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Harman Kardon AVR 110 Audio/Video Receiver

Harman Kardon AVR 110 Audio/Video Receiver

List Price: $499.00
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A 2 thumbs up receiver...
Review: Don't underestimate the power of this receiver. Its' 50/40 watts per channel is far much better than Sonys', Yamahas', or any other Japanese famous brands'... 100 watts per channel. Every single small sound will be delivered to your ears straightly, smoothly, and satisfactorily, guaranteed...

It's may be a little too high in price but it's worthy for every single of your peny. REMEMBER, you get for what you pay & don't !!!...

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Mine lasted 5 months ... but replaced by HK
Review: I recently purchased the AVR 110 from Amazon. The unit works beautifully and has some features that are essential for my location, which is in a rural area, about 70 miles from the nearest classical music FM station. The highly sensitive FM tuner, which can operate in mono or stereo, brings in these stations without hiss or static, which is saying a lot, considering that I am surrounded by hills that further interfere with what little signal I can bring in from an external roof mounted antenna.

The power is more than adequate for a pair of Bose bookshelf speakers, and there is no need for a subwoofer, at least for the type of classical music I enjoy, in a room measuring about 20 x 35 feet. At low to moderate volume levels, this amplifier uses less current than my 27-year old Panasonic, which delivered only 20 watts to the speakers. The controls are easy to use, and the control panel always lets you know what inputs are being used, and which speakers are in operation. The remote control does have quite a few buttons, but it is not all that difficult to use, and it can be programmed to run virtually anything else in the system that uses a remote.

At the volume levels which I am using, background noise, hiss, and distortion are virtually nonexistent. At some point, I expect to use the surround sound features, but at present I'm using only the two Bose bookshelf speakers. In short, the AVR 110 gives thoroughly satisfactory performance and has enough versatility to accommodate future additions of speakers and other components. The sound is natural, smooth, and to tell the truth, I've never heard some of my old LP's sound as good as they do with this system. This unit may be overkill for some, but if you need what is probably the most sensitive FM tuner on the market today, this should be your first choice.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Well Engineered, Top Quality
Review: I recently purchased the AVR 110 from Amazon. The unit works beautifully and has some features that are essential for my location, which is in a rural area, about 70 miles from the nearest classical music FM station. The highly sensitive FM tuner, which can operate in mono or stereo, brings in these stations without hiss or static, which is saying a lot, considering that I am surrounded by hills that further interfere with what little signal I can bring in from an external roof mounted antenna.

The power is more than adequate for a pair of Bose bookshelf speakers, and there is no need for a subwoofer, at least for the type of classical music I enjoy, in a room measuring about 20 x 35 feet. At low to moderate volume levels, this amplifier uses less current than my 27-year old Panasonic, which delivered only 20 watts to the speakers. The controls are easy to use, and the control panel always lets you know what inputs are being used, and which speakers are in operation. The remote control does have quite a few buttons, but it is not all that difficult to use, and it can be programmed to run virtually anything else in the system that uses a remote.

At the volume levels which I am using, background noise, hiss, and distortion are virtually nonexistent. At some point, I expect to use the surround sound features, but at present I'm using only the two Bose bookshelf speakers. In short, the AVR 110 gives thoroughly satisfactory performance and has enough versatility to accommodate future additions of speakers and other components. The sound is natural, smooth, and to tell the truth, I've never heard some of my old LP's sound as good as they do with this system. This unit may be overkill for some, but if you need what is probably the most sensitive FM tuner on the market today, this should be your first choice.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best receiver out there for the money!
Review: I researched mid priced A/V receivers for a while, and after I ruled out Sony, Yamaha, Kenwood, Aiwa, and all the other companies that rely on customers assuming that bigger numbers mean better product (now lets see, how exactly does sony sell a 100w x 5 receiver for $200 again? I've seen charts where it drops much lower as the volume goes up), that left H/K and Denon standing.

I really didn't want to spend too much on my receiver and this receiver was right at the max. Denons have very good reputations, but A: They look cluttered with all the buttons on the front, and B: I found their interface somewhat confusing.

