I just read that you cannot set the Fronts to large while using a sub with the avr-500, is this true?

This is disapointing if true, i have large fronts and a sub, i would atleast like the choice. =(

This product has a great stereo amplifier. It has Dolby Digital/DTS decoder. Plus, it is a H/K. What more to say?

Shutting off at times, the DAMN clicking noise when turning up the volume, the pathetic wiring that comes with this unit. The lack of quality cables to connect receiver to the DVD unit.

Good Morning -

I decided to write a review on this product since many people have expressed similar concerns pertaining to the reliability of the H/K AVR 500. HOWEVER, I want to place EVERYONE on notice that I contacted H/K's customer support and they will replace....FOR FREE... my H/K AVR-500 unit with a BRAND NEW H/K AVR-510 unit.

I was incredibly surprised at this. I was very cordial in my emails and professional. I didn't yell or scream or cuss them out, I explained the situations, and explained the difficulty and dissappointment in their product. I also expressed my SEVERE reservations of EVER purchasing another H/K product. I was VERY serious about that, I probably would NOT have purchased another H/K product.

However, because of their response and the willingness to acknowledge the problem. I will remain and tell my other acquaintances that they should seriously consider purchasing H/K. IF YOU have questions or want to know the person to contact [it's kind of bureaucratic, and it took me a while to get through] then feel free to email me.

Those of you that do, YOU OWE ME!!!! You know how much the H/K AVR 510 costs and the quality of it will easily surpass our 500's. So buy me lunch or hook me up with discounts... hehe!!...

I think H/K forgot that we are EDUCATED consumers. We are not consumers that buy something just because magazines, or its a great price. We are willing, in most instances, to purchase products that cost more. Furthermore, we are loyalists. We do not easily switch brands. Once we have found a brand we like, we normally we look at that brand first and foremost when purchasing new equipment.

I encourage people to keep posting their thoughts on these components on others. Companies can only acknowledge what is known, when people keep silent, NOTHING gets changed. Websites like this allow us to vent our frustrations and create change. I believe H/K took notice because I took a number of posts here and emailed them to H/K.

Even though companies would like to think the contrary, we, the consumers, DRIVE and keep them in business. If ENOUGH of us are upset, the company will have to do something. I mean everyone here has had people ask them about their system and if they liked it. We influence other buyers. Thus, if H/K didn't solve this problem then they would NOT only lose POTENTIAL customers, but also customers they already had. I mean although H/K will lose money by replacing the AVR 500 with the AVR 510. This will insure future products won't come out with similar problems. Moreover, I will remain an H/K loyalist and recommend them, not only because of the product, BUT ALSO because of the great customer service I received.

I think in this day and age, everyone is driven by price: get the lowest price. However, I think, personally, that I am willing to pay a little more for GREAT customer service. I believe most of you that own H/K products would agree. I mean I believe economically, we are will not quibble over $50. We ALL want the best price; but, we also recognize that customer service and reliability is more important than the bottom line. In all essence, the philosophical saying, "you pay for what you get," holds very true in all aspects.

Sorry for the long philosophical rant; but, I believe it is important for us to continue expressing our dislikes and likes about a product. If we want a product to become better, we have to make it known! Taking five minutes to write an email can effectuate change beneficial to us all.

In closing, I am having my H/K AVR 500 replaced with a new AVR 510, NOT refurbished, but brand new with a BRAND new warranty from the date of receipt. This is a great step by H/K. However, I STILL think H/K should NOT have placed me in a position where I had to contact them about a product. We pay top dollar for electronics, and we accept above par performance and will accept NO LESS! I am dissappointed in them for this; however, I will continue to give them a chance provided this does not reoccur. I mean everyone deserves a second chance; but if this is a continual problem with their unit, they will lose many customers, potential and current ones.

I hope this has provided beneficial and informative. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Thanks and have a great day!

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo, Denon, Marantz, M&K, etc....

DTS and Logic 7M

Great except Logic 7M and DTS. There is a "popping" sound in Logic 7M. I'm having the same problem with DTS as many of the other reviewers- Static in the speakers.

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Onkyo 575x

Dolby digital, DTS, VMax, Logic 7, and bass and treble controls. Reasonable amount of inputs and outputs.

Sound Quality is extremely harsh and somewhat dull. Reliablity problems.

This wouldn't be a bad receiver except for the following two crucial issues:

1.) The sound quality is very dull and will get extremely harsh at higher volumes and especially with horned speakers. I'd recommend this receiver only if you have inefficient speakers that are made for crucial music. Hooking this thing up to efficient horn speakers like Klipsch will not sound good at all.

2.) The reliablity problems, what else? The volume control is VERY erratic and this is very dangerous if you are going to turn it up loud. Sometimes it even turned volume levels up all by itself! They told me this was a microprocessor glitch. I was told there are even worse problems with the AVR 7000! Stay way from Harman Kardon is my best advice untill they choose a better manufacturer. I was also told that they have not experienced any problems with the replacement model, the AVR 510, but it is just too new to tell. Stay away from Harman Kardon at least untill they get a better manufacturer!

