Great sound, when it plays

1. Build quality. This is my second unit. I returned the first unit when the tray jammed (would not reopen) after one week. Now, 8 months later, the second unit is about to be returned.
2. Random play feature is awkward. Will play three songs from one disc before moving to the next disc. Not a true "random" play.

The details are crisp. Great sound. Love the HDCD.
However, the quality, even the second time around, is not acceptable. I'll be moving to a different make and model soon.

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Previously owned a 10 year old Sony 5 disc changer.

detailed

looks at every cd before it will play

The Cd player has lot of potential. So I had it modified. After the modification. The sound was much better. The highs are crystal clear and the lows smoothe like i like it.
A great value for $200 Dollars after I fixed everything up.

products used:
S&E Audio Cable
Dynaudio monitors speaker
Audio Note 1.1 DAC
levinson Mono blocks
Nelson pass pre

Similar Products Used:

Ah! Tjoeb '99

nice looks, price, good construction, HDCD decoding, Burr-Brown DAC's

very noisy mechanism, cycles through all 5 discs before playing/ejecting, remote is poor at best

I bought this player on a whim on a discounted price. I was looking for a unit that could do HDCD decoding. I am rather happy with it's sound, it's not the best in the world but pretty darn good. disc mechanism is really noisy, or maybe it's just me after using Sony's super quiet DVP-7700S dvd player. The worst part of this unit is the fact that it cycles through all 5 dics when it is powered up. I takes a while when you just turned the machine on and are just waiting to get a disc out.

My system consists of:
Harmon/Kardon FL 8380 CD changer
Pioneer Elite VSX-37TX Receiver
Sony DVP-7700S DVD player
Mitsubishi WS-55807 HDTV
B&W DM602 s2 Mains
B&W LCR6 s2 center
B&W ASW1000 subwoofer
Mirage OM-2R surrounds
Monster cable interconnects and speaker wire

Clairity, affordable, HDCD.

Cycles through all 5 discs on start up.

This is an excellent player for the money. I have listened to more expensive players, but the H&K seemed brighter, and has more definition. The depth of HDCD recordings is crystal clear. I've heard sounds from this player that my single Pioneer player never seemed to emit. I like how you may load a disc while one is in play. I also like how it will play 2 songs from a disc when in random play. The player does have a small draw back, in that it cycles through all 5 discs at start up. The remote control performs all functions, and is easy to use. This unit is also nice looking. A friend who has a very high end system was impressed with the sound from this unit.

Similar Products Used:

Harmon Kardon 3470 receiver
Kenwood 10 band equalizer
Bose 301 speakers

Sound quality, feels sturdy, HK's reputation for service, attractive case.

Limits on random play and remote is essential for full operation.

Overall I love the HK FL8380 5-CD changer. Its sound is light years beyond that of my dying Sony changer, and my still well Sony single disc player, and of course it's better than my Discman.
For years I accepted what Consumer Reports wrote about CD players: sound quality is the same on all. That's absolutely false and I hope they will update their review. If you don't check out a higher quality CD player like the FL8380 and you're used to mass market brand stuff, you don't know what you're missing.
The FL8380 has a headphone jack with a volume control, and the sound quality is as good to my ears as the sound through a Headroom "Little" Headphone Amp, a $250 piece of audiophile equipment I regret having purchased.
With HDCD discs the sound is the best I've heard. Unbelievable audio quality.
Two drawbacks those thinking of purchasing the FL8380 should consider: You must use the remote to operate all its features, as the simple, attractive front panel does not enable the user to access all. And when in all-disc-random-play mode, the FL8380 plays two songs at random from each disc before going to the next disc. I knew this before I bought, and felt that HK's reputation was a trade off I was willing to make. My dying Sony CD changer has gotten to the point where it just spins and can't be opened or operated unless it rests for 8 hours or so, and I assume that HK had a reason for programming their player the way they did. Still, genuine random play would be preferable.
I recommend this changer to anyone who wants a player several notches above market brand, and/or who has an HDCD collection. I emailed HK prior to purchase and called once after purchase with questions. I got an email response overnight, and got someone on the phone almost immediately, who knew the equipment, which is the opposite of my experience with Sony. This gives me faith that HK will be there should I need them.
I'm rating the FL830 five stars in both categories because I love it. I knew the limitations I mentioned going in, and they do not detract from my enjoyment of this fine piece of equipment.

