The Digital options for the DVD player

As a bunch of others have stated.... RELIABILITY

I don't know why all you others have given such a high rating for such a piece of crap. I bought the AVR500 aproxinately 3 weeks ago. I purchased an open box special at Circuit City. I used to have an early 80's model stereo receiver (my friend in Florida still has it)and had no problems with it what so ever. Well this one just went out on me yesterday. The DVD was the only thing working on it. None of the analog selections would work. I exchanged it for the same model and hooked it up. Went through and set everything the way I wanted it again and again the Digital DVD was the only selection working properly. The analog selections had about 20% of the volume that the first one I bought had. I know it is not my speakers or other components since the DVD was working. The radio, which is internal, also only had about 20% of the volume. The cheap $100 boom box in my bedroom was louder than my $800 home theater receiver. If the damn thing worked like it should then I could see giving it a high rating but since it does not, I will be heading to Circuit City in about an hour to get my 3rd Onkyo receiver. The other Onkyo components I have had are still functioning like new. I guess I should have read some reviews on here about the HK avr 500 here first, Oh well, live and learn.

Don't let these other peoples reviews let you think this receiver is worth anything. Until Harmon Kardon fixes this problem (that they knew about) their reputation has been seriously put on the line.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo

Good 2 channel stereo, great dynamic headroom via high current, dts and dd have excellent separation, bar none best amp for its price range

setup less than intuitive,slight transformer hum in the centre channel while in 2 channel stereo mode (I contacted HK and this in unavoidable due to the high current, it is inaudible from a few feet away, I just happened to move the centre channel while the unit was on and heard it)

I just got rid of a complete mission cyrus system. I loved the accuracy and musicality of the Cyrus. However, it was time to get into home theatre. I bought an NAD 760 first because I assumed this would be the best way to ensure I didn't loose totally musicality and mid-range in 2 channel stereo. I don't like to bash other manufactures, but I have never returned a piece of audio gear for a full refund before in my life. The NAD was a huge let down.
Back to the HK.
Know that I have my DVD Tosh3109, complete Monitor audio silver 5 setup I was ready to listen.
2 Channel stereo is very good however lacks just a touch in the mid-range, however overall it is very musical. The closest to NAD I have heard.

Dolby Digital and DTS blew me away. This amp really has a tonne of headroom, and the seperation is extremely impressive. In 5.1 mode the detail is just awesome considering what I paid for this amp.

I have read alot of complaints about the volume clicks. If you are not use to a digital volume control I could see how this might be annoying. However, many high end audio compents do this. Its no big deal.

There is very little I didn't like about this product. I am very picky when it comes to audio gear and thus far extremely happy with this unit.

(I am 99% sure that this issue posted below is software related, however worth investigating)
However, I am seeing one particular problem and have yet to solve. Perhaps someone reading this might have the answer. Whenever I play Saving Private Ryan in DTS every once in a while some or all of the speakers start making a weird static sound (This is the only DTS I have tried). It is as if the data from the dvd has become corrupted.
Thus far this is what I have been told from HK and Toshiba. HK believes it is the signal from the DVD or the cable (so i bought kimber digital coax) Problem still there. Toshiba claims that they have seen numerous problems with the Dolby Digital Saving Ryan and that perhaps the DTS version is messed up as well. All I know is that I wish I could determine the source of the problem. The avr-500 has never done this with any of the other disks I have tried but they have all been dolby digital. Anyway, if you have experienced this please email me.

Until I find out what is causing the above problem I give the amp a 4.5, however if it is determined to be the DVD or the Softeware the avr500 is easily a 5/5 in its category.

Similar Products Used:

compared to denon, nad, nakamichi (sony, kenwood, pioneer really aren't in the same league at this price sorry!)

Clean and powerful, great channel seperation, and great dsp

remote

I purchased the HK 500 at my local CC after returning a defective Onkyo 676 (Humm and Hiss). I went in to the store and listened to the HK and I was very impressed. I even more impressed after having it at home for about 6 weeks the Logic 7 is great for music. This reciever has less fluff than many of its competiors but it has it where it counts build quality and sound quality. I personally do feel that you can get a better sounding reciever for the money.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo 676 , Pioneer vsx-21

cheap

All

To anyone thinking about getting one of these from UBID, I would not recommend it. Analog is the only way to get any sound out of mine at all, we'll just have to see how ubid or HK takes care of it.

Similar Products Used:

technics, sony

cheap

All

To anyone thinking about getting one of these from UBID, I would not recommend it. Analog is the only way to get any sound out of mine at all, we'll just have to see how ubid or HK takes care of it.

