I've been using my HK AVR 7200 since 2004 and it is the best receiver that I've ever owned. I hand-built my own speakers with NON-powered subwoofer in the late 1980's and was looking for yet another receiver to power them. Since I don't have a powered subwoofer, I was looking for a system that has plenty of headroom for my 7 cubic foot, dual 12" woofer box. I formerly used two receivers - a Sony 130W per channel (x2) for the woofers, and another for the 5 satellite speakers. That sounded great with plenty of bass, but after one blew out, I decided I only wanted one unit. I read about the AVR 7200 in Crutchfield, and decided to buy it when it went on sale (at Fry's). The box was marked $1800 and I got it for $800. I know that is close to retail, but 10+ years later, I'm more than happy with my purchase.

It may not have HDMI (I don't care about that anyway), but what it does have is way more power than advertised. It says 100 watts RMS per channel x 7 channels, but I think that's under rated. I have 4 satellites (6" mid-range with 1" dome tweeters) for L R SL SR, and a center with two 6" mid and low-range with 1" dome, and a large box with two 12" down-firing woofers. The front L+R channel outputs power both the satellites and the sub woofers and is close to 6 ohms instead of 8. No problem for this beast though.

This configuration produces so much bass that my neighbor called the police on me a few weeks ago while watching Tron with my wife & kids. Theater-level sound in a room that's 28' x 18', and simply thunders the entire house too. Doors rattle, windows vibrate, stuff falls from shelves like an earthquake. The pounding bass in movies like Jurassic Park and Transformers vibrates your shirt and pounds your chest. In short, this thing simply rocks.

Looking inside, there's a 6" diameter power supply (transformer) with 2 large capacitors. The two heat sinks for the amplifiers are at least 14" long and 5" high. The unit weighs in at 50 pounds. I spent some time recently at Fry's in the receiver isle and lifted all of the units (at least 20) to see how much they weigh. Even the most expensive units that claim 7x100 watts were less than 20 pounds (finger in the air measurement, but I'm pretty good at that). How can they have the same rated power while only be 33% of the weight? Answer: they don't.

One reviewer here said he picked one up cheap since it didn't power-on. Mine too blew-out the fuse for the stand-by power about 7 years ago (yes, a 2nd power supply inside that is used for the remote and LED) but after replacement (less than $1 and a few minutes with a screwdriver), it's been all good since then.

Pros: Awesome power, lots of digital inputs, more power than you'll ever need, remote that helps you tune your speakers, and best of all - a boat-load of power. It will blow-out your speakers if you don't match components carefully (yes, that's a pro and not a con).

Cons: It's big - it's quite tall, very long (longer than any other receiver I've owned and may not fit in some racks), and heavy (50 pounds). If you need HDMI switching, that's also missing but that's to be expected for a unit of this era.

Summary: If you're looking for a bunch of power to rock-out your neighborhood and you can find one, BUY IT. You won't be disappointed. I've been an audio enthusiast for 30+ years (and my ringing ears are proof) and this is simply the best receiver you can find for the money - even the newest models on the market can't make a dent in this tank.

I have used Harmon Kardon AVR 7200 since 2003 and I cannot get over the quality of sound that comes out of this product. I have currently hooked it up to Def tech Mythos ST. I had to upgrade my receiver to an Onkyo to get HDMI and the latest sound formats, but noticed the sound quality wasn't as good as the HK. So I now have the Onkyo doing the decoding and sending the sound to the HK which is driving my Fronts and Center.

AVR-7200 is an awesome receiver, too bad HK doesn't make anything comparable any more.

Price paid: $220 including shipping

This is one remarkable receiver. I needed a system to replace my old burnt out Klipsch 2.1 computer speakers. I found this receiver for next to nothing at an auction because it was advertised that it wouldn't power on. A little known fact about these receivers is the original fuses were a bit weak. So as soon as I got it home I popped the lid and replaced all 4 main fuses. Now I've been using this receiver paired with a set of Infinity TSS-1100 speaker for about 4 months and WOW... What an amazing sound. My computer actually has audio that sounds almost as good as the Denon AVR-3311CI and Celestion speakers that I use in my living area.

Strengths:
Excellent, smooth, warm sound
Enough power for almost any speakers you need to connect to it.
Easy to use
Direct inputs if you want to use it with a computer like I do

Weaknesses:
Because this is an older receiver, it doesn't have HDMI inputs. Of course you really can't expect it to, so I feel bad even considering this a weakness, but I'm sure someone out there will buy one and be disappointed, so I'm just issuing a warning up front.

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I've used many receivers over the past 10 years, including some high-end and some low-end devices from SONY, Denon, and several different Onkyo models. None of them match the performance of this receiver and all of them cost me more money.

