Clear sound. Great looking. Lots of inputs and outputs.

Sounds a little cold, as said by another reviewer. The connection posts look ugly and don''t accept spades.

I traded in my old NAD stereo integrated amp for this AV receiver. I found it generally great for both classical music and movies. More power than the NAD 712 I had, and drives my KEF Q35 more smoothly.

Similar Products Used:

NAD 712

great sound an clarity no more speaker hissing or hums

power an component video input

sounds great could have more power but compared to a mini home theatre system i was using this is great no hissing in my speaker any more sub sounds much better i had a poer amp for just my sub woofer no i use that for the multi rom function for putdoor music listening,

Similar Products Used:

denon,pioneer

Multiple Digital inputs and a digital output

No Tape Monitor

I really enjoyed this priduct, but my only disliking was that it did not have a tape monitor, so I was unable to use my equilizer to bring out the full strengths of my Polk speakers. I purchased the AVR65 instead which was about $10 cheaper. It has more power, but no digital outputs. and 2 less digital inputs.

Similar Products Used:

AVR65

good high current amp, although i run it into a thx amp(kenwood) nice front panel, adequete digital inputs, s-video switching

my second one just went bad. 1st on video switching and on screen didnt work. second one volume is going up and down for no reason and left channel in stereo just went out. i will not get another one!!!

i had high expectations for this unit and i am sadly dissapointed with harmon kardon's quality. i am a ht installer and had a couple of similar units go bad also! what happened to hk?? IF YOU DECIDE ON ONE MAKE SURE THE RETURN POLICY IS GENEROUS!! i dont beleive that i will carry hk anymore until they can put out some reliable products.

Great sound quality with music. Excellent clarity and separation with Dolby Digital/DTS.

Nothing significant.

Although I've read some negative comments concerning HK products on this site, my experience with their stuff over the years has been great. This unit is more of the same. Easy to use, nice to look at and very satisfying sound with music CDs, VHS and DVD. I had the learning remote programmed for my TV, VCR, CD and DVD in about 20 minutes and everything works fine. Now I have a bunch of old remotes sitting in the closet!! I've read some reviews on this site where people complain about this line of HKs making a clicking sound when the volume is adjusted. This (at least in my unit) is VERY minor and hasn't been a problem for me. I'm really enjoying this unit so far. I think it's a great value in this price range (I paid $480 + S/H through a vendor on eBay).

Similar Products Used:

Various models from HK, Marantz and Onkyo

2 Coaxial Digital Inputs, pre-amp outputs for all 6 channels, great sound with music, and the remote is great.

Doesn't save speaker settings for each input

System setup:

- HK AVR300 DD/DTS Receiver
- Toshiba SD2109 DVD Player (I'm starting to hate this player)
- NAD 522 CD player
- Samsung VCR (crap)
- Scientific Atlanta Digital Cable Box
- Magnepan MMGs (front speakers)
- NHT SuperCenter
- NHT SuperOnes (rears)
- Infinity BU-120 Subwoofer


So far, I really love this receiver (especially for the $422.50 price tag from onecall.com). To begin with, it's a nice-looking unit. Build quality is much higher than that of the Sony DB and DE receivers. There are inputs-a-plenty. I needed something with 2 coaxial digital inputs for my DVD player and digital cable box. S-video switching is certainly nice, though I'm not currently equipped to use it. I like the preamp outputs for all 6-channels, however I came to realize that the built-in amplifier isn't bad at all for a receiver in this price range.

As with most receivers nowadays, the thing sounds great for movies. But what impressed me most was the sound I get listening to music in stereo mode. It's so much cleaner and more accurate than other receivers I've tried to play music on.

Despite what seems to be the popular opinion, I love the remote. I easily programmed it to control all my devices (DVD player, VCR, TV, CD player, and cable box), and I have yet to find a function on any of these devices that can't be controlled by this remote. Also, there are plenty of programmable macro buttons (useful for doing normally arduous tasks such as turning on each component of the system individually).

So far, my only complaint is that the receiver doesn't save speaker settings defined for each input. For example, while I certainly like to employ the subwoofer for movies, I prefer not to use it when listening to music. So I have to manually reconfigure the speaker setup each time I change.

I'd like to note that while the manual states nothing about the amplifier's ability to handle 4ohm loads, the folks at HK let me know htat the receiver can indeed handle anything down to 4ohms (which was good to know since my MMG's require a 4 ohm load).

This HK really puts all the other mid-end receivers to shame. I'd say that the most comparable receiver in terms of quality would be the Denon AVR-3300, but this goes for a considerably higher price.

Obviously, I'll give it a 5 for value, and 4 overall (because certainly you can do better if you're willing to spend more!).