Similar Products Used:

technics, sony

Excellent sound quality for music and movies.Nothing will touch it for $625 to $650.

The remote is the SL8000 Universal remote but the SL9000 is much better, but its workable. Setup not as intuitive as some other units. Really have to use the on screen menu to setup.

The 3300 is a very fine unit but has some drawbacks. No digital outs and only one coaxial in. The Onyko I just didn't like for sound or otherwise. The Sony is a top Value and is pretty good for HT but not as good at music.

Now lets talk about the AVR500. I've read some interesting stuff about HK. They sure have their share of fans as well as foes. Their past problems have alienated them from many buyers and it's a shame because this AVR500 is excellent. The 2 channel stereo is detailed and smooth. The DD/DTS processing really kicks, but that should be a given with this technology by now. Where the AVR500 really sings is the LOGIC 7 for music and cinema, or L7M and L7C. At first the Onkyo and Denons 5 channel stereo blew away the LOGIC 7, but only because whoever set it up didn't know what a sound level meter was. Even at first glance of LOGIC 7 I didn't care for it, but after setting things correctly I LOVE it. Each mode has the ability to adjust settings very much like Denons personal memory plus. That is a fabulous feature and what I really like about the Denon. Hurrah for the AVR500. The LOGIC 7 Music properly calibrated sounds excellent. I now believe Lexicon actually had something to do with it! LOGIC 7 is great for prologic stuff I'm forced to still watch and occasionally I like surround music or 5 channel. Bottom line is it still sounds very good in plain old 2 channel stereo and where I always start to test a unit. I will follow up later after the glow is off. BTW, everyones remotes suck so that not a reason not to buy. Buy it for the sound.

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR-3300, Onyko 575, Sony DB930 all in house!!

Tons of Features, Logic 7m and c, Clean/Crisp Power, Lifelike sound

Clicking sound from volume adjustment

I just got this receiver this week. Although I haven't hooked a DVD player up to it yet, I look very forward to. Upon hooking the unit last night to my Paradigms (monitor 9's and cc350), Bose surrounds, I threw in a CD right away (as I couldn't resist using it before I set all the channels up). I don't pretend that I know all there is to know about home audio/theater, as I really don't, but I can't tell you how much I fell in love with this receiver instantly. WOW! In Logic 7M mode, I almost wet myself when I heard the fullness, especially from the surrounds. I couldn't believe the "live" feeling that was portrayed in my living room. I swear I was right in concert. I've never heard such a sound before. After the CD, I threw Face Off in the VCR and experimented with different sound fields. I'll never again listen to something in Dolby Surround...you can take that to the bank. Logic 7C was again, incredible. Switching back and forth between DS and Logic 7c was like night and day. VMax (I didn't play around with a lot) really seemed to bring out the base and sounded fine, but didn't hold a candle to the 7c. Again, I just installed the receiver last night, so I have a lot of critiquing to do, but my first impression was awesome. I hate to retire my AVR20 (I had it for over 4 years and never had an ounce of problems), but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
I bought the receiver from Onecall.com and got a steal on it. I paid 619.00 w/3-day fedex included...what a deal! I also got great prices on the unit from Idaho Multimedia and Hifi.com. They both came within a few dollars of onecall. If you buy one from onecall.com, let 'em know I sent you...they have a nice referral program (thanks).
I look forward to writing in again when I get my DVD player, as I'm sure I'll have the same opinion on the receiver then. Plus, I can use my second writeup to offset the idiotic reviews Rodney left and bring the ratings back up where they should be!

Very clean sound and great styling. I haven't heard another receiver that can come close at the $700 price-point.

poor remote design....annoying clicking noise while adjusting volume at the knob (somethin I do *at least* once a month).

A great receiver for this amount of money. I would recommend this receiver to anyone looking to build their first HT system. Only reason that I did not give a 5-star over-all was the remote control, a poor interface design at best.

