I call myself an audio enthusiast instead of an " AudioPhile", as I've found most "AudioPhiles" want simply tp tell you ( in reverse order ) every piece of gear they've ever owned, or impress you with how much cash they've spent on their gear! Fact is I became an enthusiast back in '76, and started selling " mid-fi " gear in '79. And I DO remember the make and model no. of every piece of gear I've ever owned. For the longest time, I felt H/K was the best " stop gap " product available to those of us who cannot afford to spend a hundred grand on a system.
But in the era of " home theater ", where those of us who can't afford a theater system, and a 2 channel system, high end AV receivers are your best value. I've owned 3 H/K's since '98, the AVR500 during the s-video switching days, the AVR635 in '06 ( which I'm presently still using ), and in 2011 purchased this " flagship " avr7550HD. Retail was $2,500 at the time, but I bought it on close out for $999. The first factory fresh unit showed uo, and I was concerned because the company's logo was missing a couple of letters - attached by some double sided adhesive - and not a good one! I figured " No big deal - I'll get a couple replacements from customer service. I plugged the unit in, powered it up, and it made a sound like a circular saw going through plywood!. Turned it off instantly - the culprit is a bearing on the small built in boxer fan - built in to keep the class A/B amp cool. Health problems prevented me from swapping it with the retailer, but H/K said " No problem, we'll send you a new one. I did so, and what I got was a factory refurb - which had the exact same defect - so I don't know who claims to have repaired it. The 2nd refurb looked like it came off of a trash dump, so it went back ( I actually did plug it in, still same fan problem. Called customer support again about exchanging for their new " top of the line " AVR3700, which I was told by a Customer Service Supervisor to stay away from, because the new Class D amps wouldn't sound as good as my present AVR635, let alone what I was buying.
Now most would say " Why did you wait so long to deal with this? ", and my answer is numerous health problems - including chronic pain from a condition in my low back which makes boxing and swapping the units a problem ( they both weigh over 40 lbs. ). But with a comparable value from another manufacturer available, I will be taking H/K to small claims court next month! Since Dr. Sidney Harman passed away, the company has really taken a nose dive. Do yourself a favor, and stay away from anything that says Harman Kardon on it!