Finally added my review of the AVR75, I've had it for about 8/9mos and it's been a solid performer. Reading some of the most recent reviews, I really can't understand how someone who never even owned the AVR75 could put in a review and give it one start. Ridiculous, what a moron. Look at all the review of people who do own the unit and make you're decision based on that. There are ALOT of happy people out there and I'm one of them.
The unit is VERY solidly made. Just picking it up you can feel the quality of components used. I've been pretty happy with it. I wasn't worried about not having DTS since it's just modified version of Dolby Digital. Since the majority of DVD's are Dolby Digital, I'm not concerned, and won't be, since 5.1 channels sound just great.

The negatives. God awful remote. Too cluttered, non-intuitive... a perfect mate to the manual and the onscreen menu system. HK can take a good lesson from sony in this area. Secondly the unit doesn't auto-detect audio inputs. Although it's just a simply "additional" button push, it's enough to be a nuisance. Lastly I would've liked to get a few more audio functions. CD's didn't sound that great through my old DVD player (Toshiba), I've yet to try it on the Pioneer 919. Having just 3 different playback options was dissapointing since none of them sounded rich enough (cambridge soundworks speakers), the 5.1 audio sounded just fine tho.

Overall, I'm happy with the unit and will stick with it for years to come.

-1 star for the fore-mentioned quirks.

I've worked in the commercial audio industry for years and over this time had the chance to demo some exceptional equipement. I purchased an AVR 75 after carful review of other compatition. HK has made a reputation for themselves by building a no frills/eye candy receiver with a very good amplifier section. I have owned serveral systems over the years including seperates amp/preamp, and I must admit this is a very good piece of audio equipment. I think the only way to beat this receivers sonic capabilities is to spend thousands of dollars on a seperate componant system. The remote is very disapionting however.

I've owned this unit for about 6 months and have never been happier with an electronics purchase. The HK AVR75 is a very capable receiver with an extremely musical and powerful amp section. With reasonably efficient speakers very high sound levels are easily reproduced. Sound is dynamic, clean, and effortless. HK has obviously spent the money where it counts. No tin can or cardboard box echo chamber DSP modes here folks. No bells and whistles. Just the basics done well.HK AVR75
Toshiba 2109
Energy C2 (for music)
CSW Movieworks II (for HT)

I researched about the realiabilty of the Harman Kardon products and came across a site www.ubid.com where they sell thousands of refurbished
Harman Kardon products. That tells you something about the Company and
its product.

May be they are the poineers but they have one of the worst realibilty
and service charges in the industry.

When you buy a high end product you expect it to perform and last as well.

For the same reason I would give this product a Single Star and advice
people to consider reliability before picking up a receiver.

Everything

TV auto function, HK customer service

This receiver meets all the needs. More inputs than need and can be hook up to all of your favorite stereo and home theatre equipment. Especially love surround sound functions. Listening to most music in Hall mode is heavenly, with heavier music in Matrix. Radio sounds great in Dolby Logic. The only problem is living in an apartment building and cannot crank this baby up. Have had one problem with the receiver, however. Right speaker output had distortion. Replaced tweeter on speaker, but problem remained. Turned out it was receiver and it took 7 weeks to fix. A long time to be without the heart of your system. Also, it has a TV on/off feature that is supposed to turn on/off receiver with television. However, when I set this option, the receiver kept turning off even when the tv was on. Have it paired with Mirage fronts, Paradigm center and surrounds, HK FL8550 cd player, Panasonic A120u dvd. Amazing sound and value for a receiver under $500. Give it five stars, but parts department at HK a one. Not to mention I had to take this unit over an hour away to the nearest HK authorized warranty center. HK did, however, extend my warranty by two months.

Great Sound, Flexibility and # of Inputs

Remote Control, Not DTS compatible

I bought the h/k 75 in april 99 from ubid for around $475. It has been a great purchase! It is a very solid piece of equipment that I have looked at ever since it came out (with its $1200 price tag!) The first time I plugged it in and fired up a DVD, the sound had some drop-outs. But then I remembered that the amp section was high-current. So I had to give the avr75 its own electrical outlet. The problem was solved! I would recommend buying a good universal remote, because the remote that came with it has dozens of buttons - all the SAME size!
It has plenty of inputs for now, and everything that I will need in the future. 3 Digital Inputs cover my DVD player, CD player, and there is also an RF input for laserdisc owners. I would recommend this receiver to anyone in a second!