The Harman Kardon AVR-7200 is the best ultrawide-bandwith amplifier receiver I have ever laid my eyes on. It brings movies to life, and music of a New York club to your very own living room. My favorite part about this marvelous device is how it is smart enough to know where to send the bass. Clarity is everything. The Harman Kardon AVR 7200 was designed with clarity in mind. If you have speakers that can handle the wattage, then you got your self the best setup in the world. This device makes crappy speakers sound good. I was using logitech z-5500 speakers as satelite speakers. This receiver made them sound like angels singing. I would drop $800 for one of these receivers any day of the week. They are reliable and the most powerful models on the Harman Kardon AVR market. You will not be dissapointed!

Like I said, If you can get one of these receivers for $800 or less snatch them up! You will never be dissapointed!!!!

This Harman Kardon AVR-7200 has been the best sounding/performing receiver I have ever listened too!! I have owned a Denon 4802, Pioneer Elite VSX-59TXi , Onkyo TX-DS898..... So I have done my share of trying to find the next best thing (Impulsive Buyer), but never happened! This unit is a powerhouse of clean real watts! The last 5 years They have powered all 7 of my Definitive Technology BP10's and boy have they rocked the house!! If your looking for a fantastic sounding receiver and you don't need all the new HDMI switching this baby is a must have! Keep in mind this unit does pass HD Componet signals thou. Nomatter what I listen too (Rock, Jazz or Classic Soul) this baby still makes me sit back and say " Ohh Yea"

Power, features, flexibility

none

I have had the 7200 for several years now and it has been perfect. The sound for stereo became warmer and less harsh as it broke in over time.

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Denon 3800, JVC, Panasonic, Onkyo, Pioneer

Strong power, maybe too much for some.. Bass management system is outstanding Brings out the best in my Bose speakers for sure...

none noted

I have had this receiver now for well over a year and to be honest it is the best receiver i have listened to in my years of audio. When i first received it i could not believe how big it was. I opened the box and could not wait to set it up. I am running this receiver with Bose 701's up front, Bose VCS10 center channel, Bose 301's for surround and Bose AM5 for rear surround. I also am running a JBL PB10 subwoofer with this set up but just 4 days ago purchased a SVS 20-39 PCI and cant wait for it to arrive. I have a Pioneer Mini Disc player and Harman Kardon DVD22 and CDR31. All components are connected via Monster Cable which really brings more sound out of the system. I powered up the system and put U571 DVD on and i was blown away with how loud and clean this receiver was. I mean i did not even dial up alot of volume but it was so loud and the bass was mind boggling. I took my time and went through the set up portion to make sure everything was correct. In 2 channel stereo or 7 channel stereo this receiver gets it done. I invite friends over all the time just to let tem feel and wow about this receiver. If you are in the market for a receiver trust me you will not be disappointed with buying this beast. If you live in an apartment be careful because you will not be able to run this receiver full tilt without the police coming. A few years ago i had a friend that talked about Harman Kardon all the time and how good they were. Well i am convinced he was dead on and i thank him for opening my eyes. The 7300 is the new kid on the block and i dont know much about it but if you find one of these babies get it, its worth it.

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Onkyo 575X JVC 5010 Kenwood

Excellent faithful sound repro. Amazing value on remaining units. Remote should lock into sub-modes indefinitely.

No fans so it realy is a room heater. Not a true weakness but it may be too powerful for small or neighbour sensitive installations (remember, early rock bands didn't have .7k watts to play with!) A (true) fifty watt per channel unit may be a wiser choice.

