My PA-5800 does not have any background noise, only a very small noisefrom the unit itself.
I think this unit sounds very nice, much better than any receiver.

For those who like their audio cheap and nasty this is the one. Now only $349 from J and R. You should mate them with some Bose speakers while you are at it. I would rather listen to music on a 1inch tinny radio. Harman Kardon is a crappy taiwan/chinese slave labour make. Beware. Buy the Krell Kav 500 instead aor dont bother.

Thank you Carlos for your outstanding comments, although you fail realize that the Krell is $4500!! and the H/K PA5800 is like you said $349.. you are comparing the Sun with a tiny little moon. For $349 the H/K is damn steal.. for $349 of my damn bones...theres nothing better. You are right the Krell is far superior... but is it worth $4500.. no... you can get at least 60% of the Krell's performance in the H/K.. thanks! Also, where it's made has no relevance. A lot of decenet equipment is made overseas and IN CHINA!.. so don't throw that in there.

Sound quality, power reserves greater than specified, build quality

Slight hum at power up

As seems to be the consensus, this is a great amp, especially for the price. Now, I don't know if I'd pay the $1000 MSRP, but at $300 online, it a steal. Great clean sound, slightly warm HK sound, and a good match for speakers that can seem bright. Power rating at 80wpc is generous, and in a normal sized room, I can't imagine needing more power. If you have towers that can handle a lot of bass, this amp will drive them well. Slight noise from the transformer at powerup, but fades quickly and nothing during operation. Overall, I'm very happy, and again, at $300, nothing better on the market. Value rating is a definite 5 stars, overall is probably a 4 due us startup noise, and some build quality issues that, in a higher priced amp, may not be apparent. Don't worry about the posted reviews stating (and as it says in the manual) that it needs a 20amp dedicated circuit- -mine's not on one, and I've never had a problem. Even with a 36" TV, powered sub, and associated pre/pros, dvd, vcr, etc. etc. it's been fine.
Again, overall nothing better for $300.

Very clean sound with plenty of power for loud trancient passages. Very inexpensive (now) at $329

Found none yet

I bought this amp to replace my Carver705 HT amp. The Carver was very good on Home Theater but became a bit gritty in 2 channel music. I find the HK to be quite good for music and great for HT. I prefer the warm, smooth HK sound over the Carver and don't notice any loss of power despite the HK's lower (rated) wattage. Can't touch it for the money and, price issue aside, it's would still be a good $1000 amp. Well done HK.
PS For the guy who gave it 1 star, this amp is made in USA. Get your facts straight.
This is a good amp but, lets face it, there are better performers out there at a price. Can't compete with the Levinson's of the world but did you expect it to? An honest 4 star amp for a song.
Regards,
Charlie K

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Carver705x THX Ultra amp

price,air and clarity

no remote

I bought this amp to bi-amp my front speakers in my home theater.I run it through the pre-outs in my Denon 3200 receiver.It also powers my center channel.
This amp sounds extremely clear and detailed.I notice excellent separation of instuments in classical music and vocal harmonies.The details are absolutely stunning.I thought that only an upgrade to the cd payer or dac could make this type of detail possible.This amp has a frequency range from

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Philips receiver,Denon 3200 receiver

Price/Performance ratio all-time champ. I don't know of any other 5 channel amp anywhere near $300.

None significant.

I kept telling myself that I was very happy with the sound of my system. That I really didn't NEED to upgrade. But when the price dropped to $299 and Brands for Less offered a $50 rebate and a shipping rebate, I could hold out no longer.

I am now passively bi-amping my front channels (Paradigm Studio 60s v.1 and Studio cc-450). Four channels for the mains and one channel for the bass in the center with the receiver driving the tweeter. Noticable improvement in bass control and punch and more detail and air on the top end.

Do yourself a favor and pick one up before they are all gone. Hell, for $299 get two. You will not be sorry.

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HK AVR65

Clean, nice looks

Remote turn on

Well, received it just days ago. I have a HK AVR 75 which is 65 watts x 5. I figured when I buy the amp it will imporve to the 80W x5 on my HT.

Yes it did, but not much, since I own a HK receiver the amp almost the same. For you folks who have AVR 85 I guess you probably want to save the bucks.

I believe the HK have pretty much same standard on the watts between (receiver and Amps). Unless you are getting the Signature 2.1 (100 x 5), I would guess it will make a different.


I had my amp power cord plug to my unswitch plug on the HK avr 75. In AVR 75 has a remote turn on that sense if a video channel is recieve it will remote auto turn on.

So, When I turn on my T.V it turns my receiver and amp on automatically in a click of a button

Hum at the Amp but not through the speakers

Have it for about 6 months. It sounds better now than 6
months ago. It is the best amp out there for its price.

All I can say is.... What an AMP for 400 clams!
Very clean, and plenty powerful enough to fill a small to midsize HT/listening room. I've tried this out with a Rotel RSP 980 pre/pro and a Chiro C-800, and it powers my PSB's great. The minimum load is 4 OHMS. Although I haven't tried a low impedence speaker with it, I think it will do just fine.