Sound quality - excellent only as a CD player, value for your money, well-built, exceptional video quality, unit looks great on the shelf.

Limited LED information display functions, no shuffle play, not heavy on the bells and whistles.

Let me first say that in response to jim’s comment directly below about the Harman/Kardon DVD 5, it would be a shame to write this unit off simply because it has trouble playing CD-Rs. I have had the DVD 5 for nearly three months and, as a CD player alone its sound reproduction is incredible. I do not personally own CD-Rs so the unit's lack of playback capability doesn’t bother me at all. I did, however borrow a friend’s CD-R to test it out and the DVD-5 would not recognize the disc. So, to get it out of the way now, if you are looking to buy a 5-disc carousel DVD changer that is CD-R capable, do not consider the H/K DVD 5. If, like me, you have a gigantic library of store-bought CDs and want to listen to them on a reference quality player, I would not hesitate recommend the Harman/Kardon DVD 5.

I ordered the H/K DVD 5 Player from 800.com which was (and still is as of July 2001) selling it for $299.95. In addition to getting free shipping on it during a promotion, I also received a $50.00 gift card in the mail after the purchase. Additionally, I used ebates.com to get 5% (or $15.00) back on the sale. For the overall price, I figured this was a no-brainer as I was in the market anyway for a carousel DVD changer. To date I have not been disappointed.

It took me three days after matching H/K DVD 5 with my H/K AVR 75 receiver to put my Denon DCM-50 carousel CD changer up for auction on ebay. I was hearing subtle sounds from my CD collection that I hadn’t heard before with my Denon. As for DVDs, yes it is a DVD player too, it has been very impressive sound-wise. While I don’t have a videophile television set up, I would grade the picture this unit produces as nice. I have not encountered any artifacting problems yet after about 10 discs. I formerly had a Toshiba DVD player which had a few extra bells and whistles like a 3x zoom feature and a much more extensive on-screen display, but the sound performance on this machine makes me forget that stuff fast.

In terms of things I have minor quibbles with, first as it is a DVD changer, the LED time and track display is limited in the information it provides. In order to check such features as time remaining on a track or disc, you have to have check the display through a television screen. This is fine when you’re watching a DVD and have your TV on anyway, but it is slightly inconvenient in its function as a CD player. Also, be aware that this unit is large and is not as slim and ergonomic as the carousel changers that companies like Sony produce. The DVD 5 will take up a good deal of space in your entertainment center.

I don’t find the remote to be that bad. Honestly, I think that audioreview should have a separate heading for remote controls because that always seems to be a sticking point with reviewers which usually bring down a component’s overall rating regardless of the sound it produces. My main beef with the remote is that the track “skip” buttons are hard to find without the light on. The key buttons like “Play” and “Stop” have both been laid out so that they’re easy to locate in the dark. Other than that, it is not too big or small and is comfortable to hold.

I am giving this unit a Value Rating of five stars, for the price I paid not and not its $549.95 retail, and a four-and-a-half star rating (rounded up to five) for overall performance. I would be wary of buying this unit refurbished based on some of the problems other reviewers have had encountered. I can only judge by my experience with the H/K DVD 5 and so far I am thoroughly impressed.

Similar Products Used:

Denon DCM-50 CD carousel player, Toshiba DVD

any strengths are overshadowed by a multitude of weaknesses

Disk errors continually, frozen picture, pixelization, unit shuts off for no reason. This unit has been the absolute pits. I have had it repaired 2 times and the problems continue.

The unit worked fine for about 2 months, then disk errors started to appear, and progressively got worse to the point of the unit being unuseable. I returned it for warranty service and it worked ok for maybe a month, then the same problems appeared. I had it fixed a second time and the same problems appeared after a short time. I called Harmon Kardon and they are going to replace it with a new unit, which I hope works better than the previous one. If I have problems with the new unit, I am just going to get rid of it and buy something that actually works. The DVD 5 has given me nothing but grief, and I STONGLY advise anyone to avoid purchasing this unit!

Similar Products Used:

none

Very good sound quality, looks amazing esp. next to my Harman Kardon HK3370 receiver. Very good build quality

Video does not seem to be that amazing (maybe because I have a lousy Panasonic 19 inch TV). DOES NOT play CD-Rs or VCDs. DISK ERROR messages (wtf??). Froze up on me a couple of times. Remote is a POS (looks like a Sylvania/RCA/other crap brand remote). Noisy when changing disks, slow to switch tracks on CDs.

This is indeed a love-hate relationship...

I've had this unit for four days. In this short time, I've discovered it does not play CD-Rs at all (well, i was taking a bet based on the reviews I saw here). I have had disk error messages a couple of times already (on a Best of U2 CD, hello????). Unit froze on me a couple of times (had to shut power off and on again).

I used a Denon DCM370 CD Changer with 20 bit Burr Brown DAC with HDCD Decoder built in before I got this HK DVD Changer. I hook them up to a Harman Kardon HK3370 Stereo Receiver (no surround, doesn't make sense in a dorm room!) and a pair of JBL N38s (great sound for the money). This is my first DVD player/changer.

