I purchaced my HK avr 65 in Febuary and love the sound it produces with excellent high and deep bass . Everything was great until I hooked it up to my television,there was terrible rf interferance no matter what I tried.I packed it up and returned it for and exchange.I couldn't wait till I received my new unit figuring I had obtained a fluke bad one.When the exchange finally arrived the first thing I did was to hook it up to the telivision and there it was, the same misserable rf interference.Both units were newer generation recievers and I would hazzard a quess that quite a few units are inflicted with this problem.Harman kardon needs to fix this problem before cranking any more units out.

I purchased an AVR-65 from www.sounddistributors.com. for $725.00. They told me it would be a perfect match for the Infinity speakers and Pioneer DVD I purchaed from them . The receiver sounds great. The only draw back was 1 digital input. But besides that it is clean, loud and plenty of power for me. I would recommend it to any one looking for a DTS receiver.

I purchased an AVR65 from Circuit City in December, SN7300). This one operates like a charm and sounds great. I use an older set of Optimus Mach III's for fronts, Optimus center speaker and Optimus Pro-77's for rear channels. Mach III's use horns for mid and high's and has 15 inch woofer. I also use a powered sub. I love the HK sound.....hear so much more than I did with the previous Pioneer..65 Watts is more than enough power, particularly since the Mach III's sensitivity is 93db. I also use slight equalization onhighs and lows to get the sound that I want in a room which has heavily padded furniture, carpet and acoustical tile ceiling. Both Pro-logic and AC-3 is above reproach. I enjoy light jazz, easy listening, big band and southern gospel music. All comes alive with this system! It was WELL worth going through the hassle to end up with a sound that this system has. By the way, you CAN choose "Large" front speaker designation and still use external sub out. Just set fronts first, then go to you sub settings. In spite of the problems with the first two receivers, I give the third one a resounding 5 Star rating...I don't think the sound nor performance can be topped.......(from a 60 year audio-
phile that calls himself an audio enthusiast!)
CC was great to work with.

Serial numbers greater than 07705 DO NOT have the hum/hiss problem. Serial numbers less than or equal to this number do have this problem if they do not have a green dot near serial number. My earlier message incorrectly said s/n greater than 07705 have the hum/hiss problem.
Also, just found out they now have a fix to video problem. They will soon provide information on a fix. Not all units have this video problem. The problem is related to customers that have outdoor antenna and some AC/DC problems.

I still consider this reciever over any other lower priced or higher priced reciever.

I'm still waiting for word on tracking/error correction problems with the HK 8550 CD player.

Let me say that I knew of the potential problems prior to buying this unit. I also knew about HK's excellent amps and with the flexibility built into this unit (6 ch in/out-DD/DTS), I went ahead and took a chance. I was not disappointed. Other than the cable tv interference, which can be managed with shielded cables, I have nothing but praise for this unit. I have heard some worry about "only" 65 wpc but...HK has always been conservative in their ratings and provided more than enough headroom to keep me from maxing this sucker out. It will play my Paradigm Studio 60's louder than I could ever wish for and never sound strained while doing it.
5 stars for sound, value and flexibility. Subtract one for the quality control and slow response to the troubles.

Recently purchased the AVR65 with the Infinity Overture speakers. The sound is AWESOME. I also ran into the video problems that some of the other posts mentioned but I managed to clear the problem by moving the coax cables away from the power cord of the AVR. This has worked well and I've had no problems since then. This is definitely a system to grow with and one I plan on keeping many years. A friend bought the AVR85 for his in home theatre and the sound is cinema quality. I really think a lot of the reviews I've seen are overly harsh. This is a solid receiver for home theatre and/or quality audio listening. The remote control is one of the best around...forget the Kenwood interactive or Sony two way unless you work for a battery company. It doesn't have the bells and whistles of the other systems out there just higher fidelity which is why I chose Harmon. There are better receivers out there but not in this price range.

I am posting this comment in hopes of belaying any more concern over the AVR65's problems in the past. I just purchased the AVR 65 from SoundCity on 4/24/99 for $699. They informed me that I would be getting a 2000 model (over 8000 serial number), so I felt better about my purchase. I received my product in three days and it came in two boxes with foam padding. After initial setup of the system (JVC 701-DVD player; Bose Acoustimass 5-speakers; Lenny Kravitz-CD; Deep Impact-DVD), which took only a few minutes, I was initially impressed by the CD sound with only the front channels. CD quality was rich and powerful and as I pushed the volume, the HK kept on coming without so much as a wince. I have a 2000 square foot apartment and I could clearly hear the sound throughout the apartment! As for the DVD, well, let's just say nothing needs to be said, you have to hear it for yourself. The Dolby Digital sound had both myself and my girlfriend turning our heads looking around, jumping in our seats, and in virtual amazement at the sound coming from this unit. It is truly phenomenal! I can't wait to hear a DTS soundtrack. Many people have been complaining about the lack of digital inputs (AVR65 only has 1 optical, and 1 coaxial), but for my purposes these are sufficient. For instance, I only have a DVD player that uses the optical right now, and I will use the coaxial input for my Satellite when I upgrade my unit to digital. Consequently, this is enough for those of you that don't have a CD player with digital outputs, and no Mini-Disc. In addition, I was really impressed with the remote unlike a few of you. Although I am not totally impressed with the layout of the remote per se, its utility outweighs that. The remote can handle every device I have (except for the DVD player), and all the buttons work for each device (CD, SAT, TV, VCR)! Finally, the 6.1 inputs afford enough upgradeability for the near future. In summary, I would just like to say if there is anyone out there who is concerned about the AVR65's previous problems...WORRY NO MORE! All you have to do is make sure that you get a model with a serial number over 8000, and that shouldn't be a problem if you order from Sound City.

