HDCD, 20 bit Burr Brown DACs sound pretty good

none so far but have only used it a week

Since these players were being sold on several websites (Onecall, 800.com to name a few) for around $200.00, and I never had any problems with the FL8350, I decided to purchase it. The unit I purchased was brand new and has a very high serial no. Hopefully I will not experience the problems others have reported, if so I have the 8350 to back it up.

The unit sounds good but not a whole lot better than the 8350. I do believe that all CD players do not sound the same, but what we perceive to be a "better" sound just may be a "difference" in sound. IMO the recording itself has alot to do with sound quality. All of the HDCD encoded discs I've heard sound good, period. Maybe sometime I'll do an A/B comparison of the FL8350 to the 8550 with the same HDCD disc to see how much of a difference there is.

The sound from this unit is very open and spacious. There is a more defined soundstage. Instruments and vocals sound very natural. Bass is tight, even with some of the music my kids like. The tray mechanism is not as noisy as the JVC changers (IMO). I think the quietest tray I've heard was a Technics.

For the price you can get this unit nowadays it is worth trying HDCD. Just as the reviewer below I have been a fan
of HK products for years, but have not had any problems so far. If the 8350 or 8550 (or both) start to fail me I'll go back to JVC until I can afford something better. I'll give this unit 5 stars for value and 4 stars (so far) overall.

Similar Products Used:

JVC, HK FL8350

Price, HDCD

Styling

So far so good, I have one of the high serial numbered units so I hope this one is more reliable than the earlier units. I decided to buy this unit simply for the HDCD decoding and at a price of $199.00, I felt I couldn't go wrong. I am satisfied with the sound, although I paid the FL-8550 a fraction of the cost of my other players it held it's own, warm and natural not as precise as my Sony ES players but that might actually be an advantage! What amazed me however is my 1 HDCD disc that I had, (Joni Mitchell "HITS") I was quite familiar with it and actually was disapointed in the sound it displayed on my non HDCD players due to the fact I thought that the CD had been poorly mastered due to the distortion that it produced, like the cd had been recorded too loudly and had digital crackel. Well, when I had played it with the 8550 w/HDCD, no distortion, just clean well defined music, I was amazed! I have to get more HDCD cd's now! I'm not crazy about the styling of any H/K product, but that is personal taste. The overall sound and build for the price is outstanding, again not for $600, but at $200, it's great. If the FL-8550 is now reliable with the bugs worked out, then I would recommend a listen to the budget minded audiophile.

Similar Products Used:

Sony ES CDP-XA3ES and CDP-X55ES

Very good sound, especially with HDCD

Whow, changing CD's definitly scares a lot.

I bought a new audio system, first with a HK8350(I guess) CD player. The first CD player gave some trouble (Played a little music between changing tracks), so i got the 8550, and I was surprised about the quality. Really better then any cd-player in the same price class from other brands.
But after reading the other reviews I really am affraid abaut the quality. If this one indeed breaks down, I want another brand, but I hope my player keeps playing another 5 years.
By the way, is this product really made in China instead of California?? I noticed the front is not an alluminium panel like my HK receiver.

four stars but if he breaks down within 2 years make it one.

Similar Products Used:

HK8*** (Same model, 1 converter, no HDCD)

Great value, decent sound(for under $300), HDCD

Loud disc changing, ergonomics.

I got tired of switching cds(for the whole family) in my single play cd player, the Marantz 67SE and was looking for a CD changer. I initially thought of getting the CAL CL-10(best CD changer I've ever heard), but decided not to spend that much with DVD-A and SACD just around the corner. After trying a few low budget cd changers(under $500), the HK 8550 seems to be the best deal - easily obtainable for $199-$250 online. It is an exceptional deal for that price!

Granted it is no CAL CL10, it is just a small notch off my Marantz 67SE. The HK8550 is less warm, less smooth, but more detailed, transparent, and dynamic even on non HDCD discs. The soundstage and depth are excellent for any budget cd player. I used mine with the MF X10D which warms up the sound very nicely.

I have a newer unit made after mid 1999, with most of the earlier problems corrected - except for the loud disc changing mechanism. No problems at all reading even scratched discs, no problem reading the display, etc.

Associated equipment:
Conrad Johnson Sonographe SC26 pre
Chiro C200 amp
NHT VT2 speakers
Straight wire Encore
Audioquest Crystal
Musical Fidelity X10D to warm up the sound

Similar Products Used:

Marantz 67SE

None: it doesn't work!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't be fooled into buying this product or any Harman Kardon product for that matter. A company that has such disrespect for it's complaining customers should be ignored. The FL8550 I bought did not work at all. I got it out of it's box, hooked it up, pushed the open/close button ....... and nothing happened. Harman Kardon has dissapointed me big time. To have so many people complain and then just do nothing is beyond good corporate citizenship. I'll never buy something from them again.

