Good clean powerful sound. Good features.

Gets a little warm, remote doesn't support qquite enough brands.

Well, I've had the AVR 65 for over a year and have had none of the problems some others have spoken about. I had to buy and A/V receiver after I bought a DVD player; I just couldn't connect it to my old 2-channel tuner/amp. Mine was the last one in the store, a demonstration model that was in a listening room. As such it seems to have had the service bulletin complied with (though I didn't know to look for that at the time). It ran great from the moment I hooked it up and turned it on. Now I can't seem to stop upgrading my system. I've added better interconnects and upgraded my CD player.

I've cranked it up to louder than anybody should be allowed to in a residential area and still no distortion. It's never failed, except once, when I did a bad thing with a power bar and fried the microprocessor. Since I purchased the 5-year extended warranty, Circuit City fixed it at no charge. I'm still covered until May of 2004, but it took them nearly 3 weeks to repair it because of a parts order, etc. After the new processor was in I had to reprogram all of my preferences. That allowed me to get re-familiarized with all of the cool details about this unit.

At first I was concerned about the amount of heat this thing generates. Even when it's just at idle. But now I just make sure it gets good ventilation. No problems.

My main, however minor complaint is that the universal remote, while it can be programmed to operate a multitude of components from many manufacturers, doesn't have ALL of them pre-programmed. So my new CD player isn't supported. I even checked the latest receivers' users manuals and can't find any codes for Rotel hardware. I'm thinking of buying on of those cool learning remotes and I'll finally be able to put all of my remotes in the drawer.

Some people complain about silly things: "Only has one digital input." Or "It doesn't have all gold-plated contacts." First of all, it has two digital inputs, Mr. Observant. One is optical, the other, just below, is coax. Second, if you want more inputs, outputs, Watts, etc, get a higher model! Pay more, get more. That's how the equipment makers get you to upgrade; they offer more features in the higher models. Yeah, it'd be nice to be able to custom order you perfect receiver. Hmmm. 200 watts per channel (all channels driven). Instead of a remote, I want it to read my thoughts. I want 7 optical inputs, 5 coax digital imputs, 2 optical and 2 coax outputs, DTS, THX Certification, dedicated phono jacks, I'd like the case to be 1-inch-think charcoal-tinted Lexan. 16" wide 12" deep and only 3" high.

Also I notice that a large number of the dissatisfied folks decided to buy theirs from uBid. Well, duh. If you buy a used car from a guy in a plaid polyester suit, don't cry when it breaks down after 1500 miles.

I recently acquired an AVR65 through One Call. I was very wary of this product considering the recent complaints of hiss and hum. After talking with the rep at One Call I was pretty satisfied. He made it clear that the affected receivers that they had in stock had been fixed (they are an HK approved repair place, according to them)and that they also had some stock that was unaffected. There was no way to tell which one I would receive before hand. They would also exchange the receiver for another if I had problems. So I took the plunge.
I am very happy with my receiver. I have experienced no hum at all, and the only hiss I can hear is with the volume at about -5db or greater. I don't know if I should hear that hiss or not, but I don't listen to my music at that level, and I don't watch DVD's at that level, so I figure it's no big thing. The receiver was easy to set up and worked right away. The remote is a tad confusing initially, but it is definately workable. It was even able to control my TV, VCR, CD, and DVD player, now I only have 1 remote, not 5. The manual is a little bit skimpy, but it covered enough to get me going.

I never thought I would spend $700 on a receiver, but now that I have, I realize that it is worth it. It handles everything that I need it to. I have a VCR, DVD, CD, Tape, and TV all hooked up to my receiver with no problems. I highly recommend this receiver. Don't be fooled by the power rating of HK. Even though it only says 65watts, it puts out a hell of a lot more sound than the Sony receivers I saw that said 100-150 watts.

Make sure to get your receiver from a good source, and you will be happy. I was very happy with One Call and would recommend them as well.

Ease of use, once you read the manuel a couple of times

would be nice if they had a toll free help line

I have Mitsubishi 55 inch 16x9 widescreen digital, Mitsubishi DVD, Sony hi-fi vcr, Cerwin-Vega d-5 surrounds, Infinity ovtr-2 fronts, Polk audio cs400 center, and Polk subwoofer psw140 and the HK avr65,, I would put this system up against any in the world, it really does sound great!!!

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looked and listened to most receivers from major manufacturies

Sound Quality. Not too many useless features. Sound Quality. Oh yes, and Sound Quality ;-)

Plastic Faceplate. Unintuitive remote and OSD.

Great Receiver for the money ($600 at OneCall). Has no noise or hissing problems (Serial # >11000). DTS rules! Speaker binding posts DO accept banana plugs, just remove the little black plastic covers. Has just the right amount of features and sounds GREAT! Pick one up while they're cheap (new models just came out and the new AVR500 looks exactly the same except for more digital inputs)! The OSD and remote could be a little more clear, but the manual explains everything.

high heat, non-intuitive remote/menus, cheap knobs/front panel

this unit was a disappointment. I have an HK6500 integrated amp which is great. The AVR65 does not live up to the HK name. Is this unit a cheap imposter? my biggest compaint are the pops and crackles when pressing an input selector, and just random pops while playing a movie. It also seems to have hiss at -20db during quiet parts of a movie, this should not be, especially from a digital source.

remote is not that great, menus are clumbsy and not well thought out. The front panel is plastic and has a very cheap feel to it....i knew that when i bought it, but I spent the big cash for the electronics, which I discoverd are also cheap. spend your money elsewhere.