The Sound!!!!!!!

None!

It is the sound Stupid! Why do all the reviewers lose track of what a receiver is for and nitpic things like remotes or inputs or whatever. Give me all thewse little problems and a heavenly sound and I won't care one bit. Nobody, but nobody produces a better sound than K inthe under $2000 range and the AVR75 is a steller example. Five enthusiastic stars!!!

Similar Products Used:

Too many to mention

Clean silent operation. POWERFUL!

Doesn't do dishes.

There's not a whole lot to say that hasn't already been said. I'm just putting this in to help balance out the reviews from those of less than stellar inteligence. I'm not talking about those who had channel failures and other legitimate problems, none of which I've experienced.
I bought a whole bunch of these. Put one in my living room, put one in my bedroom, sold some.
One of the units I sold apparently failed and was properly handled by H/K's warranty service. That person has since contacted me and stated that he is more than happy with his purchase.
I have personally had several units in my home and usually sell them as demos once something else comes out that I want. I tried the AVR-5700 (Denon) and found it to be extremely sharp (bright), painfully so, and although the DAC's provided exceptional sonic clarity and the power was extreme, I found the unit overall to be distressing/fatiguing. Not a pleasurable listening experience. Perhaps I am overly critical, many others find that particular unit to be a fabulous purchase. I know what I like though.
I am providing a synopsis of my opinions on the Denon to give a reference point for the AVR-75.
Those of you who have experience with H/K are familiar with their warmth and enveloping sound reproduction. The 75 is just what you would expect in that vein. One thing I especially like is the 75's high-current design. Someone below mentioned receiving an AVR-500 for their 75 after some trouble. I'm sure the DTS upgrade is nice but I wonder if they are as happy with the overall HT experience. The 500 runs at 45 amps compared to the 75's 65 amps. Something you will notice when the action gets heavy during HT use. Again, I like some movies pretty loud and those who never listen above intermediate volume levels will not appeciate this point as much.
As far as the genius who states that a cheap CD player has better DACs than the 75, PUHLEEEEEEEZE! The 75 uses some of the finest (at their time) Burr-Brown DACs available and although they are not the newer Crystal DACs, they hold their own against most anything out there. I imagine that some cheap speakers could conceivably sound better with less information or a biased signal, ie; one that is overly bass ridden or something of that sort. But my $7,000 Tannoy setup tells a different story.
The heart of my reference system is comprised of the AVR-75 with an SH-5000C taking care of DTS decoding. One Citation 7.1 configured as 4 channel running from the 75's front pre-outs and bi-amping each of my front Tannoy S10's. One Tannoy S8C running off the 75's amplified center out. And two Tannoy S8's bringing up the rear. No sub required. If you have a clue what I've just said, you know that I don't have to go to the movies anymore.
My bedroom system is comprised of all Wharfedale Sapphire(f,r,c) speakers, some of the best kept secrets in the world of A/V sound. The 75 powering that setup is also flawless.
A comment on the remote. It is not a "feel your way" unit, nor does it have some frills such as a backlight. It is however a learning remote capable of running most peoples systems and with the exception of possibly running out of memory space, there is not an infra-red device that you may own that it can't learn to control. This remote would sell for around $250 as a seperate item and is just another example of the fact that everything about the 75 is ahead of it's time.
The AVR-75 is a member of this site's "Hall Of Fame" and for good reason.
Go ahead and write some more stupid reviews that have no bearing on actual facts and I'll just come back and write another 5 star review to balance them out.
This unit can be found for $500 these days, sometimes less. If your thinking about it, don't be afraid to give it a try. If you don't like it, let me know. I'l buy it from you.

Similar Products Used:

AVR-85, Denon, Sher-Newcastle, Many others (I'm a dealer)

I've had this unit since September '98. While, as pointed out earlier, the AVR75 lacks the upgradable features and dts capability of newer receivers, it is a tremendous receiver. For those of us who do not plan to chase each new technology, the stereo music and dolby digital movie features of the AVR75 sound as good as it gets. At a price of approximately $600, nothing else comes close for power and sound. I recently added the Atlantic Technology 350THX system. Those speakers and this receiver top a lot of theaters' sound systems (or at least my imagination tells me they do). The AVR75 has three s-video inputs. It could use more than one coaxial digital input (it also has RF and optical digital inputs). It also lacks a phono input, but there are add-on pieces, if you do have a turntable.

Very good receiver.