In Conclusion, I simply cannot give this receiver a good rating. Having the volume suddenly shoot up to +0 is very dangerous and can hurt your ears. I simply do not like the sound quality. I realize many audiophilles prefer the "neutral" sound but I think they will find that it just is not consistent sound. The Logic 7 is nice but let's face it, the AVR 500 is nowhere near the $6000 Lexicon controller. Vmax isn't bad but straight stereo still sounds better. I would recommend a Rotel and even a Yamaha over the Harman Kardon. My personal three favorite receivers are rotel, marantz, and yamaha.

Adam
desertravager@aol.com

Similar Products Used:

Marantz, Rotel, Yamaha, Sony, Onkyo, Pioneer, NAD, and Denon.

nice look

clicking on volume increase with remote

I owned avr75 for 2 years and decided to upgrade it. THe AVR75 perform great no defect and I decided to take the risk to upgrade to AVR 500. I sold the AVR75 for $271 and bought AVr500 for 329+41 .So this is a $100 upgrade for me. Now that I got the AVR500. Its stinks. The volume clicks when increases using the remote. The pro logic and 3 stereo were faint, barely can hear anything. AVR 75 done better jobs on the pro logic.

However, the Logic and theather mode are great, Good power compare to the AVR 75.

Similar Products Used:

avr75

Sounds great...when it's working

very unreliable

I bought an AVR65 in August of '99. After a few months of dealing with the ridiculous amount of video interference, I wrote to HK to complain. After they suggested some ways of fixing the problem and they all failed, they replaced it with an AVR500.

My video interference problem was solved, but after 11 months, the sound would cut out randomly. I took it to get fixed and it was fine for a few months, but now it's happening again, except worse this time. I again complained and I'm getting upgraded to the AVR510. At least the customer service people are reliable. Too bad their hardware isn't. I've never had a HK receiver work for more than 11 months at a time.

When this unit is working, I have no complaints. It sounds great for movies and music. Each source has it's own memory for speaker levels/surround mode/delay/subwoofer etc. and that's very handy. If only the build quality were better...

Power, clarity, features and looks -

Remote, faint clicking in surround speakers with volume change -

After reading the reviews I had mixed emotions about this unit. But so far I am 100% satisfied with my purchase. The main reason I ended up with this unit is becouse I found it for $309.00 on Ubid - at that price I couldn't resist. I have had it for about a month or so now and it has performed wonderfully. This was a refurb unit so I may be in luck with regards to the volume and shutting down problems other people have had. I absolutly love the sound of this unit - it is a very "warm and detailed" sounding compared to several other units I have used that tend to get "harsh and bright" when pushed hard. I am only using the power from the H/K in Theater modes(DTS/Etc..)
As far as two channel operation (CDs/DAT/Etc...)I am using this as a pre-amp for my Carver 1.5t amp.
System:
H/K AVR500
Carver 1.5T Amp (for two main speakers)
H/KFL8530 CD
JVC 701 DVD
JVC S-VHS VCR
Sony SAT. A4
Infinity RSIIIB 1988 (Main)
Energy AC-300 Center
Energy RVSS Surrounds
Custom made 12" 250Watt Sub.

Overall: The remote could be better and there is a faint click with volume changes but - for the price I paid - I can't really complain.

If I had paid full price:
Value : 3
Overall : 4

Similar Products Used:

Sony ES, Denon, Kenwood(old), Carver, Yamaha

Awesome sound,

Horrendous manual, no component video swithcing, built quality

I bought this receiver approximately 2 month ago to replace onkyo tx 919. My first impression was very positive. Bass was tight and treble was amazingly clear. This receiver sounded good both music and home theater. I was not very impressed with build quality of this unit though. A volume know have very cheap feel. I was going to keep this unit this receiver started to acting up. It had a volume fluctuation problem everyone described and I came upon this site and read everybody had some serious problem with this receiver. Next day, I returned this unit to Circuit City. Shame that receiver sound this good have such a horrendous reliability.

5 stars for awesome sound quality, but overall I have to give 2 stars because of reliability problem.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo TX 919 THX

Great sound; Lots of features.

None.

I tried out the Denon AVR 3300 and this Harman Kardon AVR 500, and I thought that the Denon AVR 3300 sounded just a little bit better (as do most people who review that receiver), but since it overheated right there in the store, it made my decision quite easy. My system is this Harman Kardon AVR 500 receiver, a pair of Boston Acoustics VR 950 speakers, and a Harman Kardon HD 720 CD player. This is a stereo system, I don't use it for a home theater. Anyways, it's a great receiver. It was easy to setup, the remote control is easy to understand, and it isn't visible right on the receiver, but there's lots of different stereo modes. So far, I have been running this receiver all day long without any overheating or sound quality problems. I have only had this receiver for like a week, but in this time I have experienced no issues with the build quality of this receiver and it seems like a solid-built receiver. If you have any questions, email me at emile@amirsaleh.com.

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR 3300

Power, Clarity, Looks

I love this unit - plenty of power, great sound, very crisp and clear!

Very easy to set up - everything is right to the point. Not to many bells and whistles.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Denon, Kenwood