I had so much trouble with my avr 65 that I returned it for a refund.

Have had the second AVR-65 now for about 4 months. The first had the hiss and the hum problems.
This one is great. I thought it had vertical stripes on my Toshiba but it turned out that the problem was bad MONSTER 2 video cables.

I have Legacy SIG IIIs for front speakers and JBL and JAMO dipoles for the rears (run together) I also have a VMPS Larger sub (thank you Brian Cheney) for the Basement frequencies.

Well just for fun the other day I wanted to see if this reciever could ROCK (I'm 50) so I put on Howard Stern's album cut two "The Great American Nightmare" and did a 180 with the volume knob.

65 watts never sounded so strong. Kickin HARD!

But get ready, I just received a Carver 5 channel AV705X (125 x 5) and I plan to BI AMP. Thats a strong 65 watts to the penthouse (uppers) and 125 too the WOOFS. Don't come to my house unless you want to "KEEP it REAL" were talking dynamics here.

Should be kicks. But in any event. The new AVR65s are really a great value since you can pick them up for between $699 and $799 almost anywhere. They already sound HUGE and if you want to heat the big GUNS, do what I did and add some more STOVE.

I gave a review back shortly after I got the first 65 (from the bad batch) which wasn't so favorable this one is all the way.

Buy one, Buy an extra 3-5 channel amp, warn the neighbors and let it LOOSE.

John Casler

Just received the avr65 and i loved it. I did receive a late model manufactured in march of 99 with a serial number above 10000, so i believe hk fixed all the problems other people had. The only flaw which is minor is i wish it had more digital inputs. Other than that absolutely AWESOME !!!!!!!!!

I've had my AVR-65 for a few months now, and am quite pleased. ~$700 for this receiver is a steal.
Until I saw this site, I didn't know I should look for any problems, etc., but when I listen to CD's with the surround switched off, I do hear a noise from the center channel IF I PUT MY EAR UP AGAINST THE SPEAKER. 6" back it is inaudible. Jeez, we're talking about a sub-$1000 piece of equipment, not a 5 figure high-end one!

My only single complaint is the lack of digital inputs, but I can't take off points because I knew that when I bought it...

My hope in writing this review is that anyone shopping for a receiver, and considering the H/K, will run (don't walk) away from this piece of junk. I had my first unit (s/n10,000). The hissing/humming/static are gone, the bass management works properly, and it accepts banana plugs (still cheapo binding posts), BUT:-In standby mode, it still won't let the sub power down, and the display still bleeds light.
-About 1 in 5 times using the receiver, no signal is sent to the sub in analogue mode. To turn the sub-out on, I have to switch to DVD and play a disc to the point the 5.1 kicks in, then switch back to my analogue source. (Turning the receiver off and on again doesn't work)

It seemed attractive to me when I traded my old Yamaha RXV992 against this unit, to move 'up' to mid fi from mass, market; to get more 'quality', and less gizmos for the money. I made a huge mistake not researching this unit (and H/K in general) first. It is a nice sounding unit, but certainly no nicer than a Yamaha RXV2095 (which I intend to replace the H/K with). Save yourself the heartache and headache, and avoid this unit like the plague. There are a few people out there reporting good luck with this unit, but I think they are the exception, and not the rule. There are many better choices in this price range.
I would rate this unit 0 if I could.

This is a great AV Reeicver. Using this receiver I just don't understand how people can live without the Crystal DSP chip with its auto-detection of audio signal. With other receivers you have to press the DTS or Dolby Digital button on the remote to or on the unit it self to hear what is coming through. Also On screen display with S-video, 6-channel input, Multi-room and a nice illuminated remote. I liked this receiver even before it came out on the market. I waited a little while before I purchased it so some bugs could be fixed in it. This receiver is also a good Pre-amp if you need more than 65 watts. The amp in the AVR65 is very powerful and sounds great. I also like the fact that you can fine tune every different input and sound event, which just shows that this receiver was built for audio excellence and convenience. It is user friendly if you Read the book and it is very easy to use. This Deserves 6 stars but you can only give 5. If you have had problems with your AVR-65 get them fixed they are great when they aren't broken. AVR-65 s/n is 8305

Even after reading all the negative reviews on this site (mostly on old models), i decided to purchase the AVR65 after listening to comparable products by yamahaha and sony ES. the sound the HK produced was much richer, especially for music. you can really crank it up with no distortion, it stays crystal clear! i felt dd and dts were noticeably better also, after comparing all 3 side by side. go listen for yourself, i think you will hear the difference. i also liked the fact it didnt have 30910292 useless DSP modes.
the few negatives are that its a pain to program, and the remote is a bit dodgy (the codes only work some of the features for my cd player and dvd). but since i plan to get a universal remote, im not too concerned about that and wont deduct.

My serial number was 10k +, so i have no hum, interference problems which was a major relief! Purchased for 715 shipped at shop4.com, at that price how can you go wrong? it was 350 more at circuit sh*tty.

if you are lookin for the best sound quality for movies & music for 700-800 bucks, this is the receiver to get. (just make sure its a high serial number! :)) highly recommended!

This is one of the Best AV Reeicvers on the market today. Using this receiver I just don't understand how people can live without the Crystal DSP chip with its auto-detection of audio signal. With other receivers you have to press the DTS button on the remote to hear DTS. Also On screen display with S-video and a 6-channel input and Multi-room and a nice illuminated remote. I liked this receiver even before it came out on the market. This receiver is also a good Pre-amp if you need more than 65 watts. The amps are very powerful and sound great. I also like the fact that you can fine tune every different input and sound event, which just shows that this receiver was built for audio excellence and convenience. It is user friendly if you read the book and it is very quick when you get used to it. This Deserves 6 stars but you can only give 5 darn. If you have had problems with your AVR-65 get them fixed they are great when they aren't broken. My AVR-65 s/n is 8365

Currently using the unit as a pre,hometheater processor. I have been totally happy with the purchase. Compared unit to Denon 3200,Nak av10, Onkyo 656, Yam 995,and some others. For the price of $750-the H/K cannot sonically be matched. Have a listen for yourself.
Sytem:

Mirage M3si speakers
Sunfire amp
Rotel 971 cd
Toshiba 3109 DVD
Hk AVR65
Energy es10 sub
DH labs cables and interconnects

Just recieved my HK AVR-65. I did a lot of research on this as I make a receiver purchase only about every five years or so. Yes there were problems in the early models of this receiver with interference and such. It is all fixed now. I have the 65 about two feet from the television and no problems at all. This is a great sounding receiver. The first DVD I watched I heard things that I never heard with my earlier DD receiver (Kenwood). The sound is crisp and clear. The only thing that is really a wish than a problem is there is no sub level button on the remote. The Kenwood remote had a button that with one touch you could adjust the sub volume, thats a nice feature. THe 65 remote can do it but it takes two or three steps. I can program it with a Pronto remote though so it dosn't make too much difference. Anyway this is a great receiver.