Pick this unit up for free broken and got it fixed in a few hours, what a system, the cd changer is very problemmatic and i never could get it to work properly. However with 3 aux inputs its a very good amp/ pre amp combo for computer , ipod ect.

The stock sperakers are good but when paired with a set of higher end bookshelfs it comes alive.

Im currently useing it with an ipod dock and a set of diamond 8.2 wharfedales and it will blow away any other mini system ive ever herd.

good sound , good quality at med-high volume

multi-cd difficult to work with, poor fiability, sound so so at low volume

Very desapointed, I had to change mine after 6 month because it went crazy and nothing seem to work correctly. The secound one was OK at the beginning but after 6 month the problems reapeared. LCD deffective, the sytem shut down for no reasons, after a couple of hour the system over heat and turn off , the CD changer "jam" often

Similar Products Used:

regular Harman kardon component and Yamaha (I work for 8 years in electronic sales)

Appearance, Speakers, Components

Circuitry problems

I have owned this unit for over 2 years now and paid $1,100 for it when it first came out. I imagine the price has come down significantly since then if anyone has actually bought one of these units besides me (given the lack of reviews here, I'm not sure). The sound is terrific and having separate components is very nice. The speakers are amazing and produce sufficient bass for my taste. The cd player is the Nakamichi-style of the internal 7-disc magazine. I've had a few problems with it not recognizing discs and there is no option to program individual tracks which is annoying. Two problems I've had with the circuitry are that it will not produce any sound below a certain volume level and it sometimes turns itself on and off. All the computerized features H/K installed tend to create more problems than they're worth sometimes. I've had it serviced once and they couldn't fix any of the problems after having the unit for two months. Very annoying. Overall, the sound and beautiful design make it worth the money.

Similar Products Used:

None

Cool look, awesome sound, compact, easy to use

Can't program individual tracks

The Festival 60 is absolutely awesome! It was very easy to set up. After I set it up I just admired how beautiful it was for a few moments, then when I turned it out it seemed to come to life with all its buttons glowing. I loaded in 7 CDs hit play and I was once again amazed. The bass was great but the most impressive aspect of the sound was how clean and crisp it was without being too bright sounding. When listening to my classical CDs what sounded like a big rumble on other system it was clear on the Festival to be a bass drum. The rattle of snare drums are extremely clean, trumpets sound brassy, you can hear the bows moving across the strings of a violin, it absolutely sounds like you're in a concert hall (and I'm not exagerating at all). I highly recommend this system.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer and Kenwood

Sound, Looks, size

Does not allow for random track play between CD's

When I saw this system at the Price Club, I was immediately impressed by it's lack of clutter and it's cool clean look. I new the Harmon name had a relatively good reputation and the price was fantastic. I bought it on the basis that I was only going to test it out and see what it sounds like. Well, as soon as I played that 1st CD, I was sold....The sound was much better than I had expected. Clean, crisp and loud. Very good bass. All in all for me, this system is a keeper for sure. This is excellent value for the money.

Similar Products Used:

None

Good High-end sound
for mini compact stereo system

slow responses

I was walking in a shopping center, and saw this stereo was staying quitely. After looking at it for a while, I started to wonder how it sounds. Is it going to sound as good as it looks? I quickly turned it on. HOkey Peter! This thing rock! It sounds really tremendous awesome. I was suddenly looking for a saleman to get this thing home. A sold man told me that he has this system at home, too. I wasn't care much he said. The only thing I care is that I want to get this system so bad. I put this system in my bedroom,and my wife says this stereo system sounds so good as it looks. As the matter of fact, my sister was trying to steal it from me several times. I told her to get her own. But she never seems to listen to me. Thus, I am planning to get this system for her coming birthday.
This is an absolutely amazing product from Harman Kardon. I wonder how long have they come out with this thing. The fact is, this company has always been my favorite, and the respected brand name (and will be forever).

Premium Sound,good looks,great bass!!!

Slow reaction when switching cd's.

The first time I heard the festival 60 I was floored.It had the sweet sound I was looking for in a high-end system along with the great price due to a clearence sale. I was destined to be a happy customer.When I took it home and started loading the c.d's, it confused me at first because of it's slow computer like reaction but for $500 bucks i'll take it!!!Great system for the consumer who doesn't want to get confused with all the bells and whistles,but just looking for simply great style and sound.

Similar Products Used:

none

User interface, sound quality

CD changer, customer support

The Festival 60 has a very nice user interface and sounds great. However, there seems to be an inherent problem recognizing some CD's (eg: Class Queen - blue CD, The Housemartins - Now That's What I Call Quite Good, Stan Getz, Jazz Masters 8, Jazz Masters). Another problem is that some CD's will play for awhile and then when the Festival 60 heats up, it fails to recognize them. A final problem is that the Festival 60 partially recognizes some CD's -- that is it will start playing the first track but will not let you advance through the tracks, it just stops playing. Both the display model at the store I purchase the product and the one that I bought had the same problems in recognizing CD's.

When I contacted Harmon/Kardon regarding this issue they said that maybe I should just return it (and purchase some other system)?! What kind of service is that?

Similar Products Used:

Sharp and Sanyo mini-systems.

Awesome compact System,or I could say the best in this whole world.

not allowing to change another CD while it is playing

This compact system is incredibly great, and amazing. It is also providing the fantastic sound while watching movies. If you don't have a lot of space, and need one small compact unit stereo system. This is it. There is a little bit of circuit system, such as slowing responses. However, it is abolutely surely the best one, still.

Small Size, big CLEAN sound, easy setup/tear down

CD changer is just OK compared with overall sound of system

The premium mini-system - especially at 300 USdollars
as other reviewers have noted - mine cost 1000.00
in 1998 and I still think it is a great deal - Hook
it up to the tv - not true surround sound but
not to shabby either.

In my opinion this is the perfect system for college
students or younger folks who want a great system
but don't have the financial resources/physical
space for all the various amps, pre-amps, post-amps
etc., etc. that they may desire but can't (yet) obtain.

Yes the CD changer can be problematic (nothing I have
had to get professionally repaired) Sometimes the
tray opens for no reason - and programing play order
and the like is not worth the aggravation.

Ed Phelps

Similar Products Used:

none