and it the labels don't look like someone scribled all over your unit as some do. The remote is unique as it is designed to fit comfortly into your hand. Nice size buttons and the functionality is good enough for me (tone controls would have been nice though)
If you have worries about the power (65 by 2) in stereo leave them behind, this thing has plenty of muscle. I haven't the money to purchase amazing speakers (yet), I purchased some home made ones that this receiver makes sound excellent for the average ear. It drives the Earthquake 15's (car audio) hard without a problem! The only note is that in pro-logic mode it is much quieter, so you might actually need to crank it past half for movies(oh, no!).

Overall the pro-logic is better than average, but not overly impressive. But
as I am going to mainly be used for stereo this product knocks the socks of ANY competative product in this price bracket.

What can I say I thought power was measured in the watts per channel but boy was I wrong this HK kicks the circutry is far superior than any pioneer or sony....or for that matter anything costing twice as much, I paid $329 at circut city after some serious bargaining. This reciever is awesome and a great buy.

Got a great deal on the AVR40 -- Nobody Beats the Wiz in NJ was selling the floor model for $225, but ended up giving me a brand new boxed one for the same price. Sound is good, Dolby seems quieter than other units. Trying to figure out if it really supports RDS (the lights are there in the display, but I can't figure out if they're meant for a euro version).

To anyone that has heard this receiver. You know what I'm talking about. Perfect distinct imaging, with effortless dynamic range. To folks that say 40 watts per channel is not enough HA! Plenty,with it's high current power supply. A test for all of you! Go to your nearest Circuit City. Bring in a CD you know well. Try it on every receiver inluding the Onkyo 838 ($1599). Then listen to the AVR40. I guarantee you will leave with one. The price $379. A steal!!!!