Great looks, incredible low end capability, awesome remote, available soundfields are very top notch. Audible distortion is ZERO as far as your ears are concerned.

There is a VERY QUIET clicking noise when holding down the volume control coming from the speakers.

This is a very capable receiver with all the bells and whistle's that you need. If you use your internet search engine you will find that this receiver last year was considered one of the very best anchors for your home theater / music system. One pro sight considered it the very best for the money. This is a incredibly clean sounding unit. High current capability is very important. The AVR 500 is loaded with it. My Technics is rated @ 125 watts x 2 or 100 watts x 5 but is not a high current reciever. Believe me, @ 70 watts x 5, the HK AVR 500 blows away the Technics and My Pioneer which is rated @ the same
power rating as the Technics. The first time you watch a DVD with HK AVR500, you will instantly notice something that you might not have noticed about your typical $179 - $400 unit, there is very audible distortion (hiss) coming from the surrounds and centers when there is a pause in the dialog. This is absent with the the HK AVR500. What a DIFFERENCE. Forget about specs! This reciever is super clean and very powerful. I have spent over 20 years with audio my primary hobby. If you have any doubts about this review, read some PRO reviews. They will agree, you can't go wrong with this one. By the way, if you read about ANY receiver at this web sight with a significant number of reviews, you would be terrified to purchase anything. Most people only review something if they had bad luck with their purchase. Just a thought, most complaints about this product came from people who purchased it through a certain site.

Similar Products Used:

Technics and Pioneer AVR receivers. Marantz stereo receivers (2).

very clean power, Logic 7, best features for the buck

none so far

I have owned the avr65 in the past. My avr65 worked great.. the avr500 is pretty much identical in the areas of the amp, crystal digital chip, heat sink, remote, ect. the big advantages over the avr65 is that so far there hasn't been any hiss problems or any thin like a few of the avr65 models had. Logic 7 is fantastic. for those that don't know what it is here you go.. logic 7 was developed from lexicon which is also made by the Harman International group. It takes any source be it mono, stereo it with enhance to to 5.1 format. (some of you may be thinking.. oh yea like bose videostage 5) kinda I have found logic 7 to be more realistic and alot more seperation with the different channels. I also have found that it sounds different with every cd you play. Logic is really a cool thing for all of your existiog cd collections. It is not as good as a DTS music cd (any question about DTS? I have a lot of software and I love DTS) but logic 7 is one of the coolest technolog's on the market. for the price you cann't find a better sounding amp with more features than the hk avr500. great buy... until I get my HK avr7000. now thats going to be a nice receiver. I sould get it around christmas. look for my review on the avr7000

Similar Products Used:

HK avr65, Onk txds777,denon avr3300

looks, sound and what a value...

none that I can find

I have only had this a week but, what a receiver. logic 7 is great. this is a very good piece to buy. oh and what is with that last internet looser that posted that last review. talk about not having a life. I bet he felt really cool to post such an inteligant review. I think I take his review real seriously next time I buy a receiver. thanks for the laugh you ever you are. or why don,t you humor us some more and give us you e-mail you coward.....anyway very nice hk product. also check out there CDR2 (cd recorder) looks awesome. way to go hk with your new line....

Similar Products Used:

a lot.....

I don't know I haven't tried it.

I feel really left out because I just very recently purchased a AVR 65 which is working flawlessly, and HK 3 weeks later comes out with the AVR 7000, 500, and 700.

I feel like a made the wrong choice I recently purchased a AVR 65 which is nice, and is working flawlessly. Then HK comes out with the 7000, 500, and 700. Is Logic 7 really all that great. I mean is there really really good seperation between all the channels? Does it also sound like regular surround music like from a AVR65. Another thing where is this unit made in?

Crystal clean, Logic 7 M, DTS and more ...

Wouldn't find one yet.