I've owned the HK AVR 7200 about four months now and couldn't be happier with my purchase. My previous set-up was only one step up from HTIB but since buying this unit the HT bug has realy bitten as has my bank manager! If I have a problem with the 7200 it's only that it may posses too much power and dynamic range for an appartment dweller like me. Case in point, take a reference DVD like Master and Commander. By the time you get the dialouge up to a reasonable level special effects like the cannons just rip through the room sounding almost as loud as the real thing. There are Dolby compression modes available on the 7200 but it's almost a sin to not let an amp like this breathe. I read (though can hardly believe) that some listeners found this AVR to be bass "light". Well perhaps they play bass guitar in a roots reggae band through a stack of JBL 18"s or something cause this amp has enough bass power to shake my building. I suspect the real problem here is the clarity of the HK's bass output. Lesser receivers with weaker power supplies will compress (crush) bass signals giving an impression of increased loudness but then you're realy hearing distortion not true bass amplification. A sure test is to set your amp at comfortable listening levels and see how far the bass travels through your own home. I find that even on comparitively light settings I can still feel and hear the bass clearly in my bathroom! Movies sound better than anything I've ever heard in my local cineplex and speaker matching is a breeze thanks to the excellent bass management capabilities of the unit. In fact even using speakers of varying impedance (L+R 4 ohms centre + surrounds 8 ohms) matching is seamless and transparent. My Vishorn VT-88 towers have built in 10 subs so apart from a very low 80hz cut on the centre channel (bass guitars and cellos sounded a little "thrummy" and overbloomed with both the towers and the center outputing full frequency) I haven't realy had to do too much management. It's there if you nedd it especially if you use the more common sub-sattelite format. As far as music is concerned. I'm a pro musician/composer/producer so perhaps a little less emotional about the whole subject of reproduction systems. All I can say is that, apart from a little softening of the excessive dryness and pinpoint imaging I hear in studio monitors, my own mixes sound almost identical on this set up as they do in the studio. I find Dolby Pro Logic II best for TV matrix surround sources. For music I initially went with DTS neo6 which is very sparkling and has a big "Wow!" factor but I'm now being drawn to the more subtle character that Logic 7 offers. There's only a hair in it and, to be honest, both formats enhance stereo sources without the awfull processed gunge those Hall and Theatre modes output. I hate phoney sounding DSP and let's be frank, who needs it? Basic stereo on this amp is far from basic on this unit. The amp soundstages superbly with both great depth and height. On a couple of occasions I've checked to see which DSP mode I've selected only to find I'm running pure stereo!! Can't realy add much to that. The HK 7200 simply does what it's supposed to do. It amplifies 7 channels of source input at around 100 watts per channel simultaneously which, aside from some other behemoths like Arcam's AVR300 and Sony's upcoming RX-Z9, very few AVRs can truly accomplish. This is near "separates" quality in one box and at a discounted price which is simply astonishing. I may never need another amplification device. The updated 7300 (if it EVER comes out) offers composite to component upscaling but I'm going to be purchasing a Samsung DVDHD941 as soon as available so I'll be running that direct to my monitor's DVI input. So no great loss there. Plus the 7300's 2 grand (at least for now!) Oh! the remote in itself is fine but universal use is compromised by a very short lock time in other modes (5 seconds if no commands input). A tad tricky after a beer or two! I did experience the infamous volume spike once but it's never happened since.

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Various pro and semi-pro power amplifiers.

Truly high current design. Biamping capability. Deep bass. Great imaging. Near perfect 2 channel fold down. HDCD. Front inputs can be switched to outputs for using the 7200 as an A/D converter. Toroidal power supply. Massive heat sinks. Heavy at 61 pounds.

Tiny buttons on the remote. No included second room IR receiver. Poor radio reception. Can't upconvert video to component out. No on screen display through component outs. Quirky when it comes to enacting the settings you tell it. Hot. Heavy.

That's $786 shipped brand new. Extremely finicky at first. Many of the settings would not take hold until the unit was unplugged. Before it sounded strained, undynamic, and slightly distorted. It turns out all the inputs were at max, which is why the volume wouldn't go above 0dB. The input DAC's are not fantastic, but the output DAC's are quite nice. Either use the direct 6/8 inputs or have it do the decoding for you. Don't input analog into it and then try to do bass management. The unit unfortunately does not have DTS 24/96, as some websites claimed. The bass management is pretty much as good as it gets in the hi-fi world. Stereo folddown from multichannel is the best I've ever seen. My Pioneer DV-655A PX drops the LFE channel in Dolby Digital, cancels all out of phase signal in the rear channels, and makes in phase rear information out of phase. Very weird. Other players and receivers do other strange things, since automatic fold down is a bit tricky. The Pioneer's Virtual Surround mode fixes this a little, but makes things too phazy, slightly suppressing in phase material and pushing diffuse material towards the sides. The HK doesn't quite have the tightness, control, neutrality, or smoothness of the Pioneer, but it gets the fold down right and pulls out more texturing to the mids and lows than the Pioneer does, giving it an ulta-cinematic quality. Imaging on DVD's is truly 3D, even with just two speakers, creating a physical presence in your listening room. I'm using NHT ST4's that are about 83dB/W. At the loudest I ever crank them, I still have 10-15dB on the volume setting left to turn it up. That's pretty amazing. My neighbors have started complaining for the first time ever. That's a good sign.

Power, soundquality, One of the few receivers with Toroid transformer, 7.1 capability. On board DAC that can decode MP3 streams or any Digital steams. Autodetect digital In.

Needs excellent ventilation; gets extremely HOT. It draws/needs so much current, it reaches full power after 5 mins of initial cold turn on.

Bass is not lacking. This receiver's meant to be used with a subwoofer and who doesn't have subs in their HT setup these days anyway? As for the other guy, who has florscent lights in their living rooms? You live in a science lab or what? Either that or you must have sat on your remote. Like the other guy said about sound quality, It's the first receiver(literally) that i ACTUALLy want to hurry up, come home and listen to it. It makes my paradigms SING! This receiver really shines when decoding DTS signals OMG GLadiator!