I have had my FL8300 for about six months. Bought it new for $130 from Audio Advisor. I am one of the lucky ones it appears. My unit has performed flawlessly. The sound is smooth yet detailed with my NHT 2.9s. It doesn't measure up to my REGA Planet, but for $130 it provides real convenience. I give it five stars based on overall value.

I have had this changer for about 4 months. I bought it for a bedroom system and coupled it with a H/K AVR 40 and 2 Altec Lansing Model 83 speakers. I have had no probs whatsoever. I paid about $250 for the Rec and Changer together......both refurbished ( that's about what I paid for my JVC XL-M415 6+1 changer, which I HATE!!! ) Maybe I'm lucky....I don't know. I have more a a prob with the AVR 40. Only one set of main speaker outputs!!! That's weak, but it works for me since it's just for my bedroom. I will take a point off for the placement of controls, but believe me, it's WAY more convenient ( and quiet ) than my JVC.

A very solid performer and a cut above virtually everything in the same price class. I've had no problems whatsoever with this player and continue to be impressed with it's warm smooth sound. Ergonomically it does fall somewhat short. Most notably due to the location of the skip disc button, which disappears when the tray is opened. Your priorities may be different but the way the product sounds is of the most concern to me. Again, well worth considering if looking for a solid reasonably priced CD-Player.

I agree with much of what Sam says below; this player does indeed have a smooth sound and it can be purchased at any Circuit City for around $280 or so without a sale. I, on the other had, would not recommend buying a CD changer if you want the ultimate in sound quality and reliability; the single disc player is the way to go and the Harmon Kardon 710 has received a more than positive review from the likes of Fi magazine.
However, there does seem to be something missing from the sound of the 8300 that troubles me a bit. On rock recordings, when the levels rise, the sound seems to be more constricted and bunched towards the center, losing separation in comparison to other multibit players. Also, the dynamics are just not there with dense material. I am running this unit through a Cary Audio tube preamp, B&K M200 monoblocks, with ProAc speakers. In all honesty, I bought this unit from Circuit City with the 30 day money back in mind...heavily in MIND if you knowhatimsayin!

But it does appear to be a good player for the $$$ and sounds better on small scale works and is a great deal for the normal changer brigade.

kh

Inexpensive, cool looking, easy to use, slick, relible, build quality, plays CDR's and CD-RW's full of music I shamelessly downloaded from Napster and ripped onto CD's.

Disk skip by feel, but you get used to it and the alternative is a less cool-looking front panel. Standard useable but unintuitive HK remote.

I bought this factory refurbished and with full warranty off Ebay for just over $100 in the summer of 99 and have never been dissapointed. At the time Circuit City was selling them for $280--gave me kind of a warm, fuzzy feeling :)
I'm a college student living in a dorm, and this thing has gotten a LOT of use. I have a fairly good sounding and extremely loud system, and either me, my roommate, or other guys in the dorm are playing music on my system almost constantly. The HK has played every disk we've put into it.
This by itself is quite an accomplishment--most college students don't take good care of their music, and this player was able to handle some pretty nasty-looking cd's. It played cd's that friends' cd players or boom boxes or even computers couldn't play anymore. I have been impressed.
Another big plus is the durability. Living in a dorm, my stuff gets moved from residence to residence very frequently. I have moved all my stereo gear 11 times in the last couple years, and while I'm careful of the equipment I'm not meticulous. The player has withstood all those moves and rides in trucks and U-hauls with no problem.
I've never been able to get it to skip either. I have a very powerful subwoofer in a smallish (about 12x14) room, and when we turn on some Eminem or 1812 Overture with the bass cranked up the dorm itself is structurally challenged. The stuff inside (bed, dressers) just get rearrainged. I used to use a portable CD player with antishock, but I always had to set it on a pile of towels to keep it from skipping. The HK has never skipped once.
As for the sound quality, I would suggest that people hearing differences between home cd players need to start taking their Valium more regularly. The speakers, by several orders of magnitude, are the governing item in a sound system. The sound will get changed more by slight temperature swings and the associated air density changes than by different cd players. However, for those of you who think cd player sound quality is an issue, reputable sources (Stereo Review, Audiophile) have given the HK good reviews.
Lots of people have had problems with HK quality, though. Mine is a refurb, so it's possible the factory fixed it to better-than-new specs. My experience has been nothing but positive, and I hope to keep it a long time.

My setup is
HK PT2500 A/V Preamp/Tuner
BGW 500D stereo amplifier (500x2 into 4 ohms, a refugee from an old movie theatre--no kiddin!)
HK FL8300 CD player
Sony TCKE400S tape deck
Computer for MP3's $ games, plugged into AUX input
Homebrew speakers consisting of:
Satellites, 4 ohm, 5" mids, 1" tweeters
Subwoofer, 4 ohm, 4 12" drivers
Custom 80Hz passive crossover

As it is my system is loud, durable, and very listenable. Even Diana Krall and Vivaldi sound smooth and natural. Once I graduate I plan on going to Magnaplanar 1.6's and possibly a HSU Research sub if I can't get my sub to blend well. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions please let me know.

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Panasonic, Toshiba, Sony, Pioneer

This CD player is fantastic! I have had no problems with it at all. Great sound and for the price it can't be beat! I tested it alongside many other players (Yamaha, Denon, etc.) and it sounded better than players 5 times the price. I would suggest purchasing the extended service based on the some of the other reviews I see here.

looks good

unreliable

I just lost my review because I didn't include the model year. so without retyping it all again, I would just like to say that mechanically the thing is crap. I have to smack it on the side whenever the sound goes out for the left channel. The laser went out within the first year (while still under warranty thank god) and it kicks cd out of their places on the tray. The disk advance buttons are in the wrong place when the tray is out.
sounds good
looks good

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first cd player

I'm certainly not an expert, and am not as discriminating as some others, but I got my FL8300 and I simply cannot complain. I certainly have no problem with the design or the stability of the model. I don't have any of the clicking that some people talked about. Nothing has remotely malfunctioned. The unit is producing excellent sound and I'm super happy with it.

I purchased the unit new in Dec 97. By March 98 it was skipping and not reading. By June it was not reading anything at all "no-disc". I thought it might have been dusty/dirty, warped, or misaligned. I had the unit serviced while it was in warranty (1 year). It worked for another 2 to 3 months and then repeated the same errors. I had the unit serviced a second time and the service representative told me there was no way to fix the player. I called HK and they gave me a return authorization number without any problems. I sent the old unit back (my cost) and was given a new HK8350. I have used it for about a month without any problems. I would not recommend any of these players and would be very cautious to spend any money on other HK products. If I had no initial investment, I would have purchased a different brand. At one time (early 1980's) this company put out a solid product. They must not have the same corporate philosophy today. I have been a product supporter since I bought one of the very first HK tape players with direct logic controls and internal metal parts. It was the first unit that had Dolby HX Pro. I usually spend more for audio equipment and skimped this time! Like they say, "You get what you pay for!"

Picked up the FL8300 a week ago to replace an old player with a drawer that wouldn't open. Got it cheap from ubid (ten dollars more than it would have cost to repair my 8yr old unit) and saw it as an interim player until i could afford something better or until i switch to dvd. So far it has worked fine. Seems solid and well built (I agree abt the placement of the disc skip button--it's not good) and easy to tape with. The sound is better than I hoped. Not tons of detail but a large soundstage and decent rhythm. Haven't tried the digital out with my old ditb. The sound of the h-k hasn't made me want to yet. I can live with this player for a while. on just sound I would give it a 4. At the price (if it continues to work--(I have some concern given the number of problems reported here)-- a easy five.