Power, sound quality, size, looks, connections

remote could be nicer

This baby is huge. It is the most impressive and sexy looking reciever I have ever laid my eyes on. Easy set-up, tons of connections, beautfiul interface, what else could you ask for. The 8000 has so much power, and every sound that comes out of it is super clean, and yet tight and well controlled. I can see myself having this beauty for many years to come.

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Really nice figure(s), and she looks superb day-n-nite, her toroidal heart is so strong and warm, her I/O's are a plenty. Together we make beautiful music =;-)

Being a well stacked lady, she need lots of under-support

Mama, I'm Home !! wanna meet my new babe, she' the HK AVR8000. The divorce papers just came thru for the Demon AVR3803, boy am I glad to get out of that relationship, she was one sharp-mouthed girl, pretty to look at but no finesse. I was told not to go for her, but I thought I knew better. No matter what I did I could not tame her, she was one harsh lady. After palming her off to some unsuspecting sole, I went solo for a short while. I heard of a really hot one, the B&K Components AVR505/507, this lady really sings but alas she's too rich for me, however I thought about the last recommendation made to me, the HK AVR8000, so decided to date this one to see how we go for a while........

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-Power! logic 7 for everything,especially vinyl. options for every taste,lots of optical,coaxial hook ups.

This is one huge receiver- i have to have it on the bottom shelf with plenty of ventilation.The UPS man swore and cursed me as he dragged it up the condo stairs!

I bought this receiver because of the reviews here- and i'm glad I did.First off,I listen to both home theater and music-so I searched the reviews with this in mind.I recently bought wharfdale towers and bookshelf speakers(again from the reviews here)so I couldn't wait to hook them up to more power(I previously used a denon 3200)WOW! immediate difference-everything sounds different.The HUGE difference is when I play vinyl on the enhanced logic 7 mode-it sounds like i'm playing a cd! movies fill the room with presence and depth.This was a 2500.00 receiver that has gone down in price probably because of a newer model that has 7 channels ready to go.I had an older yamaha amp that was sitting around so I hooked the two together for the back two centers to work-so this was not an issue for me.Everyday I find something new on this monster-get it now at this great price!

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WARNING:This receiver requires an additional amp to power 7.1 channel output. This is a nice feature if you're expecting it. Paired with the HK PA 4000 you could listen to 7.1 in your movie room as well as 2 channel music in another room. Other receivers will only allow you 5.1 + 2 channel multiroom configurations. Only I hadn't done my homework and I wasn't expecting it :(. Everything else seems excellent. Particularly like the multi room remote which makes using the feature a little easier than using it on my Denon 3802 which you must turn on from the main room. The buttons on the remote are kind of small. And sounds *seemed* bright as compared to my 3802. Had swapped the HK into my system to test for my uncle, but maybe I just wanted to like the sound of my denon more since I had helped him to buy a superior receiver.

excellent 5 channel amplification. Plenty of inputs and outputs both digital and analog. Nifty multisource remote that has a cool blue backlighting feature. Big easy to read display, unit is appealing to the eye. The AVR8000 can handle 4 ohm loads with relative ease. The numerous surround modes provide the user many options for different program sources of music and movies.

Do not really see this as a weakness, but a buyer should be aware that the AVR 8000 does require substantial room front to back and should be in a open unconfined space for adequate ventilation. It is normal given HK's amplifier design to run warmer than other amplifiers that you may be accustomed to.

Overall I have been very pleased with the performance of the AVR8000. I am not a stranger to HK products and as expected HK has still has the detail and warmth associated with their high current high bandwidth design that produces a warmth and detail generally associated with tube amplifiers especially on the top end. Another benefit associated with the high current design is the ability to handle 4 Ohm loads with relative ease when compared with other manufacturers receivers. I use an array of JBL ARC bookshelf speakers rated at 8 Ohms and use two for each channel in parallel augmented with two JBL PB12's subwoofers, so the settings for the speakers are small crossed over at the 80Hz THX default setting. This array is used in a large living room room and produces a very clean powerful presence. The HK allows a great deal of control for the user to tailor different soundfields and speaker settings to each input source. The AVR 8000 also has a nifty multiroom feature with separate remote that allows independent switching of sources for a other room(s). I use this feature for my bedroom fed to an older pro logic HK receiver AVR25. I used the pyramid type infrared devices that are readily available to enable me to use this terrific feature. The various surround modes (DPL II, DTS neo6, Logic 7, THX enhancements) brought new life to my older stereo recordings and video tapes in addition to the flawless DD and DTS decoding of my DVD collection. The AVR 8000 provided a very generous array of analog and digital inputs and outputs for future needs. I am currently using s-video fed to my rear projection TV that does not have component video inputs. The picture looks the same as a direct feed from my various components that are switched using the avr8000, good job HK on the video side. I am currently set up in 5.1 and I plan on using the 7.1 features soon, in tandem with the outboard HK PS5800 5 channel amplifier. The remote that came with the receiver was defective (backlight did not work) I called HK's toll free number describing the problem and received a new remote in two working days. My compliments to HK for their prompt handling. The remote has a number of features: learning capability, macro features and an unusual SPL feature to balance the speaker settings. I tried the SPL feeture and it was close to my settings when I used an SPL meter and a test disk. The bass level was a little bit high by 3db using the EZ-set feature.

