Beautiful crisp, clean, warm, detailed sound. High power output (don't let 70 watts x 5 fool you!). Excellent in both music and home theatre modes. Wonderful looks, and build quality since moving away from Chinese construction.

Being picky.....needs a front display dimmer, and better remote.

This is definately the leader in its class, followed by the new Yamaha RXV1200. The Yamaha is a killer receiver for home theatre, but lacks the HK's music ability (just).
I think (hope!!!) HK have solved their quality problems which were threatening to sink a great product lineup with poor chinese build quality. For their sake I hope there is no repeat of the terrible quality glitches that have plagued the range.
I fell in love with this receiver after many painful hours of trying to decide on a new receiver. I nearly went with the Yamaha for the assured quality, but changed my mind after hearing about HK's recent attempts at boosting build quality by moving away from building these units in China.
The incredible sound, and home theatre capabilities of the HK will impress for hours. I just hope the unit is reliable!!!!. So far...so good.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo, Denon, Yamaha, and Marantz

Great sound with little tonal distortion, great remote (especially the built in decible meter), very good connectivity options.

Component video cannot pass a high bandwidth signal, inputs and outputs are not gold plated, lack of an A/B speaker switch when using surround sound

This is a stylish, well built receiver that rivals any I have heard in its price range. True it doesn't push that many watts but the sound is smooth and load enough even for large listening areas. My friends always comment on how it looks. The remote is well thought out and backlit for viewing in the dark. The built in decible meter makes set-up a breeze. It adjusts the levels for you with near perfect accuracy. It lacks a true A/B switch for those of you who want multizone goodness but does include a second zone remote. The build quality is very good and I have had no complaints since I've been using it for almost 6 months. I listened to the Integra unit and it did get louder and could pass a high bandwidth component video signal but for $600 more. I like the front A/V S-video input (which is switchable to an output if need be!). The interface is strait forward and each parameter can be set differently for each input and output. This makes it a long process to set up the receiver but worth it once you are through.

Overall, The receiver offers good sound quality with lots of features for a reasonable price. The 510 skips out on a couple of features but has many most other receivers lack. I would recommend the 510 or 7000 to anyone looking for a good quality receiver that has the patience and savyness to operate and set it up. Its a great receiver.

Similar Products Used:

Denon 3300, Onkyo 787, Integra 7.1

More power than I'll ever possibly need. High current puts out great sound even at low levels

My back, manhandling this thing on top of my Mits WS-65857

Hey don...sorry bro. After hearing what I've heard, I'd GLADLY pay the shipping.

Man, all I can say is WOW. My Kenwood had some power, but this thing has power and DETAIL. Still haven't turned it up all the way, but -15 db was PAINFUL. I was running it through Klipsch Quintets/KSW10 and had the police show up...TWICE. I've since upgraded to the Klipsch Reference series (and closed all the windows), and man...I was listening to a London Philharmonic recording of Mozart in DTS and you could hear people BREATHING...you could hear them moving around in their chairs! If you can get a deal on this receiver, BUY IT. Logic7 and VMAX are fine, but I pretty much listen to all music on 2 channels. From Ozzy to Vivaldi, I really sense that I'm hearing everything.

But for movies, this unit shines. Hook it up to some good speakers, and you won't ever want for more. I'm watching my entire dvd collection all over.

Dave--regarding DTS. I had (what I thought was) the same problem, but it turns out that DTS tracks are intentionally less bass than DD tracks. I calibrated DTS with DVD Platinum and DD with Avia. I had to split the sub output pretty widely off 0 between the two , but I don't have to readjust for it now. I find the DTS bass to be more accurate, the DD bass more boomy.

I can't say enough good things about this receiver.

My gear:
Mitsubishi WS-65857 HDTV
HK AVR 510 Receiver
HK DVD 50 DVD/CD/MP3 changer
Pioneer CLD-D704 Laserdisc player
JVC HR-S4600U SVHS deck
Echostar 6000 HDTV Tuner
Klipsch RF-3II Fronts (biwired)
Klipsch RC-3II Center (biwired)
Klipsch RS-3II Surrounds
Klipsch KSW12 Subwoofer
4 Aura Bass Shakers (2 in each couch), powered by a cheapass Radio Shack 50-watt receiver with a busted tuner

Similar Products Used:

Old Sony DPL, Kenwood VR309

Sound and Amplifier quality are out of this world, and really very powerfull. Replacing a Sony 1991-year receiver rated at 100W/ch and the HK blows it away..............totally.

Slow rate of increase in volume when volume knob rotated.....forgive me, but I thought "crank it up" meant only ONE crank.....

This is an awesome piece of equipment.