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Sony

HDCD, burr brown dac

Plastic build, clunky, muddy sound, cheaply built, horrible digital output signal, volume decreases with onboard dac

This actually a review of both this player, and the Rotel rcd-971, as my experience is with both. I bought last week a HK fl8380 because of its burr brown dac, hdcd ability, and the fact that I wanted better stereo sound than I was getting with my Sony DVD player....I found the HK to be large, clunky, and Plastic with a capital P. I thought its decoder was pretty decent, but I was annoyed that when using the on board dac, you lost about 6 db of volume over its digital mode, or over other cd players...It's due to hk's implementation of the burr brown pcm1732, which makes allowances for the extra dynamic sound of its hdcd implementation...The level of all non hdcd recordings suffers because of it...The dac provides clear decoding, but it's also shrill, muddy, and has lousy bass reproduction. And, stranger still is the fact that if you use its digital out signal, even though it may go to the same external dac as your dvd player, the sound is just plain lousy...Something is happening to the digital signal which is really bad...The signal when coming from my dvd player's digital out is much better than when using the hk's digital out, even though both use the same dac in the receiver! So all in all, the HK is one bad cd player. And, I hate to return stuff, so I really tried to like it...But no go.

Now, onto much better things....I picked up the Rotel player on the way home after I realized I'd never be happy with the HK, try as I might...Well, just let me say that this player plays in another league alltogether...The sound from its internal dacs is unbelievably clear and robust, with not a hint of shrillness or fatigue. The music is extremely involving...Much moreso than any other player I've heard...Which surprised me a little cause I used to think that cd players would not make a big difference in overall sound quality...Boy was I wrong...The bass is so deep but clear at the same time...And I tested it with recordings from David Crosby's CPR album, Dvorak, Brahms, and Mark Knopfler to test some HDCD...In each case, the cds sounded clearly better than what I had been listening too, and, keep in mind, I was pretty happy before....I just new things could be better...And I was right....And, not only is the onboard processing superior, but when I tested its digital out, that was also up to speed, presenting even a better signal than my Sony dvd player had done, and I really liked that signal.

So, in summary, dont get fooled like I did by its burr brown credential...HK's implementation of it is awful...The fact that you lose 6 - 8 db of precious volume level when playing non hdcd disks is a major bummer...And the fact that its digital out presents such a lousy signal is apalling....I really expected better from HK.

Similar Products Used:

Sony DVD-C660, Rotel RCD-971

HDCD decoding, price and stylish design

sound

Bought this as an open box buy from Circuit City at a great price. No mechanical problems to date my only complaint about this player is the sound. Compared to my Toshiba DVD player it sounds muffled or restrained. I would not recomend this player to anyone else if they were an avid music listener.

Other equipment I have in my system are--

NHT VT-2
Phase Technology PC-3 center
NHT HDP-2 surround
Velodyne SPL-1000
Harman Kardon AVR 65 rec.
Toshiba DVD Player
32" RCA Colotrak TV

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H/K 8450

Solid Build,Great Sound, Good Looks

Slight whirr upon disc startup.

Picked-up this unit on Saturday. Am very impressed with the build quality. The tray is rock steady. Very nice looking machine as well. The sound is detailed and tight. I think the best sound you can get for the money you spend. The discrete analog output section really does wonders for the sound quaility. The weakness I mentioned is not much of a factor unless you put your ear up to the machine. Listen to this player, you won't be disappointed.

Similar Products Used:

Denon, Jvc
Denon, JVC

VERY STRONG BUILD,NICE STYLEING, GREAT SOUND AND DIGITAL COAXIAL HOOKUP

IT IS A LITTLE NOISEY CHANGEING DISCS

FIRST LET ME SAY THAT THE 8380 HK HAS A GREAT SOUND IT IS DEEP AND CRYSLAL CLEAR, UNLIKE THE NEW YAMAHA THAT SOUNDS FLAT AND A LITTLE MUDDY, I PURCHASED IT NEW AND SO FAR PROBLEM FREE, THE 8550 HK I PURCHASED 2 FROM UBID REFURBISHED BOTH SKIPPED DISCS VERY BADLEY AND WERE SENT BACK, THE 8370 HK CAME FROM UBID ALSO AGAIN SKIPPED DISCS AND WAS SENT BACK, THE 720HK IS A SINGLE DISCS PLAYER AND STILL WORKS FINE AFTER 6YEARS OF MY SONS ABUSE, THE 8350 IS ALSO A REFIRBISHED PLAYER THAT I GAVE MY YOUNGER SON, NO PROBLEMS,ANY WAY I HIGHLY RECCOMEND THE HK 8380,JUST BUY IT NEW, AS FAR AS THE COMPLAINTS FROM THE GUY A FEW POST DOWN,I SAY TO HIM SIMPLY BRING IT BACK, GET A NEW ONE AND ENJOY SOME OF THE GREATEST SOUND YOU WILL GET UNDER $1000 DOLLARS, ALSO HK GIVES VERY GOOD COUSTOMER SUPPORT,

Similar Products Used:

HK 720, YAMAHA 506, SONY ES HK 8550 HK8350 8370 HK

Excellent sound with HDCD, Looks cool and is a solid build.

None, this is a great unit.

This is an awesome CD player, I was lucky to get a model with no problems. Everything plays perfect, except my scratched CD's, but what else is new. I recomend this CD player, the price is good and the quality for the price is amazing.

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Older H/K Models