This unit on the other hand, is VERY simple. I skimmed the manual, which is not the best I've seen, but as I said, this receiver is not brain surgery. The front of the unit has 5 buttons to select different tuning options and then a few sets of scrolling buttons for surround sound modes, source select, etc. I was up and running with all the channels and speakers calibrated to my liking within an hour.

Logic 7 is quite lovely for movies, TV, or video games. It uses the rear speakers and gives you some nice depth. 5ch stereo is another nice feature, but just sends the same sound out of all 5 speakers. I haven't played with the other modes much (except for DD and DTS, which I use all the time for movies), but they are Hall, Theatre, Vmax (far and near), Prologic, Prologic 3-Stereo, and, ofcourse, just regular stereo :)

The binding posts on the back for the speakers are a blessing and the fact that there are S-video jacks for every video input.

Other reviewers have commented on the remote, which I'll admit, isn't great, the buttons are too close together. If you do get another remote, make sure its one that can learn fuctions (such as the Sony RM-VL900 like I have). There is a button on this remote that I haven't been able to access from the front panel of the unit. That function is: night mode. This "night mode", brings more detail to Dolby Digital and DTS sound tracks when you're listening to them at lower volumes.

Note: there's an AVR-120 out now, that is the same as this, but offers I believe 5 more watts per channel and has Dolby Pro-Logic II which is supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread. I'll find this out when I get my AVR-520.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Mine lasted 5 months ... but replaced by HK
Review: My AVR 110 was a great unit, but failed quite soon after I received it. Then was in repair for quite some time. Once I contacted Harmon Kardan directly though, they decided I had waited long enough without a receiver and replaced it for me. I appreciated the gesture and hope my new unit is more sturdy. It is a great sounding piece of equipment.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A great addition to any home system
Review: The HK AVR110 is a Rolls in the world of audio...the clarity is well worth the price. As everyone goes by basic wattage output in rating a receiver then you must explorer the world of Harman Kardon. The 50 watt output is better than any 100 watt receiver I have ever tried.The unit has that basic raw power that is desired of any unit but usually reserved for the pricey products. I would recommend the AVR110 to anyone.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: 5 Star Performance at a 3 Star price
Review: WHY SHOULD YOU BUY IT? There is no hiss at any sound level. It is perfect sound reproduction normally only found in units costing more than $1000! If you have a normal size room and need awesome state-of-the-art digital sound reproduction, than the AVR-110 is perfect. If you need more power for a larger room, upgrade to the AVR-210 (mostly kids complain there is not enough power in the 110 unit).

WHY SHOULDN'T YOU BUY IT? If you like bells and whistles (DSP sound fields and unlimited tinkering ability) than buy one of the Sonys (but be prepared for lots of hiss). If you need unbridled power with lots of KICK - buy Yamaha (and deal with a little hiss).

THE DARKSIDE OF THE AVR-110: Okay number one - the remote sucks. You will throw it away (or throw it into the wall). Number two - the instructions suck. It will take you a day to get it to do what you want.

SUMMARY: This is the best value for great Home Theater and state-of-the-art CD sound reproduction (including dts). It is a pain to get started, but once you do have it running... Well there just is no comparison in this price range. I know, I did my homework before I bought it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: 5 Star Performance at a 3 Star price
Review: WHY SHOULD YOU BUY IT? There is no hiss at any sound level. It is perfect sound reproduction normally only found in units costing more than $1000! If you have a normal size room and need awesome state-of-the-art digital sound reproduction, than the AVR-110 is perfect. If you need more power for a larger room, upgrade to the AVR-210 (mostly kids complain there is not enough power in the 110 unit).

WHY SHOULDN'T YOU BUY IT? If you like bells and whistles (DSP sound fields and unlimited tinkering ability) than buy one of the Sonys (but be prepared for lots of hiss). If you need unbridled power with lots of KICK - buy Yamaha (and deal with a little hiss).

THE DARKSIDE OF THE AVR-110: Okay number one - the remote sucks. You will throw it away (or throw it into the wall). Number two - the instructions suck. It will take you a day to get it to do what you want.

SUMMARY: This is the best value for great Home Theater and state-of-the-art CD sound reproduction (including dts). It is a pain to get started, but once you do have it running... Well there just is no comparison in this price range. I know, I did my homework before I bought it.


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