I am driving almost-profesional grade JBL speakers with this receiver and it is just flawless - seems to introduce nothing extra into recordings or broadcasts, is a very "quiet" amp - no background noise at all, it reproduces every intrument's sound astinoshingly accurately, remote is fairly intuitive to learn after you read the direstions.

I really like this receiver -- it transformed my system from a good one to an excellent one.

Similar Products Used:

System:

Receiver: HK AVR520
Ancillaries: CD (HK) and DVD (Toshiba)
Speakers: Fronts - JBL S312, Rears - JBL L100. B speakers - JBL LX44 and L19.

great sound

first i had gotten an avr 500 ,sound was outstanding but had gotten interference with other equiptment,then i got the 510 from ubid it was in terrible shape, called harman kardon ,outstanding customer service, they sent me another avr510 immediately after i sent them my 510,it took a little of time to tweak ,but to get the best soungd from my sub i raised the decibels of the sub in the menu, to get the most out of dynamics i raised the bass and the treble on the front panel,compared to the pioneer this receiver blows it away in every way,power is at least what it states if not more.it just needs to be tweaked to get what you want out of it.the sounds great and along with customer service im more then happy, i also compared it with an onkyo 595 and id say this is a little stronger and much more dynamic

Similar Products Used:

pioneer 608

inputs and outputs, main pre- amp ins and outs ,soild bass and clear highs. on screen menu. Tone control will the DD or Analog sources. Front jacks can change from inputs to outputs.

remote hard to program other brands. Must return to the AVR button for volume adjust of receiver when using DVD or CD other sources.

Sound and Vision rated good but said lacking great sound at high volume. Did not hear this in my room, plenty loud and clear. If you see one at great price get it. With main amp ins & out puts you can add higher power amps if ever needed. The unit is one of the better looking unit for todays homes. I am running a 400 cd and 200cd ,cdr,8mm deck,hifi deck,tape deck ,dvd and m/d off this unit with t.v.Can change in input to opt ,coax or analog. 5 stars for overall because of the HDTV systems book say will past the signal, but for the best look go direct. The price is what makes the unit. Friends will think youpaid more than you did beause of the looks and sound.

Similar Products Used:

pioneer and Yamaha.

inputs and outputs, main pre- amp ins and outs ,soild bass and clear highs. on screen menu. Tone control will the DD or Analog sources. Front jacks can change from inputs to outputs.

remote hard to program other brands. Must return to the AVR button for volume adjust of receiver when using DVD or CD other sources.

Sound and Vision rated good but said lacking great sound at high volume. Did not hear this in my room, plenty loud and clear. If you see one at great price get it. With main amp ins & out puts you can add higher power amps if ever needed. The unit is one of the better looking unit for todays homes. I am running a 400 cd and 200cd ,cdr,8mm deck,hifi deck,tape deck ,dvd and m/d off this unit with t.v.Can change in input to opt ,coax or analog. 5 stars for overall because of the HDTV systems book say will past the signal, but for the best look go direct. The price is what makes the unit. Friends will think youpaid more than you did beause of the looks and sound.

Similar Products Used:

pioneer and Yamaha.

Dolby Digital, DTS, sound is good.

Remote sucks, quality

This is the first HK product I have owned, and it will be the last. The build quality is poor. On the outside it looks great but if the inside of the reciever looks anything like the inside of the remote it I don't expect this product to last very long. The Remote stopped working after about 2 months. It never worked right to begin with. I took it apart and cleaned up the poor solder and flux residue and it has worked fine ever since. A couple of the front panal lights are dim but the receiver works. Anyone who would buy this reciever because of the "high current" operation has been smoking the wrong weed. If you think this reciever's 70 Watt output is going to be any louder than another 70 Watt reciever you are smoking crack.

Power, crisp clarity

Too busy looking

I was given the 510 last year for Christmas. I was never able to get the DTS to work (lights just kept flashing with no sound) So about 4 months ago I took it in to get fixed. They kept it for so long that when they realized they could not fix HK Support agreed to send me the new AVR 520. And let me tell you..... after unhooking my old AVR20 a turning on the 520 (along with my HK DVD 50) I was impressed. Especially since I have sold my old speakers and have been using some Bose 201's, which I consider very sub par speakers. But even with the Bose the sound is very pure and clean. I'm very happy with the product and major kudos to Harman Kardon Customer Support.

Similar Products Used:

AVR 20

done like a true yoot. dis ting come an jam to 7am wit all mi bredren. we jump aroun to di sound of cutti, ninjaman, an some a dat rude boy ariginal bob marley.

nuff pleasure an no complaint pun dis yoot

di custama service come dun an service all dem ting quikly and promptly. day ar ariginal truu yoots
talk like a champion, walk like a champion
pure gunn clappa, pop pop pop

Similar Products Used:

yamaha an denon