I purchased the AVR75 in December, 1998. I am absolutely thrilled with its performance in both music and home theater modes. The flexibility is excellent, with its myriad of connections. The on-screen menu is easy and allows for fast setup. I was listening to CD's in about 10 minutes.
I replaced a Denon receiver that served me quite well for 10 years. Although the power ratings are comparable, the Harman Kardon's high current amplifiers deliver much more punch.

I auditioned Denon, Yamaha, and Onkyo, but the Harman Kardon had the best sound, especially at louder levels. Combine this with a $598 price (orig. list $1,499) from OneCall, and you can't touch this deal. HK's new AVR 65 adds DTS, but has less power and costs about $200 more. Dolby digital (AC-3) suits me fine, and I won't give up the power and the money for DTS.

The remote is weak, but I usually set the volume and source once and leave it alone for the duration of the CD or movie. I don't have any complaints about the manual, but I have set up systems countless times, and referred to the manual only to get started and to learn about the special features.

As a reference, I also recently purchased the Carver Cinema 5.2 home theatre speaker system, and it is a match made in heaven. At $699 (Costco), orig. list $2,500, I have the nucleus of a fine home theater system that originally listed for a total of $3,999 (approx.) for only $1,297. Good things come to those who wait.

In my opinion, the AVR75 is superior to anything up to $1,000 from OneCall, and much more elsewhere. I must give this receiver the highest rating.

I was in search for a good home theater receiver. A couple of friends recommended an Onkyo. In the end, there were only two, a Yamaha and a Harman Kardon. It was an easy choice....
The night I bought the AVR 75, I was in a rush to get home and listen to it. I must admit, that night I was really disappointed. But the next morning, when I turned it on, and after listening to a few cds, all I can say is...THE MUSIC IS SO HEAVENLY!

The unit may be great, but the remote looks really CHEAP! I can also say that the manual is not that helpful.

I'm using 4 ohm Kef Reference 103/4 speakers. It doesn't say at the back of the unit or in the manual if it can drive 4 ohm spaekers. WILL IT BE SAFE TO CONTINUE DRIVING THEM? HELP!!! E-MAIL ME!

This is the best!!!

I have had the privilege of testing both the Marantz SR580 and the HK AVR75in the same living room--in my house. I think this HK receiver sounds sweeter
in the highs than the Marantz. The Marantz treble is a little too forward for
me. I ended up keeping the HK receiver.

I have had this unit for a couple months now. First impressions are this, remote layout is pretty lame, but the ability to program other remotes is a nice feature. The front panel on the AVR-75 is ghastly. I do not like the fact that you can not read what the buttons are without turning the unti on, then the buttons light up on the LED display, not very user friendly. I don't have a powered sub, and was quite unimpressed with the bass resonse until I found in the poorly layed out manual that you can change the frequency response of all five outputs. The factory sets the front channels to "small ", which means they will only play 100hz and up, I changed this to "large " which plays full range and found my missing bass. Playing audio this unit really sounds raspy, not too bad, but doesn't sound 'real'. Home theater is where this baby rocks, playingDVD's with Dolby Digital will wake you up real quick, it sounds extraordinary, light years ahead of Dolby Pro Logic. One other compaint is this, for a unit that originally retailed for $1500, the amp has a lot of static 'hiss'. I tried moving power wires and checking for ground loop problems, but none of it solved the hiss. Put your unit on a source that isn't running and crank the amp and you'll quickly see what I mean, not very clean. I checked some other untis at a local pro shop and found that even a rotel amp and preamp did this, the only unit I found that was totally clean was the Denon AVR-5700, it beat out the higher priced amp/pre amp combinations.

All things considered, I have found an outstanding price on a Denon AVR-3600DTS and will be selling my HK AVR-75. I have heard the 3600DTS and think it's a bit cleaner than the HK, but the two are probably pretty comparible in sound quality, I'll know better when I get it and hook it up. Another complaint on the HK, you can not turn the receiver off with it's power button and expect to turn it back on with the remote, you must use the remote to turn it off if you want to use the remote to turn it back on, this has become quite a nuisance. The Denon units are much better laid out. Anyone interested in the HK I would suggest compare it closely at the Denon's and Yamahas. One other consideration I took was the companies other components. HK's CD carousels aren't the greatest, you can only change one disk at a time! Denon's carousels are much better, allowing you to change 5 disks while one is playing! A word of warning though, don't get anything under the DCM-460 because they are loud and clunky and very slow when changing disks, the 460 and 560 are quiet and quick.

Because of the lack of niceties and features I've mentioned here, I give the HK a rating of 3. Sound quality is closer to 4,but the poor layout of the unit brings it down to 3. I will be writing a review of the Denon 3600DTS soon, so look there in a few weeks.