Similar Products Used:

Sony STR-DB830
Yamaha RX-V795a

Sounds great, had the features I need like S-video, 5.1, and 4 video inputs

Failed after two months.

Failed after two months. Had to go to the shop. VOLUME would click and go up when I turned it down etc. It cranked itself up LOUD when I was in the shower once. After the repair, it is much better.

The repair tech said there were some bad connections and a resistor....he was kind of not too bright himself. He did fix it though.

It better last. $475 delivered from sounddistributors.com.

Similar Products Used:

I hate Sony.

Sound, Design

Durability? Volume Control Issues

Caveat Emptor, DO NOT buy from an unauthorized dealer! The older AVRs (eg Dec 99) have a volume control problem that may cause the unit to jump ~25dbs sporadically. This is a known issue with HK and they have fixed it in the newer models, but if you bought it from an unauthorized dealer you will be stuck with the product. You can check to see if an online retailer is authorized at this website: http://www.hear-us.com/hearus.html
I am currently battling with eCost.com over having them take my unit back with no handling, or processing fees.

Other than the glaring volume control problem, this unit sounded very good with good clarity and depth, however my experience was limited to a couple of days. The unit is very aesthetic in it's design, but the remote is a little generic.

System:
HK AVR 300 (no longer)
Toshiba DVD 3109
Mission 703s, 700s, 70c2, AS1

I do have to mention their customer support. I had a very good experience with their support team which really smoothed out the hastle of trying to return this product to the distributor. They were prompt when returning my calls and very thorough in their efforts to remedy the problem with eCost.com.

4 Stars for value because I got it for $450 which was an excellent deal, but the catch was the dealer was unauthorized and the retail is actually around $599-699, hardly a value for what this product offers.

3 Stars overall due to the lack of decent quality control before shipping these units, however I'm sure this is a very nice receiver once this issue has been corrected.

Similar Products Used:

HK, Denon

High current amp. You'll get more real power than almost any so-called 100W per channel amp, such as the Sony 535 or 845. Frequency range to match human hearing threshold.

Price, volume clicks, non-glowing remote

Before I got this unit, I went through a Sony 535, 845 and a Kenwood VR-407 before I purchased this model. All of them had problems will lower volume white noise, some with the sub-output. This unit however, has an amazingly wide range of volumes: low volume for reading, or for having company over; to high volumes for DVD movies and music.

As an electrical engineer, seeing the truth being bent on power is easy to find. On the Sony and Kenwood models, they'll tell you you get 100W per channel, but really you're getting close to 30W-40W. Since the HK is a high current amp, you'll get the 60W per channel...every time. Case and point: with the 535 and 835, there was not a volume level that could hurt my hearing, but with the AVR300, starting at -10dB my ears began to hurt. This unit is clear and loud.

The quality in this unit that beats all other brands is the clearness of both digital and analog sound. Most receivers, due to a digital volume control, will spit out white noise at low volume levels. This receiver does not. I would suggest this product over the Sony, Kenwood, or Onkyo.

Very clean sound at high levels. Easy on the eye design.

Possible reliability problems, according to some other reviews.

I bought the HK AVR300 last weekend from Circuit City, and have thoroughly enjoyed it, so far. I hope I don't have the problems some of you are having, though I did get the 5 year extended service...which may come in handy down the road. It was $60 but I got the guy to go down $30 on the receiver so it really will only cost me $6 a year for the next 5 years... can you say insurance?

I would like to comment on a few of the complaints I have read about the AVR300. First, the "clicking" you hear is normal for a digit volume control. Unlike my previous Technics receiver where the remote tells the receiver to mechanically rotate the analog knob, this remote is sending information to increase the volume in pulses (the 1dB incriments). Notice how the knob does not move. Second, ok the remote seams a little lacking, but its the first one I've used the can control all of the important functions of my digital cable receiver with ease, and with the correct labels on the remote for most of them also, good for the wife.

Now the on-screen display did take a while to get used to. But after actually reading the manual, heaven forbid, it made a lot more sense. I think its very nice to have all of the level and speaker info right there in front of you. I also like the seperate settings for each surround mode. I just need a meter so I can accurately adjust them.

I do wish it had at least one more set of video inputs in the back, but at least a DVD player is it's own input.

Back to the sound, I could have sworn I also hooked up new speakers the first time I listened to some music. The more I turned it up, the better it seamed to sound. I had a Technics 100W pro-logic receiver, and this just blows it away, as I suspected it would. The bass was nice and tight, unlike the Technics' boomyness.

The biggest complaint I have is the volume difference between surround sound modes. I also don't understand why when you set the front speaker setting to "large" the overall level goes way down? It should be the same, just with more bass (with the

Similar Products Used:

None really.