VIDEO
The movies seem pretty good, clear, nice colors. Not too sure, but the picture seems to flicker on my Panasonic 19 inch TV. Is it the TV lousy or is something wrong with my HK's video output? I notice with the credits at the end that the letters seem distorted, you can't really read them. I thought DVD pictures were supposed to be sharper than VHS? I'm running the RCA video output from the Changer to the TV. This problems seems less when playing in full screen instead of widescreen mode. However I must say this unit is very fast when playing DVDs. Title/Chapter/Menu switching is very fast. I like.

SOUND
Sounds great on DVDs. Played the Matrix, Gladiator, Leon the Professional etc with no complaints. As I do not have a surround receiver, I've been using 2.0 Surround a lot.
On music CDs, it's been interesting. I thought initially this unit sounded HORRIBLE when playing CDs compared to my Denon CD Changer (great unit by the way if you're into getting a cheap HDCD CD Changer). However, I've been playing this unit all day long today with my music CDS and the sound's gotten considerably better, a lot sweeter sounding and more natural. I think this is a player that will benefit a lot from a lengthy period of breaking in and warming up to get the best sound. (and boy, does it warm up, the top of the unit gets HOT quickly). It now sounds almost as good as my Denon, I'm going to warm it up and break it in even more to see how it sounds.

The fact that it doesn't play CD-Rs is a big disappointment (my CD-R collection is huge). I was thinking about returning it, but I really want a DVD Changer that would complement the looks of my Harman Kardon Receiver. Also, the unit just looks great aesthetically. And it doesn't feel cheap at all, great construction. The problems like Disk Error and Freezing are getting less frequent, even seem to be going away (part of breaking in??) so I hope it can only get better.

Similar Products Used:

Denon DCM 370 CD Changer

great reproduction, audio and video

cant find the eject button after i've been drinking

i'm not an audiophile, nor a video expert by any means. i do know this: i'm more than satisfied with this product. it sounds great coupled with my HK avr210, and the video reproduction is as good as it can be with a substandard television. could'nt be happier

Excellent picture quality and sound reproduction

The remote control - why can't HK do this right??

Amazingly clear picture when coupled with either my cheapo 20" tv or my 36" Wega (2001 entry level model Wega). Love the quality of signal it puts out. Grey plastic door looks pretty cheap and tacky on pure black unit - especially when placed beside the glossy black HK AVR300. Overall I'd recommend it to anyone who is considering it - you won't be dissappointed.

Great image good sound

Maybe the remote could be better, the display has some flaws, no CD-R playback

For me, the perfect player. And a great bargain (fl 1000 wasn't much for it in august)

The sound is great and so is the image (tested with Pearl Harbor, the attack of course and the Fifth Element).

Doesn't play CD-R's, unfortunately, but I rely on a dedicated CD player for hifi .... but for people who want to use the DVD-5 for allround: watch out (also no VCD, but I don't use this).

My player's display has some issues, some digits are shown a bit dimmer than others, but I usually set it off (don't like any displays, I am strange in this).

Not many features, but I don't miss anything ..... as long as the DVD itself has scene selection and stuff.

Nice: you can set the language and subtitles of the DVD by the remote without entering the DVD menu (and interrupting the film), NICE!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SO .... some little flaws, which don't bother me, for the rest: great audio and picture.

AND everything to connect to Home Cinema: coax and digital outs, audio out, s-video and RGB SCART (2x).

Similar Products Used:

Nope

Beautiful unit with superior sound output & picture quality

Not capable of playing VCDS

The DVD5 has served me well since I've had it. The sound quality is absolutely amazing for DVD movies and music CD's, so much that I replaced my standalone tabletop CD-player with the DVD5. My TV (Sony Wega KV32FS12) really shines with this player. I previously owned a Toshiba SD1600 and feel that the picture and especially sound are superior on the DVD5. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this unit!

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba and Pioneer

Easy to install (although, I have a HK AVR110. Setup instructions straightforward

quality & reliability

DOA right out of the box. Disk Error Galore, Screen Break-up, incompatable disk errors. Definitely something amis with the reader on this product. One item to note; this version of the product does not play CD-R.

Sound and features. Nice remote.

Too many to list. Only worked for about 4 months.

When I first got this player it seemed nice. It is a bit larger than I expected though and I barely fit it in my stereo cabinet. When I first put in a move I was shocked to hear the noises coming from the player. It sounded like a old car trying to start. It was very loud, something was definately not right. After a while the sound went away though. It does return on ocassion though for no apparent reason. Next I started experiencing problems with certain parts of DVDs. It would freeze or skip through scenes. This was only on occassion as well. Eventually it started not playing certain disks, which has led to problems with missing sound and not being able to play 60 or so percent of my disks. All I get are disk errors.This thing is absolute junk. I would definately not buy Harman Kardon again. This is little more than a

Good quality construction, excellent video and audio performance, style

No progressive scan output

Primary interest was space. Wanted to consolidate my CD and DVD player with multi function changer. Desired strong audio and video performance. Purchased refurbished unit. No problems …. Unit works perfectly and performs very well for either audio or video operations. Changer offers a good basic set of functions and is easy set up and operate. I am very pleased with the purchase and think for the price paid this unit offers good value.