I have owned this receiver for almost 20 years, using it almost daily over that time. I got it at a discount, because it was a demonstration model. It offers very good sound quality even with demanding speakers such as the Apogee Slant 6. Sure, a dedicated high quality amp such as a McCormack does better, but at a much higher cost. I have had no trouble receiving local radio stations, and have been very happy with this receiver, apart from the weaknesses listed below.

Reliability was a problem for the first four or five years of ownership, and I have. deducted a star because of this. I was fortunate in having bought an extended warranty, since the receiver required several hundred dollars of repair over that time. Twice, the volume control had to be fixed (trying to turn the volume down with the volume knob was more than likely to have the opposite effect), and once the power supply had to be repaired due to making a loud buzzing sound. It has functioned flawlessly for the past 15 or so years, though.

Analog bass treble and balance Salt Lake power to the rear channels full frequencies for my vintage 12-inch woofer stereo speakers

If you are 5-10 develops a helmet about 5 years and same for All These Guys these days just not quite the HK that was made in the United States

Does anyone know where? of If I can plug in a turntable??

Thanks

Looks

Horrible in getting their produce fixed. 9 months for the DVD player.
Life span is short.
The worlds worst souce switching.
Sup-par performance. Lack of detail in sound.

The worst electronics purchase in my 38 years on this planet.
The 510 is a very nice looking amp, but it is UGLY on the inside.
Started off with the first 510 power supply dying the first day. Received a replacement from the store immediately.
The following years were pretty good. Then just within the past 4 months the death of an amp started.
The worst thing possible. A low hum showed up - no matter if anything was playing or not - always a hum.
Next the switching started acting up. Play a DVD - input selected to DVD - NOTHING. Choose something else and then go back and finally it would click in.
Of course one thing that irked me was the initial playing. The receiver would take its sweat time in playing your source. So you never actually hear the very beginning of - well - anything.
So I have let it take a dirt nap. Purchased an Onkyo (less then what I bought the 510 for). And found that the Harmon was horrible.
Stay away from the junk.
p.s. The 5 disk DVD also had troubles. The store was useless also.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo TXSR505
ASL stereo valve amp

Performs like it should.

Only complaint--volume knob(don't use)

I've read some of these reviews to my dismay. I've had only one problem with my receiver which is the volume knob. When I go to turn it up or down it usually goes up and up. The volume is now adjusted only with the remote now. Other than that, I am totally satisfied with the performance and quality. It runs my ns1000's just fine. I'm looking to expand my system and look forward to seeing how much more it will do for me.

Loud, clear, clean sound. It seems bomb proof to me (so far)

remote

I think from reading all of the other reviews that at some point Harman Kardon must have had a quality control issue. This condition may still exist. I guess I have been lucky because I have never had a problem with this unit, and I have put it under considerable stress. I have Axiom M80ti's connected to it. They have a lower impedence (4ohms) which pushes the amp much harder. It has never gone into protection mode even after hours of use. I did mount an external fan on top of the unit, which comes on when the unit itself comes on. Even so, I have cranked it up to levels probably not meant for human ears for any length of time and it still works perfect today. I am a little disappointed with the remote. It's ugly and initially it was a little hard to figure out. It does well with movies (especially DTS) also. It is always unfortunate when someone has a bad experience with a product that they expect to perform well. I feel from reading some of these other reviews that I dodged a bullett.

Returned calls as promised

See review WalkinDuce, Audiophile, from Tennessee After 8 weeks of waiting I called HK head office to complain. They contacted the service center and returned my call within a few days saying that the parts were in the shipping process. After another week passed I called the service center and was told no parts were received. I called HK and spoke to a supervisor and told him all that had been going on . He said he would check in to it personally. He returned my cal the next day and told me that they were out of the 510s and would send a better unit after receiving the old one back. I called the service center to have the old unit shipped back. A week passed and I called the service center they said the unit was shipped out a week ago and it should be back at HK. A call to HK and no unit .HK had heard the same story from the service center. HK said they were shipping out the upgrade unit next day air with a little bonus for the trouble. Well I am wondering if the hole problem wasn't with the service center in the first place. The unit arrived as promised and WHAT a BONUS!!! If this is this guys definition of "little" I would like to be on his "BIG Christmas List"! Any way it was worth the wait and phone calls. Thanks Harmon Kardon Dan Day

Sorry, can't think of any.

Simply does not work despite three trips to the Svce. Center.

An update on my AVR 510. I got it back after eight weeks of waiting. It ran fine! for about 10 minutes. Then, Voila, no sound out of the right front speaker. Hook up the ol' Realistic: everything works fine (HK blamed other components in my sound system). I called HK and they said that I should ship it to another "premier" service center in Calif. at my own expense. I have wasted enough time on this garbage. I am getting a Denon reveiver next.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo, Yamaha, Realistic

As others have said "Went it works and when you have it"

"Went it works and when you have it"

A couple of months after purchasing my unit and my bragging rights to friends and my brother (who tried to get me to by a ONYKO like his that he still has) died down so did my unit. First was the memory. The unit would not hold speaker settings. Then the FM .I was only receiving sound from the right channel. Then the joy in having a new Home Theater Amp, which is setting in a repair shop 100 miles from home where it has made a new home for the past seven weeks! To save from hearing the “ I told you so” I have been avoiding my brother for the past seven weeks! In light of all this I had to pull out old reliable a 6-year-old Radio Shack (Pioneer made) AVR. After the pain of hooking all the speakers and components up I realize that the sound, clarity and DD 5.1 separation coming through the Klipsch was well worth the trouble .Is there still a problem with the unit ? If so could I get a replacement ? I have told the repair shop of this problem . I hope that this matter can be resolved , I have run out of excuses to my brother. Thank You Dan Day

Similar Products Used:

"Old reliable"Optimus STAV-3690

build quality sound, features.

some components could be better no thx certification, is that bad?

This review is for the avr5000 the euro version of the avr510. Lets start of by saying that as far as reliability goes these units are at best somewhat better than the competition in some areas and not so in others. Being a tech with many years exp in audio i can say that im pleased with this units overall build and simple layout, but you can see where Harman didnt spend , such as cheaper surfacemount components etc. All audio manufactures are doing the same thing in order to stay competitive. The sound quality is good with fine detail and enough power, and Harman recievers are always rated below their actual wattage ratings ,but some features could be better .Most other manufactures give inflated wattage measurements to sell the product , but with Harman you get what you pay for, and thats not bad. I drive b&w604s3 with this unit but find myself going back to a simple 2 channel amp for real audio, (pioneer a-757) not available in north america, for music but stick with the Kardon for dvd etc. heres my equip Avr5000 pioneer a-757 B&W 604s3 front B&W surround 2 yamaha subs pioneer dvd/cd sony es deck EQ 30 band

Similar Products Used:

pioneer, yamaha, marantz, uher reference, technics, denon, bryston.