Got this receiver from Tag-Sale (www.hear-us.com/tagsale/), the H/K authorized retailer of Harman refurbished products, for $175. What a steal! I've got it hooked up with MIT Terminator 6 speaker cables to a pair of Infinity Systems Reference 2000.5 speakers. This setup ROCKS!
Only 65w/channel you say? That doesn't mean anything--the important spec on this receiver is it's ability to push over 35 AMPS per channel. I've had the volume control a third of the way up with NO distortion; only extremely loud, beautiful sound. Easily outperforms the Japanese brands rated at 100+ watts per channel.

As for the appearance, this unit is utterly beautiful. The remote is not the greatest ever, but I'm a righty and I'll deal. Call me crazy, but to me breathtaking dynamics and crystal clear sound are more important things to look for in a receiver than the remote control's aesthetics.

Simply put, this is one hell of a receiver at one hell of a price. 5 stars, more if possible.

As with all Harmon Kardon recievers the AVR40 has a very rich, warm sound. Also it dosen't give off quite as much noise as the AVR20 which I used to have. Overall I would have to say it has a very clean, though somewhat narrow soundstage in stereo mode. And very good surround sound, especially given the WRAP control. Good reciever, good sound. Don't like the remote.

I bought the avr40, just like everyone else here, at Circuit City for a pretty low price. Works well, good "in between" system - not the best but you could do a whole lot worse. Pro Logic is (barely) above average, Stereo is much better. Gets a lot out of your speakers - makes good/decent speakers (my Ac Res 308s) sound great. Too Bright - invest in speakers that make up for it... if you go cheap buy smaller - 6" woofers are better than 8" for this reciever. If you go expensive, you'll get the most out of the avr40, but then start looking at the avr65. Or buy a *good* equalizer. Remote is way over designed, but looks cool to friends, at least untill they hold it. Excellent company - you find yourself building loyalty to h/k after you start purchasing their products - I bought this reciever a year after I fell in love with my av8300 changer and old Infinity speakers. Overall, great reciever, IF you can overcome how bright it is. Can't beat it at the price.

This is a disco'd receiver, so these reviews soon become pointless. But if you can still find it (onsale @ about $170 delivered), and do not want to spend more than $300 for a ProLogic amp, do not hesitate. Here's why.
Clean power. Really musical. 65 watts in stereo, 55 watts in surround. I had a top of line Optimus, made by Pioneer I believe, ($600 in 1993) rated at 100 wpc, and the H/K just completely blows it away. Lots of amps (35) in the power supply, and if you believe H/K's marketing dept, this translates into really powerful sound at all volume levels. It does.

It excels with music. Not as bright as some say. But music is where this machine shines, excellent imaging, clean clean bass, can go as loud as you or your speakers can take without any audible distortion. This amp sounds better with music than amps costing 3X as much.

ProLogic is also excellent. I read other people's revkiews saying that it's "quiet." Either they are comepletely deaf, or live in a barn. For those of us in dwellings or homes spaced 10 feet from each other, this amp is all you need. The center channel output does not wave as with other brands, and it does an excellent job with truly explosive soundtracks. You won't believe what you paid for it when running.

Remember that Dolby Digital requires a DVD player. Unless you have one of those, all you'll get is ProLogic anyway! And for $159 before shipping (what I paid), there simply is not a better value anywhere. GET IT!

The H/K ARV receiver is one of the best on and off the market. Some of my friends have recently purchased newer and more expensive H/K systems (twice as expensive) and their systems do not sound half as clean or impressive. If you can get a hold on one of these gems, do not hesitate.

Hit E-Bay to pick these up at great prices (~120-140). I've had quite a few decent "lo-fi" amps and receivers, and this one blows them all away (including Fisher, Pioneer, Kenwood [the worst], and an ancient hand-me-down Technics). I have heard no evidence of the brightness claimed by others. I have run this with some very good 250 watt Fisher speakers, some mid-quality Yamaha's, a pair of very good AR's, and now (best of all) a pair of Platium Audio PT808's. Speakers and cables make all the difference.

I bought one of these on new on ebay, and I have to say that I have had some problems with it.
Despite its reputation for having clean power, I have noticed some crosstalk between the various inputs.

If I put the unit on cd, with no output from the cd, I can (barely) hear the TV input coming from the tweeter.

If I disconnect everything but the cd, I still get a hiss or hum coming from the tweeter. Very disconcerting.

I own a pair of NHT 1.5s, which are very sensitive to any degradation of the sound quality, and I have to say this unit does not stack up.

Also, in prologic mode, there is a distinct hiss from the center channel and the right and left channels.

I picked this up from UBid.com for $127 ($160 shipped). I do consider it money well spent and it will be my in between receiver. I can hear everything. It is easy to use and to hook up. The wattage may not be much but it certainly can pack a punch! Currently I have it hooked up to a pair of Wharfedale Valdus 500's, a no name tape deck, Phillips/Magnovox CDC 735 (piece of junk), and a Panasonic 2 head VCR. Eventually I will be upgrading all the equipment. I haven't had any need to crank up the volume one bit. Even at a quarter of the way up it sounds louder than what I will ever need. Plenty of power as well. I do not have any center or surround sound speakers as of yet, but I can imagine those will only enhance this units ability to perform. The remote is laid out well, easy to read manual, well built and heavy unit, inexpensive, and a real value for your dollar. The total amount I have spent so far on my system is $575 (speakers and receiver). Not a bad price deal, all things considered. I am also doing this under threat of my family getting used to the system and not allowing me to take it when I move. 4 stars for quality and ease of use, 5 for value. You can't go wrong with this receiver.

Clean, solid unit

Pro Logic is about average

I mated this unit with an HK-8300 CD Changer, and the combo was almost perfect, perhaps a bit too bright. Recently the 8300 has bit the dust, but the AVR40 lives on, and it sounds better than some of the higher-end receivers. It doesn't have some of the things I currently crave (coax digital in), but for $199 Christmas 98, I certainly didn't go wrong. But I am going for a different CD Changer, but I can delay because the AVR40 enhances any computer-based sound (MP3's) more than any set of computer speakers I've used/heard.

plenty of power, ease of use, great style, binding post for speaker terminals.

Pro-Logic mode not very loud. Very bad remote control. Sometimes has Video glitches when runing signal through video inputs.

HK rocks! I have a Russound speaker switch box (8-way) hooked to my avr 40 and it drives all 8 pairs of infinty sterling series ss 2004's great. You wont beleave how many pioneers I burned up. Was useing the Avr 10 after my pioneers but the avr 10 had some surge damage done to it. When in service at Circuit City it got damaged even more so they gave me a AVR 40 with 5 year warenty for replacement. I was happy! Love its power in stereo mode...lacks power in pro-logic. but mainly use it for multi room playing so that is fine.

I even DJ a little in my spare time. My carver amp blew out on me at last min when I was doing sound checks. SO I ran home real quick and grabed the HK AVR 40, I was concerned if it would keep up with the damand of two huge speakers playing loud for about 4 hours. But I had no choice with a job to do in 1 hour. So I just hooked my output from my mixer console into the CD input and hooked up the dual 12's sound tech DJ speakers and cranked the volume to about a little over half way. WOW it sounded great! Much cleaner than the DJ carver amp. Did not shut down once after playing for about 4 hours.

Thank you HK for making a GREAT product! I am VERY pleased!

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer vsx 454, HK avr 10