I purchased the h/k 65 on december. With the humming problem and problem with transformer i replased into avr -75, after two weeks my cd changer H/K 8850 simply stop playing too(how im lucky!).What about my new avr 75- the surround modes and 65w per channel,remote control is making this receiver more than worthless(i paid here in Europe 1260usd.I was so "sad" until I discover YAMAHA DSP-1. If H/K 65 and75 is a HT receiver so DSP-A1 is something else.Ofcourse is much more expensive but we are not buying each year a receiver and i think DSP-A1 is five years in front. H/K!what about co-operation with Deawoooo!Just before check out prices
one star for tech.quality and five star for AVR-65 surround possibilyties(five channels of full of music,hiss,some noise from transformer and worm from receiver( i almost could bake egg on the AVR-65)
"buy avr-65 and save money for heating"

Being new to the A/V scene, I have to say that my opinions may not rate as highly as some others but, for what it's worth, here's my 2 cents.
I recently purchased the HK AVR-65 from OneCall, including a Panasonic DVD K510 player. They were extremely helpful. I was reluctant to purchase this unit after reading about all the problems in this forum but decided to take the plunge after the person I talked to assured me that they were fixed. My unit arrived three days after placing my order.

It took me a couple of hours to hook up to Carver 5.2 speakers and program everything into the remote. It might have taken less time had I not read through the whole manual for both the Carvers and the HK. In any case, I chalked it up to the learning curve. So, the results?

I have to say that this combination of the Carvers and the HK really kicks butt. I listen to various kinds of music from classical to grunge. I have to say that there are so many nuances I hear in this system that I've never heard before. It's like discovering a long lost love (well, maybe not that dramatic). This despite the fact that I'm listening to the CD's through my Panasonic DVD player, which I've read does not result in as good a sound quality as going through a normal CD player with digital outs. (I would suggest that you use Beethoven's Ninth symphony as a test CD for music on any system. The choral passages and alternations with the various instruments are great tests of a system's capability for kicking out the bass as well as the treble clefs. Moreover, the sound definition reproduction that's required taxes most system's capabilities which I've found NOT to be the case with the HK and the Carvers.)

As far as home theatre is concerned, I feel completely vindicated for taking three months to research all the various equipments before purchasing. The HK and Carver 5.2 combination. I don't know if it's the receiver or the speakers or just the combination but Dolby Digital 5.1 really is amazing on this system. The HK's 65 watts is more then sufficient for my taste and my room (10' x 25'). I watched the Contact DVD and Dances with Wolves (both DD 5.1). At -31 decibel, the house shook (my wife thought there was an earthquake because we live in the Bay Area right along one of the faults). The buffalo hunt scene in Dances with Wolves and the first signal reception from the aliens in Contact really should be recommended tests on any home-theatre system's capability of reproducing those below 100 HZ sounds.

All in all, I've experienced no problems whatsoever with this system set up. No hums or hisses or anything of the sort (perhaps I've been one of the lucky few). In any case, if you do get one of the non-defective units like I did, I think that you will be very happy with the unit as I am.

I received my AVR65 at the beginning of February. It lasted a little over one hour before developing a problem where it would shut itself down every 3 minutes. Very disappointing, and totally unuseable.
I returned the faulty unit and waited a month while more stock arrived from the US. I've had my replacement for 2 weeks now, and could not be happier. No problems and great sound. It's particularly impressive on 2 channel music (surround off). Dolby Pro Logic is as good as I expected. Have not tried it on Dolby digital yet, as I am still saving for a DVD player.

Neither the original unit or the replacement had any of the hiss and hum problems mentioned by others. But from my experience, HK's quality control is still a worry. Despite this, I'm glad I decided on this receiver.

Five stars for sound and features... subtract one star for first unit malfunctioning.

I would have to say this receiver was the biggest mistake I've ever encountered. I have the hum and the video line problem as well as everyone else that has this receiver. I traded my Onkyo TXDS656 off for this piece because of the DTS feature. I'm kicking myself in the butt for doing so. I'm even using a seperate Kenwood THX amplifier with this receiver,and I am still getting this hum. I sell these products at work, and I will never recommend a HK product again. All I have to say is GO ONKYO. I gave this unit a 1 star rating because of the features, everything else was disappointing.

I have had the HK avr-65 set up for about a month now and could not be any happier. I have a Toshiba 2108 dvd player NHT super ones for front and center, super zeros for surrond and an AT pbm162 for sub. The only problem I have noticed is a slight interference with my Tv that I understand will be corrected with better cables. This system is great for movies(goldeneye, horse whisperer, truman show) but to really show off it's capabilities I play a DTS sampler that has various sound effects such as trains or planes and the space shuttle. Lets just say the kids go crying for mommy. I also have Alan Parsons On Air DTS cd and it sounds unbelievable.