I spended a couple days doing research on the Internet to find a new AV receiver. I finally ended up to pick up this baby from Circuit City for $768 right after Thinksgiving to replace my 5 year old Pioneer Doulby Pro Logic system. Even though I still use my old pioneer speakers, this baby rocks and is so amazing that I couldn't believe the $768 receiver can do so much difference. The Logic 7 M is fantastic. Those old so-so CDs found their new life ! I watched the Eagle's "Hell Freezes Over" in DTS mode with Toshiba 3109 DVD player yesterday. God, I couldn't believe my ear. I felt I was in the scene.

My next project is doing more research on finding a new set of speakers.

You won't regret your investment for this baby. SONY STR-DB930 and Denon 3300 are in my consideration list before. But I pick Harman Kardon finally. I don't think you can find a better one in this price range.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer Doulby Pro Logic

Home Theater

Two channel stereo

All you HK AVR owners have really let me down. Based on your reviews of the AVR500, a friend and myself went to hear this very well liked peice.

The short and skinny. Two channel stereo across some PSB Alphas sounded terrible. Ok, maybe I wanted more than a under 800 dollar receiver could give. But this was not the worst part of the demo. As we turned up the volume, we could hear clicks coming out of all channels when playing a DVD in DD mode. Loud and clear clicks as the volume is turning! First conclusion was the dealer had a bad peice, so I told him. The dealer told me this was in all of HK's new receivers. My friend, who had check book in hand, walked out in discuss.

I intend to go somewhere else and repeat this test. If I hear more clicks I will post another review.

If you own a avr500 and are not having this problem, please post saying so.

Thanks

Similar Products Used:

Denon 1800

very warm sound

as usual with receivers other than Marantz. The REMOTE is horrible

The Logic 7 is fabulous. Im waiting for the AVR-7000. I believe that HK has gotten off the snide and is reclaiming their name.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha 795

Digital signal autosensing, Logic 7,

Remote and design on the on-screen-display interface.

For the money, it's a no brainer. I've listened to most of these mid-range receivers, and for the price nothing I've heard even compares to this unit. I was wary after reading the reviews on this site for the AVR-65, but they seemed to have made the leap back to old HK quality. The seperation of the channels on music playback and video playback is simply wonderful. If your a Jazz enthusiast, the sound is Smooth and Mellow. Thanks HK for the great high current amps!

The only drawback is the poorly designed remote control interface. Not only is the design of the remote, in my humble opinion, difficult to use, but the on-screen display that is attached to it is anything by intuitive. However, after spending 30 minutes with the manual, all became clear and I was easily able to navigate through the menus. This is the only reason for the 4 star overall rating I have given for this unit.

I highly recommend actually spending some time curled up with the instruction manual. They've got some nice beginner setup tips as it relates to proper speaker placement and even some nice simple calculations that should get you close enough to then throw your reference DVD in and really put it through it's paces.

Watched A Bug's Life in Dolby Digital mode and was in AWE. Seperation to all channels was as correct as I have ever heard from a mid-range receiver. Can't afford the Signature series, so this will do QUITE nicely.

Please consider the length of time that I've had the unit. 1 week. Problems could arise later, but for now, this unit absoloutely ROCKS!

Similar Products Used:

AVR-65

Wideband, High current amplifer. Logic 7.

No video multiroom function.

First of all, let me address the click sound when changing volume. I think it's due to the digital volume control which changes volume step by step. While conventional analog volume control changes volume smoother than a digital one, analog volume control is noisy and expensive. I'm not bothered by the sound at all since I can't hear it unless I stand beside the speaker and use the dial to change the volume. Great sound. I think it is better than Onkyo 676 and Denon 2800.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo Tx676, Denon avr 2800

Probably the transformer - it makes idiots believe it's the real thing, Marketing, power cord.

From not enough Soundfields to the remote, too many to list

Worthless piece of crap that I have ever seen on the face of the earth, my $5 Korean radio sounds better. People that think HK products are good, ought to go and have their head examine - They been brainwashed. five stars for marketing
no star for performance.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha