good strong clean sound

heavy big and a little under power

well i kind of like my avr45 but i feel very dumb for getting rid of my avr70,itwas a much better unit over all, but i sold it to a buddy for $150 and now i could kick myself in the butt, the avr70 is a much stronger clearer and crisper unit. so the avr45 not to bad, but i would rather have the latter.

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kenwood

Great sound, decent features, neat remote, simple to operate

Hmmm, I can't seem to find any. It does everything I ask it to do

Before I purchased this unit I read the write-ups here and was a little concerned. Something like 15% of responders said they hated the unit. People complained that it broke down all the time, etc. However, for the price I paid I figured what the heck.

Well, this was back in the end of October of 2000 and I am still waiting for something to go wrong. Everything is perfect so far. It is loud and very clear. It is able to easily power the main and surround speakers. Dvd's are absolutely fantastic on this receiver. The only excuse that I have to explain why my unit may work is because I live in a very thin walled apartment complex and can't really crank it. However, that still hasn't stopped me on a number of occassions. Based on my experiences, I would recommend the product and buy another.

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none

Nice, full sound, features for a reasonable price.

Setup somewhat complicated. Large.

THis was my first home theater receiver. Saw a good deal at Ubid, grabbed it. Had I read all of these negative reviews first, I probably would not have bought it.

However, I must say that in the year and a half that I've had it, I've had zero problems with it. Stereo sounds nice (I live in a detached apartment, so I can crank it)...just bought a DVD player....Dolby Digital mode sounds great. Hopefully my luck will continue (given other comments about reliability!)

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Sony rack set from 1987!

Great sound -- when it works. Simple controls.

Extremely unreliable, not enough inputs (digital and S-video)

I loved this unit when I heard it in the store. It was above my price range, but they had an open box. A week later, I had to bring it back because the sound would intermittently cut out and be replaced by a horrible buzz. I replaced it with another open box. A few months later, same thing. Granted they were both open boxes, but they both had the exact same problem. I've heard about HK's reliability problems, and now I believe them. They don't make this model anymore, but I'm weary of HK. Too bad. They sound great -- when you hear your source and not that awful buzzing.

By the way -- Circuit City gave me a full refund (for store credit). I'm thinking Onkyo now.

3 C's!! Clean, Crisp & Clear! Picked up the beauty at U-Bid for $320.00. What a big jump from pro logic to DD. Total speaker separation. Although I have BOSE speakers all around with no "true" sub, it sounds great. I finally hear me rear speakers. The remote was easy to program. Now one remote for the TV, VCR, DSS CD and DVD. Speaking of CDs, there are musical instruments in some of the CDs (Dave Mathews Live) that I NEVER heard before. Thanks HK for making a solid product.(Oh by the way, the idiot who is warning everyone about refurbished "stuff", I have has my refurbished BOSE speakers for 4 years and no problems. Refurbished simply means the manufacturer got the bugs out.)
BUY THE HKs WHILE THEY LAST!!!!!!!!!

price, sound quality, simplicity.

none.

I had to deal with 2 different "factory reconditioned" AVR45's as well as two AVR55's and an AVR5 in a past cpl of months. All of them were working perfectly producing amazing deep and clear sound both low and high in stereo, 3-way stereo, pro logic and 5.1 DD alike. I have never dealt with a better line of avrs than these 1-2 year olds from h/k. I don't know how "unrealiable" these guys are but it seems that a lot of the negative "unreliability" claims are left by someone with a different model who's posting negative reviews across h/k products, probably out of revenge...

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Sony, Onkyo, Denon, other h/k's

I recently purchasesd an avr40 and decided i wanted more, so I purchased the avr 45 at considerable more cost and was thouroly disapointed. The AVR45 has only 30 watts of high current capability, the 35 was a misprint per Harmon Kardon tech. I noticed this right away, also the 45 has no contour enhancement, if you were to listen to the avr40 then the 45 Im sure you would experience the same disapointment. I also dont like the volume difference when changing dsp modes, several people have almost blew my speakers. I also have an onkyo727 which blows the HK-AVR 45 away as far as power which will also drive all 4 channells. If you truly experienced real high current, the 45 would not impress you. Im truly disapointed, why, when someone has a good thing, do they change it?

Great Sound (When there is sound.)

Hiss/Hum in ALL channels depending on DSP mode. Lines in not
one, but ALL tv's in house. (RF signals only.)

I have always had separates. Sony ESD/TAE top of the line pro logic pre-amps with Carver power amps. I originally installed the AVR45 as a pre amp, using the dicrete line outs.(wanting DVD DD) Then one day out of curiousity I hooked my mains up to the powered output of the AVR45. I couldn't believe the amount of clean sizzling sounds that were coming out. I too have heard pieces of music for the first time again. Then the trouble started. It randomly shuts down at any given volume,leaving me with an audible "ticking" sound. Almost like the DSP missed a step and can't dance anymore. I have home made speakers of great quality. Vifa woofs/Focal tweets, JBL subs. The subs of course are powered separately. So now, four months after purchase, my HK is exhibiting all of the bad symptoms described in ALL of the other negative posts here so far. To make things worse, HK isn't accepting e-mail
because they are so swamped with complaints. I think a recall is in order. 50,000 Elvis fans can't be wrong. I guess this is a love hate thing. If this was sold as a disposable unit, i might understand. But LESS than 6 months?? Too bad there isn't a "zero" rating. I could've taken less sound quality for a longer life anyday.

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Onkyo/Sony/Pioneer

Excellent when functioning properly, which is never.

Defective unit. *DO NOT BUY FROM UBID*

Bought refurbished unit from ubid.com last week. Paid $189, but S+H+Tax is $70.00. Unit was defective five minutes after I powered it up. Buzzing/humming noise from right front speaker only. After five minutes unit shuts down, sometimes giving PROTECT display. Also, in DD5.1 mode, unit cuts out intermitantly for a split second. This repeats every 15-30 secs. Unit will function momentarily after cool down.

This SUC*S big time. ubid is selling units that are known defective without fixing it first. Apparently there is a service bulletin on this problem issued around 1/99. Yet units being sold at ubid were not fixed. I called the warranty party, United Radio Service in Syracuse, NY. They mentioned that this is a common problem for this unit. Turn around time of 1-2 weeks depending on parts availability. BUT why do I have to fork out $25 for shipping everytime there is a problem. So I am requesting an RMA for this unit. Went over to Circuit City to see what they have. Bought a Demo AVR100 for $199.00. Hooked it up, and pure joy.

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H/K AVR 100

Sound, ease of use and coonections

too damn big

I found this forum after I ordered the receiver from Ubid.com ($169 + 33 to ship). I wasnt looking forward to getting a bad unit. Mine is a 1998 model number in low 2000s.
I must say, it has been working BEAUTIFULLY. The sound is incredible (harman kardon HTSK1 speakers for $114+43 to ship from Ubid too). The sound is amazing. for those who say there is no bass, u are crazy, my girlfriend keeps telling me to stop making the house shake! no humming, no hissing, just nice swet sound. A lot of people have been saying these have been running hot, but not mine. Its cool as can be. I feel bad for those who have problems and just hope mine doesnt in the future, but if it dose, I have 5 Authorized service centers within 20mn of me and for 200 shipped for this unit, I wont be that upset if it needs service (just a litle pissed thats all). Oh yeah, this thing cranks for 275 watts, my neighbors would FREAK if I cranked this thing up. I recommend the receiver as well as the speakers. The sub is great! This is the best soundsing $350 system (receiver and 6 way speaker system) I have yet to hear.