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HK6500

Great DD & DTS. Great stereo sound. Good all round receiver.
Good build qaulity.

Not enough digital inputs. No AC-3 RF in.

Not bad but I think there is better at the same price. The current stated for the output stage is 35 amps. I think 20 is more close. I changed the power supply capacitors to 18000uF each. There was 6800uF and 8200uf fitted.

This changed the sound tremendously. The bass control is better and the processing is more precise now.

All in all not bad. A little light on the digital input side. And there is still a lot of laserdisc software out there for H/K to ignore a AC-3 RF in.

I have had no trouble with interference and noise. No blow-ups or anything. My unit says made in China.

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Marantz & Pioneer

Sound quality

Product construction quality

I have now blown three different channels when powering this thing up (one, every month), requiring a new resistor, which is not avaialable. The repair shop had to use a cross over part, instead. I have sent it over to Spokane, to Huppin's Hi-Fi, to have a more competent repair done. I have had numerous conversations with Harman/Kardon, and I can say that for a number of reasons, I would not go near any of their products again. They sold warehouses full of defective equipment to U-Bid without making sure that the equipment was properly repaired before it was resold. I am considering a lawsuit against U-Bid, and Harman/Kardon for fraud.

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Yamaha

Simplicity - not overwhelming with unused features. Crisp and clean sound.

Had to change my video cables, but aside from that - none.

I am very pleased with the AVR 65. I purchased it simply to replace an aging AVR 20 (and I wanted the DTS). I have it hooked up nicely to a new HK DVD5, HK tape deck (yes, there are still tapes lying around my house), and a new Mitsubishi VS-50805 50" (premature wedding gift). I have had the AVR 65 for over a year now.

The only problem I have encountered is the RF interference while watching cable (but not with the DVD or VCR). Since I had it on two tv's and had already replaced the receiver while under warranty, I had all but given up on this issue, figuring that since I was in a new house, it must have had something to do with the cable lines. I came across this site and noticed that others were having the same problems, so I called (and emailed) HK. I got through to somebody after about 20 minutes on hold and he emailed me their solution immediately, stating that they had the same issue with the AVR 35 and 45.

Answer: Replace coax lines with RG/6 instead of RG/59. I thought that was silly since my RG/59 were high quality (hence overpriced) Monster Cable. About $19 later after my trip to Radio Shack (the only local retailer I could find who carried the RG/6), I put in the RG/6 cables and, low and behold, it COMPLETELY FIXED THE ISSUE!!! On top of this, they are also sending me the clip-on fix for the power cord.

End result: a very happy me. I found the support from Harman Kardon EXCELLENT (on my first Sony TV, I had tried, unsuccessfully to ask Sony this question) and the rest of the product features are flawless. I have even purchased the "take control" remote from HK. It may not be entirely worth the $350, but it is pretty cool to play with. Regardless of the HK bashers here, I would proudly buy another HK product as long as they continue with their current level of support!

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Yamaha, Sony

Great Sound

persistent quality issues from higher price reciever.

I got this unit from U-bid as a replacement for an AVR45 that they were supposed to provide me. I have the humming, and I squeezed a Service Bulletin (#H/K9805, REV.1 JANUARY, 1999) out of H/K that addressed that very issue, which requires two better fuses, and an extra ground. Since this was refurbished, I believe that the repair should have been done. Yesterday, I turned it on, and got a loud buzz, like some kind of short out of the right front channel. No sound. I was planning taking the unit to have the service bulletin repair made, and if it had already been done, to find out why it still had a buzz in the front three channels. I am a Procurement Agent at Boeing, and I am very familiar with service bulletins, and the basic differences and similarities in terms the basic parts between models. I told the repair center that if there were any difficulties getting replacement parts to bring the unit back to life, to call me. I intend to keep the receiver, because at $239.00, including shipping, it is just too nice to give up. I asked Harman/Kardon what to do if a part is not available. They said that the service center can use a comparable part to complete necessary repairs. Remember, H/K, or for that matter, any other company, does not make too many of the actual parts. I did tell H/K that if they wrote a service bulletin for a known problem, they should list more than one acceptable part number to solve the problem. Especially if the part number that they publish is not available. They said that they allow the service center to find a replacement. I told them that was not the service practice of a company known for quality products, and that they would get laughed right out of Boeing for something like that. It seems that H/K has had soem troubles, but they are working to correct them.

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Yamha

none

everthing, no power, and it broke, TWICE!

This is the worst reciever ever, and after using it, I now believe Harman/Kardon to be the worst electronics company ever. After using this terrible underpowered reciever for about two weeks, it broke. The left channel was fried, and no sound came out of the front left speaker. I took it in for repair. After waiting SIX WEEKS for replacement parts, it was finally fixed. Only a couple of HOURS after I hooked it up again, the right channel broke. I got no sound out of the front right speaker. DO NOT PURCHASE THIS RECIEVER. I replaced it with the Marantz SR7000, and it is far superior.

In conclusion:

THIS RECIEVER IS SH!T!
HARMAN/KARDON IS SH!T!

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lots