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The HK remote control now controls everything in our home theater.

It's so big it doesn't fit in our TV cabinet.

My husband & I have enjoyed ProLogic for about 10 years. He decided it was time to upgrade to DTS and something called Logic 7 that has been getting rave reviews. After having a listen to many brands of amplifiers, we found that Dolby Prologic II for TV watching is a vast improvement for us. Then when we heard Logic 7 I could now hear a better overall sound. Then we heard DTS from some DVDs and thought ...wow this is great. Everything sounded so lifelike and exciting. The Harman Kardon AVR8500 is so smooth sounding that we decided to go with it. We didn't like the Japanese brands as they sounded very harsh and irritating over the time we listened to them.

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Power; Processing; Performance; Looks

Heavy; Hot; The universal feature can be frustrating (pushing the VID2 button (to turn the TV on) will switch the AVR8000 to VID2 for the audio too; The jumpers on the back are a pain if they fall out or are in wrong (thought I had a defective recevier at first)

Using this receiver can be summed up in one word: Orgasmic! It has the power and processing capabilities to reproduce sound the way it was meant to be heard. Using the Polk Audio PSW 650 produces a low end sound tighter than (you can fill in the blank). The 7.1 for movies (with the PA 2000) is great and the 7-channel stereo fills a large room easily when listening to CDs. When listening to audio tracks I'm hearing things that I've never heard before thanks to the AVR8000's wider bandwidth response. I also have to buy most of my CDs over again (rather than listening to mp3 discs that now sound inferior unless encoded at high bit rates). I've been waiting a long time for this recevier and it's shown me that it is possible to fall in love *sniff* with a machine!

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Too embarassing to mention.

Warm pleasant sounding...easy to listen to for many hours, unlike many the other harsh-digital sounding competitors. Does not cause listening fatigue that I experienced with other brands. I would definately buy this again at this price US$2K, unfortunately Australia pays more than the US.

Have not experienced any of the glitches described in the AVR7000.

The sound quality as described previously has exceeded my expectations. It is terrifically warm sounding.....much like my Naim amps in my HiFi. The Logic7 for TV is more realistic & natural than DPL-2. Fantastic feature is the ability to prgram multiple key-stokes of the Remote Control into one button. I have programmed one button that turns on 3 devices: HDTV, STB and AVR8500.....terrific !! Another feature I like is the ability to set a default volume level on power-up, so that I don't get blasted after the kids played something loud on it's previous use. Am glad to buy this the last true analogue amplifier-AVR, as I see HK is just releasing digital amps.....remember how bad CD players sounded from early 1980's...took 15+ years to make them sound good.

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Incredible sound for a receiver. High Current. Soundstage.

"Buzzing" in center channel if you happen to get one of the flawed units.

I purchased the AVR 8000 from H/K refurbished on e-bay. Couldn't pass up the low price. Full warranty. The AVR is an outstanding receiver! My Klipsch Belles never sounded so good. Bass was more controlled, soundstage was greatly improved. As everyone said, this thing is big! The finish is very nice, great rear panel hardware for all the connections. Logic 7 mode is really nice. Only flaw is that SOME units made in Jan 2002 have a slightly audible "buzzing" sound from the center channel. H/K is looking into this issue as I write this. Problem can be bypassed with an outboard center amp.

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clean power looks very easy to use it took me about 1 hour and i had this thing set up perfect.

the remote is good/simple to use but i find myself pushing down on the buttons 2/3 times to get it to command

Just want to say this is one hell of a receiver.it's clean power is a delight to listen to music.I use it more for stereo then ht listening.I did buy hk pa 2000 for 7.1 ht,which is very good as well.Im using paradigm monitor 9 for my mains cc370 for center adp bipole for sides & monitor 3 for rear.I am going to buy studio 100 for my mains, as those are the best speakers i have ever listen to for 2000.00.

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