HK HAS SOLD ALOT OF THESE UNITS BASED ON THE QUALITY AND REPUTATION OF THEIR LAST GENERATION OF PRODUCT. THE AVI 200 THAT I OWN IS SUPERB AND NOTHING IN ITS CLASS EVEN CAME CLOSE. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. I CAME ABOUT AN INCH AWAY FROM BUYING AN AVR 65 UNTIL I STARTED TO SEE THE MISFORTUNE THAT IT WAS BRINGING INTO THE LIVES OF THOSE WHO SHELLED OUT THEIR HARD EARNED DOLLARS ON IT. I THEN RUSHED OUT AND CHECKED ONE OUT FOR MYSELF AND GUESS WHAT----CENTER CHANNEL HISS IN STEREO MODE!!! IN DISBELIEF I SAID TO MYSELF "IT HAS TO BE THE WAY IT IS SET UP." BUT THAT WAS NOT THE CASE. THE OTHER RECEIVERS WERE FINE AND DID NOT HAVE THE PROBLEM. IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THIS COMPANY HAS TAKEN A SERIOUS NOSE DIVE IN QUALITY AND RELIABILITY. BY TALKING TO THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE NEW HK PRODUCT AND BY READING THEIR REVIEWS, YOU CAN SEE THAT THIS GEAR IS SO UNLIKE THE OLD HK THAT EVERYONE IS STILL IN DENIAL. THEY SAY "WHEN HK FIXES THE BUGS I AM GOING TO BUY ONE". I HAVE SAID IT MYSELF A FEW TIMES. I AM DISGUSTED TO SEE HOW BAD THIS NEW PRODUCT IS. I AM TO THE POINT OF CRINGE WHEN I HEAR THE WORDS HARMAN KARDON. IT SEEMS THAT A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THE UNITS ACTUALLY WORK RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX AND EVEN THEN WHO KNOWS FOR HOW LONG. THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!! I AM OFFICIALLY DONE WITH THIS COMPANY AND WILL NOT BUY ANY MORE OF THEIR PRODUCTS. IF THEY LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES AND GO BACK TO THE QUALITY BEFORE QUANTITY MENTALITY I MAY ONCE AGAIN CONSIDER THEM. UNTIL THEN, THERE WILL BE NO MORE HK COMPONENTS IN SYSTEM. SOME OF THIS GARBAGE THEY HAVE RELEASED WONT EVEN ACCEPT BANANA PLUGS!!! VERY SAD. SO LONG HK--FAREWELL.

Had one unit which caused TV interference. No buzzes or hiss though. Sent it back and got another. Same thing. I changed out my video cables and the interference went away. The one which caused most of my problems was the cable between the VCR and TV. I tried four different cables each varied in the amount of interference. Try different cables and it may help. You should't really have to do this but to live with the AVR65 you may have to. Experiment.
As to sound, no buzz, hiss, or hum. I have had it for about two months now and no problems. I previously had a Denon but the HK just sounds clearer on stereo and has more kick. This was the main reason I purchased it. MUSIC. As far as Dolby Digital/Prologic I think the DEnon and HK are close. Different but close. Five stars overall if not for the cable interference. The sound however is a definite five.

99% of all power BJT's and Mosfets costing over $0.20 have frequency ranges beyond 100KHz. Almost all-modern amplifier designs extend above 20KHz +-1dB without being published on their spec sheets. High current claim has little use since the way Harman Kardon rates this spec is not an industry standard.You will notice a 30lb HK receiver claiming "high current", yet Yamaha makes no such claim but their flagships out weigh the HK by over 25lbs. This is attributed to a superior power supply, more filtering capacitance, more heat sink area and # of discretes utilized in the amp design.
Yamaha receivers/int amps all have amplifiers, which produce ruler flat frequency response well beyond 20KHz. The same applies for flagships from Denon, Onkyo, NAD, etc.
Almost every A/V magazine that rates receivers always gives average ratings for HK products and rave ratings for Yamaha, Denon and Onkyo flagships. Check out home theater forum and Audio magazine and you will notice the Yamaha DSP A1 was rated from 20Hz to 50KHz +-.05 db. I have yet to see a HK amp rated this well.

You are caught up in the marketing of HK products. Most of their products such as the AVR 65 have such poor quality control and reliability that is it almost comical that people still buy them. Nightmares from Harman Kardon: AVI 200I, AVR 65, PA5800, FL3800. These are just some of their products which have serious design problems but HK pawns them of to J&R music world for great discounts.

It amazes me how so many people on here say " I will buy the AVR-65 when HK works out all the bugs" How can people stand for that. It is inexcusable. They didn't get it right the first time, would you trust them the second time around?

If humming, hissing, airplane sounds from the rear caused by cross talk defines good sound to you, then by all means continue to buy HK products and enjoy the tradition they follow, consistantly bad, unreliable products at high prices and excellent marketing. They are starting to sound alot like Bose. However, at least Bose products work.
No wonder HK products are sold exclusively at mass maket stores such as circuit city.