Harman Kardon's new strategy is to sell equipment that doesn't work. Don't buy it!

sound, price/value

noisy disc mechanism, display

Didn't read the reviews until after buying this product for only $180 (delivered). (Guess they're really trying to clear these out now.) I have a high serial number, so I'm hoping I won't encounter some of the problems noted below. I think that this player does sound really good, on both HDCD and non-HDCD discs, especially for this price. It is much better than my 8300, which I bought for about the same price just a couple of years ago.

What is puzzling is that this model has problems which did not exist in the earlier, less expensive (at full retail) model. The disc mechanism on that unit was much more quiet and the display was much more attractive. I also appreciated the ability to dim or turn off the display on my 8300 -- great of late night listening. I really don't like the bright blue glare and the flashing disc and track indicators. It's puzzling that they took a step (or several steps) back in product design with this unit.

But what matters most to me is the sound, and this unit is definitely top-notch for its price range. I just hope mine works for more than a few months or a year. (My original Sony, purchased in 1985, worked for 10 years without a glitch.)

Similar Products Used:

HK FL 8300

Awesome sound for the money

NONE

I purchased the unit right after Christmas and took the advice from a previous reviewer about buying a very high serial number. I verified this with HK before buying, but for $200 delivered from Onecall, I figured it was worth the risk. Compared to the Rotel ($599), Adcom ($699)and Denon ($200) the sound was comparable. The Adcom and Rotel were a little better, but not worth a few hundred bucks extra. The Denon was too bright for me. I've had absolutely no problems with my 8550 and the sound is hard to beat,especially the HDCD.

Pioneer Elite VSX27TX
Polk Audio RT55 Front
Polk Audio CS400 Center
Polk Audio FX500 Rear
Bag End Infrasub-18
Toshiba CN36X81
Toshiba SD3109
Harman Kardon FL8550

Similar Products Used:

Rotel, Adcom and Denon

Not applicable, considering the multitude of problems with this piece of *hit!!!

Cannot read many disks; transport and changing mechanism way too noisy

It really is sad that my $120 Technics SL-PD8, in my secondary bedroom system, performs and sounds MUCH better than this HK piece of junk! I don't know what has happened to good, proper ethical customer service, but I can't seem to get any from HK, and it is a shame that they would even have a player like this on the market! Audio Advisor shouldn't even carry this one, nor sell it. It used to be that, once upon a time, brands like Nakamichi and HK stood for sure quality and performance, but now those greedy schmucks at the top are probably striving for premature release of product to market, without having properly tested and evaluated them. They probably figure that there are a lot of suckers out there that won't mind if their players can't read a few disks or that they play too loudly. Well, here is proof that there are discriminating audio enthusiasts out there who expect value and performance. And even if you're not into audio as much as many of us are, it really is unethical to foist a crappy player like this upon the buying public, period. What these manufacturers need is some serious Japanese type quality control and production methods! We want players that perform reliably like a Lexus rather than a Chevy! Shame on you HK. I'll NEVER buy one of your products again!

Similar Products Used:

Marantz, Onkyo, Technics

Price and sound, if the unit is still working...

Set the records for lower limit of product durability: less than 3 months.

I agree with many of the posters complaining quick breaking down. Here I give yet another similar story. I bought mine from an HK outlet last December and found it stopped picking up disks in March. After sending the unit to service twice, but failed both times, I called the HK customer services.

Note: It should be Harman Consumer Group, 800-645-7484.
The best time is in the morning, if you are an early
bird, you'll probably get through. All Customer Reps
I have talked with are very nice and efficient.
Don't call their personal extension: Most of the
time they don't respond.

With some patience, I got a replacement for the bad unit, though it was an FL8370. It has similar features as FL8550 except for a 18 bit conversion compared to 20 bit.

The new unit did recognize the very existence of all the disks I placed in the unit, but was just unable to read them at all.

I called HK again, and received the return authorization plus a prepaid return shipment. But I was not able to get my money back. Instead, I will keep receiving replacement unit until the one that happens to work.

At this point, I cannot think HK is of any "innovation." The company is simply testing its good luck against a growing customer sentiment. Anyway, we will not link HK with some tire maker who got much headlines recently. In addtion, people in HK's customer service unit are still working patiently to cool down the angriness.

HK, pull your head from sands!

yxu

Similar Products Used:

HK FL8370

see my previous posts

averything

*hit. It is not an audio product, it is an imitation
to be used as cheap decoration in furniture shops.
I have posted a number of reviews about my
previous broken FL8550. After 2,5 months of painful
communications with HK technical service, they
finally gave me a "new" one for replacement.
Same crap as the previous one, it starts to skip disks .
I have no more energy to fight with them. In one
month my new FL will not recognise the disks
anymore and I will get rid of it and buy rotel.
HK rascals will finish in the garbage
if they continue like that.

Similar Products Used:

another FL8550, HK 7325