Summary: I haven't had much time with this receiver yet, but the first impressions have been very good ones. This receiver has considerably more power than your standard 100 WPC channel receiver even though its rated at 75x7. The system I have set up is a pretty much for home theater only and I was using a Yamaha RX-V995 which was rated at 100wpcx5. I don't have any doubts that this receiver could easily power some small to midsized tower speakers.
My system is built around Polk RT25i speakers (great bargain speaker at the time of purchase) and matching center and surrounds. The polks tend to be a little bright with their metal dome tweeters, but this receiver helped to ease the brightness that the Yamaha showed through. This receiver has a nice full sound even on these little bookshelves. I like the fact that you can set the crossovers for all speakers independantly. The remote has a ton of capability, but I don't really like the layout and will continue to use my Universal Remote.
Strengths: - much more power than rated compared to other receivers
- price considering performance and features
- looks
- sound quality/depth
Weaknesses: - don't care for the remote
- no hdmi inputs/outputs but none of my other equipment has HDMI so it wasn't a concern for me.
Similar Products Used: Yamaha rx-v995
JVC 8000vbk (decent bargain receiver, especially for 2 channel listening)
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Summary: THIS RECEIVER HAS AWESOME POWER AND IT DRIVES MY B&W'S EXTREMELY WELL .EVEN THOUGH I HAVE YET TO COMPLETE MY 5.1 SET UP TO ACTUALLY TRULY ENJOY THE AUDIO FORMATS THAT ARE INCORPORATED IN THE RECEIVER ,BUT WHATEVER LITTLE I AM ABLE TO GET WITH THE 2.1 SETUP THAT I HAVE IS INCREDIBLE. ESPECIALLY THE VMAX FORMATS AND THE DOLBY VIRTUAL FORMATS MAKE A LOT OF DIFFERENCE WHILE WATCHING MOVIES. STEREO LISTENING IS AWESOME AS THIS RECEIVER PUSHES A LOT OF POWER AND I FEEL ITS KIND OF UNDERRATED AT 90WATTS(STEREO MODE). THE RS 232 IS A THOUGHTFUL FEATURE TO KEEP UP WITH THE UPGRADES. AND ITS LOOKS ARE VERY GOOD ESPECIALLY THE BLUE LIGHT AROUND THE VOLUME CONTROL. NAD RECEIVERS THAT I LOOKED UP SOUND A BIT MORE BRIGHTER BUT FOR THEIR GOTHIC LOOKS WELL... BUT I HONESTLY BELIEVE YOU CAN'T HAVE A BETTER RECEIVER FOR THE MONEY YOU PAY.
Strengths: LOOKS,EXCELLENT STEREO SOUND,PROVISION FOR FUTURE UPGRADES,RAW POWER
Weaknesses: REMOTE IS KINDA BULKY AND DRAWS A LOT OF ATTENTION
Similar Products Used: NAD,DENON,ONKYO,YAMAHA
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Summary: I was looking for a receiver to go well with my B&W 805 speakers and Arcam CD73T player and the Harman Kardon AVR300 came out on top. It has wonderful fidelity, yet is very smooth and clean sounding and comfortable to listen to. It looks beautiful and very modern and sylish in my Stereo Rack and matchs my silver components well (would probably match black also as it is silver and black)
I auditioned the Arcam AVR300 at home which sold for twice the price and had very revealing sound (especially in the treble range) but it started to annoy me and induce listener fatigue after only about 10 minutes of listening as did the Denon 3805 which was even brighter but lacked the tonal quality of the Arcam AVR300. (the Denon has the saving grace of a built in EQ which won't completely overcome the receiver's bias). Both the Denon and Arcam receivers advertised more power but did seem to have as much power or sound quit as clean as the Harman Kardon did although the HK is advertised as having less Watts.
The higher total power output of the Harman Kardon was due to the apparently higher current. (Total power output is related to current X wattage. Other units can advertise more watts (a good analogy is a little like the rate of water going out of a garden hose) but if they don't have high current (the overall larger diameter of the hose) they won't be putting out as much power (total amount of water out of the hose). So comparing the Harman Kardon with its lower watts to other receivers advertised watts and saying the others have more power because of their higher watts, can be a little like trying to compare a large fire hose to a garden hose and saying the garden hose has more power(total volume of water output) because the water exits at a little faster rate than out fire hose (watts)).
In all fairness the perceived quality of sound is personal preference and a combination the the tonal bias of the components involved (receiver, speakers, and CD player) If you have bright and open speakers like the B&W 805's (or Infinity speakers for that matter), then a bright receiver like the Arcam AVR300 or Denon 3805 may not be the best match - again depending on your listening taste.
I found I could listen to the Harmon Kardon for hours and feel relaxed and comfortable which I could not with the other receivers. The sound seemed warm and full and more natural to me and life like and seemed to lack the artificiality and induced listener fatigue often brought about by digital equipment.
The Harman Kardon AVR630 is discounted several hundred dollards now as it is about to be replaced. However, if you can wait until sometime in November, 2004 Harman Kardon will start selling the new AVR635 for a few hundred more which looks the same but has a built in broad spectrum equilizer which can dramatically increase the quality of the sound by allowing you to adjust the sound to your room accoustics automatically (and I hope it will allow you to overide the automatic setting and allow you to adjust the EQ for your own listening preferences). So if an EQ is important to you, you will want to wait and pay a few hundred extra but if not so important, you can save a few hundred dollars and buy a wonderful receiver right now which in my opinion and for my listening taste is superior to all but the very highest of high end receivers out there. I spent hundreds of dollars in restocking fees and shipping charges to come to this conclusion and am happy to pass my experience and recommendations on to you and save you the trouble and expense. Buy this Harman Kardon AVR630 - you will not be dissapointed!
Strengths: Attractive
Super clean, warm, natural sound
Weaknesses: I heard that the volume control of the demos in the store needed to be replaced after about a year of constant heavy daily use (probably equal to 10 years at home) Probably not a problem since you will also use your remote, unlike the demo in the store.
Similar Products Used: Arcam AVR300
Denon AVR3805
Did not compare to NAD
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Summary: This reciever is awesome to say the least. I was using a Sony STR-DE985 rated at 110 watts per channel so at first I was reluctant to go with a reciever with less power well what a joke the Sony cant hold a candle to the HK plenty of power and good deep bass as well as clear highs. This is the best reciever I have ever owned. The sound fields are plenty and setup is easy. The remote could be a little better as it reverts back to the AVR after a few seconds instead of staying on the chosen source. This reciever is very heavy showing a good build quaility and it shows in the sound. Iam using JBL northridge speakers and HK dvd101 which is also a great product. I also looked at the Denon 3805 but Denon only warranties thier refurbished for 90 days and HK same as a new unit 2 years that tipped the scale heavy to the HK I am very pleased
Strengths: POWER build quaility sound easy setup
Weaknesses: none yet
Similar Products Used: Sony STR-DE985
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Summary: The sound from the product is excellent, and when its working, it performs great with my Canton CD 100 speakers.
But its quality, as well as the service from Harman Kardon need improvement.
Strengths: Sounds great. Auto-detect feature works quickly. Logic 7 Enhanced is a great feature. The PCM upscaling to 96Khz does make a difference that is slightly noticeable. HDCD detection works well also. I receive great sound in DTS.
Weaknesses: Service, Service, Service. My HK broke down and stays on for only 5 seconds after power up. I sent it in for service. I live in the San Francisco Bay area, California. The nearest service center was 1 hour away. I drove it there. I still haven't received a status. It's been 4 weeks!!!!
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