Power, Clarity, adjustability, features

Remote

Well, i dont know what the heck these last two guys are doing with there receivers but they must be playing football with them before setting them up. how the heck are the breaking them. besides that they are personally tested before leaving the factory. I mean cmon, this is one of the best receivers on the market.
If you have something wrong with crappy components running through the receiver then dont blame it on the receiver! you have got to be kidding.
I am running my DVD through this baby onto my Sony Vega and i love this thing! Sometimes it is like looking at a photograph.
Let me put it to you this way, i can turn my AVR500 full blast with no distortion! Yes I said FULL BLAST! this is incredible! i can watch a movie at 3/4 volume with no hissing or feedback. in between scenes it is completely silent like nothing is even turned on and them booooooooooom! explosions and Surround sound that shakes the whole damn house! in fact, watching a movie at full volume is not even possible. i would be deaf in a couple weeks.
If you are having issues with video and sound then maybe you should get some real components and some good wiring. i did not cut corners on anything. why buy an awesome receiver like this and hook up crap to it! it doesnt make sense. my wiring alone cost as much as my receiver.
If you do your research and match everything correctly you are going to enjoy one of the most incredible sounding receivers on the market. maybe BOB should have looked at the DVD's surface to make sure there was no mud on it from the football game he played with it. hmmm, a dirty DVD will screw up your video to! you might want to check that out!! Wipe off the fingerprints!!! i was playing Metallica DVD Cunning Stunts and it was so loud and clear that my roomate ran out of the room holding his ears! is that loud enough! oh, did i forget to say no distortion! get real! This receiver is worth every penny!

Similar Products Used:

AVR65, Onkyo

Ed,

Both the AVR65 and the AVR 500 have significant problems. It is a fact of life. Let it go and listen to the unbiased reviews of the listeners. Whether or not the units are tested prior to shipping has little or nothing to do with the reliability, dependability and durability of the product in question. In the case of the AVR 65 (my prior unit), the unit exhibited no problems upon initial set-up and was free of any sound anomolies or video breakups. All the problems I experienced did not occur upon initial setup, rather they became problems one-at-a-time in months 5,7,9,etc.

If you don't believe the problem I am having with the AVR500 with regard to the video choppiness with any video source run through the receiver, than answer the following question: Why did HK switch to the AK 4393 D/A Converter and and SCR in the AVR 7000? ANSWER: To eliminate the video choppiness due to intereference found in the crsytal DSP found in all the other home theater receivers they produced!

The following is from the HK Press release dated January 6 2000 and may be found on HK's web site under press releases. "The AVR 7000 untilizes the newly developed AKM AK 4393 D/A Converter, a leading edge 24 bit, 96 kHz DAC that utilizes AKM's innovative multibit delta-sigma technology to achieve a remarkable 120 dB dynamic range, an improvement by a factor of two over the best previously available stereo DAC. The AK4393 also incorporates a 24-bit, 8X digital filter, a Switched Capacitor Filter (SCR) in the input stage to dramatically reduce jitter-induced sonic degredation, plus additional refinements for the highest possible fidelity from the digital output of a DVD or CD player, with audio performance comparable to the best professional DAC's."

HK basically changed converters because the previous version was a piece of garbage. What happened to the Crystal DSP? DEAD!

Ed, You wanted to know about the components used with my system:

CABLES: MIT Terminator 5 Speaker cables. Infinity Overture 2's in front and Overture 1's for center and rear. Audioquest Jade RCA interconnects and Kimber Kable OPT1 TOSLINK Digital Cable, and AudioQuest CinemaQuest S-1 S-Video Cable.

COMPONENTS:
JVC Super-VHS VCR. (Works great and records great, except when run through the AVR 65 or AVR 500). Then the screen jitters.

Toshiba 2108 DVD player with DTS. Plays great jitter-free except when run through the AVR 65 or AVR 500.

Sony 5-Disc CD-player that I have never used with either the AVR 65 or AVR 500.

DSS Sattelite broadcast. Plays jitter-free through TV, except when played through the AVR65 or the AVR 500.

Just to let everyone know how bad the situation with HK is, consider the following: My initial call was regarding the jittery-screen with the AVR 65, they responded by asking me why I didn't just plug the S-Video from the DVD player directly into the TV and bypass the AVR 65 all togther. Then I said I have additional S-Video devices. The next response was a clear signal to me that HK was in a really bad way. The support representative at HK asked me why I could possibly need so many S-Video inputs. Duhh!

Examples of devices that utilize S-Video:

Sattelite
CABLE
DVD Player
Laser Disc Player
SVHS Player
VCR
Digital Camcorder
Computer Video S-Video Output

Anyways, it is crystal clear that the problems at HK are continuing along the path started some 18 months ago with the introduction of it's home theater line. I am simply here to warn the educated buyer that the problems with HK are very real and should not be ignored when investing a $1000 on any home theater component.

Please also note that I have included my e-mail and name within my review because what I say is all very true and I have nothing to hide.

Also, anyone in the Midwest who would like to hear these problems first hand, drop me an e-mail or call and you can come over and see and hear them first hand. I also have all of the e-mails and a detailed log of all the conversations and time I spent on the phone with HK. I also have names and numbers of service companies that have dropped HK due to lack of any response. Feel free to e-mail or call anytime.

Sincerely,

Richard Kalajian
(414) 915-3189