This review is posted in response to Matthew Kennedy's review regarding the HK AVR-65 reproducing sounds over 20KHz and below 20Hz. What program source are you using to reproduce sounds up to 65KHz, certainly not DVD, CD, Vinyl, Tape, FM, or any other source I am aware of. All of these sources have at best, 20 KHz at the top end. Even if there was a source with content at to 65 KHz, there is no speaker capable of reproducing it. Low frequency content down to 10 Hz, $1000. subwoofers can't reproduce this low of a frequency. You are right that live music sounds different than reproduced music, the primary reason is the reverberations present at the location, not frequency content well beyond the range of human hearing or reproduction. Your post was meant as a joke, right?

I bought the AVR65 from Circuit City. The first thing I noticed on the display panel where it says ANALOG, part of the display was blackening out. Also, the minute I turn the unit ON, there comes the annoying RF interference with the TVfor both network and VCR sources. I took the unit back cause I still believed in HK. Exchanged it for another piece. Brought it home, ANALOG display was fine, relief, But turn the unit ON, same RF interference, Tried power isolation, moved the unit around, purchased a $279 panamax power surge unit but to no avail, the problem persisted. This all happened within the first 30 days, So circuit city, no questions asked took it back, I was left with $969 which is what I paid for it, I have settled on the NAKAMICHI AV10 for $1199, a little bit more pricy, But sounds a lot better than the HK, not only for movies encoded in 5.1 but also superb perfomance in audio CDs.

This receiver is awsome and I know, let me tell you why. I have owned or sold nearly all of the high end receiver manufacturers including Denon (I own a AVR5600), H/K (I own a AVR25mkII), Nach, Yamaha ha ha (what a joke) and Onkyo. The HK AVR65 is plain and simple a better all-in-one receiver for three reasons. 1)It is more simple to use, a perfect example-- go in to your local hi-fi retailer and attempt to adjust the bass or treble on any high end Sony receiver. 2)It sounds better. Why? I'll tell you why, it is completely discrete, and it is high current. About now you are probably thinking "So what, every high end receiver is discrete and high current." That's right, but they are not Ultrawide Bandwidth. Allow me to take a minute and explain. There is a reason why a live performance sounds better than a recreation, overtones and natural harmonics. Overtones and Natural harmonics are frequencies that are well above or below the human hearing capability. Once again, I know what you are thinking "Well if I can't hear it how does it help me?" Overtones and harmonics affect the sounds that you do hear, it gives those frequencies a lifelike and natural sound. Let's say you go to a state-of-the art recording/listening studio and listen to a live saxaphone player, if he is right in front of you, and what you hear is recorded on the best equipent in the world. The live sax is going to sound better, you could be listening to a $75,000 pair of Wilson Grand Slam speakers with the best Krell or Mark Levison amplifers and the recording still won't sound as good as the original live performance. Why? The replay system can't reproduce all the the overtones and harmonics that the real thing can. Here is why the AVR65 is better, an average receiver can reproduce from 20HZ to 20000HZ, to bad overtones and harmonics usually exist somewhere between 10HZ and 65000HZ. Most high performance loudspeakers will reproduce well below and above 20HZ to 20000HZ. So, if your amplifying your speakers with a receiver other than a Harman Kardon, which can reproduce 8HZ to 70000HZ, you are not getting the most performance out of them. 3) It uses a Crystal Circuit, which is a dual processor with two discrete parts, one handles all of the digital information the other handles analog information. Most receivers use a single processor stage to handle both digital and analog functions. Please don't take my word for it, go to your local retailer and listen to the H/K next to any other high performance receiver at the same price with similar features, and then you will know what high performance (and value) is all about.

What kind of post is that ? Ive owned this unit,,acually ive owned 3 of them..all of them were defective,,along with the Avr 45 and 35. Ive found the avr-65 had punch in the midbass,,but lacks detail in the high frequency. It took me a while to find a replacement and finnaly settled in on a Yamaha RX-V995. While not as punchy in the midbass it excelled in the highs,,cymbles rolled of really sweet on the Yamaha,,while the 65 was flat.(so much for that ultra wide bandwith hype). Whenever you purchase a reciever its give and take. What one reciever does well another may not. The trick is to find a unit that gives the best all around performance and reliability.

I looked around at the Denon and the Yamaha ht receivers at the same price. The Denon doesn't have dts (not that I'm convinced that I really need it) and the Yamaha sounded a little bright and was clumsier to operate. I guess that if I were into gadgets I might have more appreciation for Yamaha's over-done DSP modes. The H/K has a smooth, detailed sound that I've really become fond of. In my opinion, it's surround modes were the most convincing. Its operation is fairly straightforward and its owner's manuel is short, but sufficiently instructive. One can easily find this receiver for about $700, and for that it's a bargain. Also, the H/K's clean, unclutterd appearance is a plus.