It plays compact discs.

the sound of it

Metalic, harsh sounding player. Has a lack of weight in the whole frequency range, acceptable bass definition but again lacks to involve listener into the music. Not recommended.

I bought this player a few months ago to replace a 5 disc Kenwood that I had. I found out after buying the Kenwood that I am not a fan of 5 disc players so I started shopping for a new one. There is not much choice in my area for single disc players so my options were limited. I came across the H/K and was impressed by what I heard in the limited soundroom it was in. I was also impressed at the construction of this unit. I paid $369 for it and feel I got a good deal. After bringing it home and plugging it in I listened to a few of my discs. I immediately noticed that the sound definitely was smoother and everything more defined and tighter. I am running it along with my ageing Pioneer VSX4900s and a set of Paradigm 5se with an Infinity BU-1 sub. I had found the highs a bit harsh on my Paradigm when driving them hard, but now this top end has moved a bit higher with the H/K. Only one complaint hat I could make is that I was a bit disappointed at how flimsy the drawer was for the price. Good player overall.

I listened to a number of players, and decided that a single disc unit was the way to go. (-have you ever seen a 5-disc Mark Levinson??...) Marantz sounded a bit warm and mushy to me, and yamaha just sounded hollow; strained highs that I found annoying with no bass/midrange to speak of. after listening to a full-out Krell system, w/integrated cd/pre-amp & 600 series amp, I felt I had something to compare everything else to. This has to be the most "real" system that I have heard, and I felt that the harman/kardon unit came surprisingly close to that "real" sound, when hooked up to better-than-average components. Though not as smooth or as natural as the Krell, the H/K has a neutrality to it that I personally enjoy a great deal. Highs are clear and precise and just slightly clinical, but not in any way aggravating. Mids are clean and neutral, and bass dives to the limits of my Energy ES-8. Also, the soundscape of the h/k is noticeably smaller than that of the Krell, but at the same time, not at all constricted or shallow. -It simply tells you what is on the disc, whether it be well, or poorly recorded. Flaws in the mixing come across with the h/k whereas with my old Technics, it all gets smeared into oblivion. In my humble opinion, this thing is an incredible deal for the dinero. The closest thing I can compare it to is the ARCAM alpha 7, which retails for around $800. The HD 710 goes for around $400 here. I have spent over a year lookign for the best bang for my buck, (hey, I'm a student,..) and I have to say the HD-710 comes highly reccommended! For this kind of money at this quality level? 5 stars.

Sounds brilliant and it doesn't have unnecesary functions and the usual HK Classic design

The CD-Player are extremely sensetive to dirty CDs.
Aggresive bass and treble.

According to the price it is an extremely reliable CD-player. Similar to my DVD player, which is a Denon DVD 1500G the treble and bass are more aggresive when using the HD 710 CD-Player.

I just purchased a HD710 yesterday, or rather I listened to one but have on order the updated HD720. I hope the salesperson is right that things don't go backwards in the digital world because the HD710 really impressed me. I compared it to the NAD 522, the CAL DX-2, and the Rotel 950. I forgot to ask prices before I started comparing (using pop, jazz, and classical CDs, all 20-Bit mastered) and I assumed that the HD710 was the most expensive at first. I was amazed to learn it retailed at $349. It put the $299 NAD 522 out of the running completely. Much better detail for the classical and the jazz and pop CDs were much more "alive" and dynamic, especially with percussion. It was just as good if not a tiny bit better than $450 Rotel. The CAL DX-2 seemed to offer a touch more realism on vocal recording but not $200 worth! For the price range I think I got the best thing available.

I bought this CD two month ago.I have Panasonic DVD-A310 in my system , but I preffer H/K HD710 for music CD. Digital output is very nice feature if you have digital processor or digital ready receiver.The bass are deep and the mid and high are real smooth and nice!
I don't have any problems with CD-R.

My system:
HK HD710
Panasonic DVD-310
Technics SH-AC500D
Yamaha RX-V692
Speakers: Energy and Klipsch

For the price its a real good CD!

Dynamic, full sound.

Overall too harsh sound, grainy treble.

It's really impressive at first, with a well defined midrange and full, dynamic sound. But as you listen on, it becomes very harsh.
My combo included HK 610 amp which I found a very good one and JBL LX-6 speakers (nice, but sometimes to sharp treble and not too clean bass).
You might need some sweet speakers with non-aggressive treble and a similar amp to listen to classical music.
Recommended for noisy rock though.