The H/K AVR75 is the best $500 that I've ever spent. I'm inclined to believe that it is one of the best available. It's amazing. I replaced a Sony STR-D1011S with the AVR75 recently and the difference is outstanding. When playing music, it's possible to play some songs at full volume with zero audible distortion. I'm not hearing impaired or anything, I just have some decent Polks and a great receiver.

Like previous reviewers, I snagged my AVR75 off Ubid for about $420. I bought it to replace a Pioneer VSX-D557 that was too shrill on the highs and completely inadequate driving the bass. I hooked it up yesterday, and haven't been able to leave my living room.
I don't have the best speakers in the world (AR 308 HOs in front, AR CS25 HO in the middle, and AR 208 HOs surround, with an AR S120 subwoofer), but my home theater experience has improved 200% in the past 24 hours. The extra time it took me to carve out adequate space in the back of my entertainment center was more than worth it; I think that I can just sit on my couch and watch "Blade" time and time again, and still be a happy man. Highs are clearer, midrange is no longer muddled, and the bass booms.

I guess I must have gotten a different manual than the rest of you. Mine was clear and easy to understand, although I could see how it might be a problem for someone whose first receiver is the AVR75. If you want to see REALLY bad manual design, read Pioneer. The remote is not as crappy as everyone is saying, take five minutes and plan out how you want to program the buttons, and you'll have no problems.

Until I can afford new speakers, my home theater system is perfect with the AVR75 at the helm. Pick one up if you want an instant boost to your system; it will be the best $400 you ever spent.

Only after listeing to this unit for a few days can you fully appreciate what is lacking in other brands. Many receivers generate decent sound, but the avr-75 produces fine music. Listening to CDs is a whole new experience, I now hear insturments and background singers that didn't exist in the past. I have a cheap DVD player (Toshiba 2008), but I get better sound in my one bedroom apartment than can be heard by paying $7.50 at General Cinema. I had a Kenwood 110 watt per channel unit, but it couldn't be listened to at less than 50% volume. The avr-75 will produce crystal clear background music at low levels, or it will wake up the people accross the street if you dare to turn it up.
I plugged this into my rather complex home theater in about 30 minutes, so I can't sympathise with those that complain about the instructions. The remote must be directly aimed at the receiver which is annoying, but I like the fact that it will instantly learn codes from another remote at the touch of a button, so there is no need to test pages of code.

I got mine from onecall.com. At a price of $530 including 2 day Fedex shipping, it is an excellent deal.

Well, thanks to this board I decided to give the AVR75 a shot. I have been using a Sony 560Z (100W X 5 A/v receiver) and my brother said I was nuts for stepping DOWN to a 65W/channel tuner, especially since the Sony was fully functional. I hooked up the AVR75. He listened. He apologized for ever doubting me.
The best way to desribe the experience is this analogy: Have you ever been swimming and had water trapped in your ear? It is annoying, but you get used to it after a little while, then suddenly the water is gone and your hearing is restored.... The AVR75 is a lot like that. Another way I describe it is that it is like the AVR75 is in TOTAL CONTROL of the speaker while the Sony was sloppy, imprecise and out of control.

Go to UBID and place your bid now. I got mine for $420. I just sold my Sony for $220. Life is good.

Colin

What made me buy this unit was partly due to this site & I want to upgrade to dolby digital.Also,due to the fact I previously own a avr-20 (refurbished)unit.I was pretty satisfied with that unit.After I read lot of fine reviews on this unit,
I decided to get one.So I start shopping for it,from retail to mail order,and
finally,ubid.com.It cost around $600-$800 at retail,although they are it is no
longer available.One.call.com have it for$490 includes shipping.After noticing
some of the reviewer had it for $420-$450 at ubid.com,I decided give it a try.
After bidding it three times,I got for$430 plus shipping.I was terrified when
the shipment arrive! My weak ups deliveryman dropped the box! He probably thought I didn't see it.To my prayer,nothig scratch or dent on the unit.
It operate fine.This unit is awesome,for under$500,it can't be beat.Yes, you do
need good speakers to drive it.There were also no dts.You also want to turn it up(moderate level)to really enjoy it.Connected to a pair of NHT 1a(the very first ones),cd comes out clean and loud,it was very smooth.For home theater,even though I have only
two speakers,DoubleImpact(pro-logic) sound very convincing,especially all the
impacts sound.I just can't wait when I get my dvd in summer!of coasre,more speakers!I thought the avr-20 sound good,the 75 is a level higher .
By the way,it kind of need a little warm-up to perform beautifully.What I meant
is if you turn off the power manually,you need to wait a while or played few songs before the unit is up to par.If you do use it frequently, I suggsest turning it off by remote.That way,it's power is in the standby mode,and not
totally off.

Yuan doesn't have a complete system and has to finish it off before passing judgement. The AVR75 was not designed to push heavy low trhough satalites as the music industry would dictate. Sub is neccesary.