Harman Kardon AVR 1700

[Badboyztn]

Bought one tonight from Best Buy for $199.99. Original price is $599, but there have been sales on and off.

[ocielz]

I saw this today and I was surprised on the price not bad but it's only 5.1 and i need 7.1

[Badboyztn]

Yeah, I purchased one... But if the 2700/3700 come out before my 30 days are up, I will likely return the unit for one with 7.1. I only have 5.1 and I figured I could upgrade the receiver when I move to 7.1.

[Jayromy]

My former AVR of 8 years was a Harman Kardon and I would totally recommend this as a budget AVR to anyone not bound by the needs of 7.1. Great, warm, lush sound and impressive dynamics for the price point. Just my opinion...

[quickdraw]

Best Buy has this back at $199, in store only. Unbeatable price for a receiver with these features. The BBY I went to this evening only had 3, so if you've been eyeing this deal, I would jump on it.

[brunkcowok]

think so, The BBY I went to this evening only had 3, so if you've been eyeing this deal, I would jump on it.thank you

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by brunkcowok

think so, The BBY I went to this evening only had 3, so if you've been eyeing this deal, I would jump on it.thank you

Me smells spambot.

[wormraper]

damn, that's a WHICKED price. would be tempted to replace my aging Onky0 605 at that price... 10 watts more per channel too it sounds like.... and doesn't HK advertise their wattage ratings as all channels driven vs just 2 channel like most of the competition?

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by wormraper

damn, that's a WHICKED price. would be tempted to replace my aging Onky0 605 at that price... 10 watts more per channel too it sounds like.... and doesn't HK advertise their wattage ratings as all channels driven vs just 2 channel like most of the competition?

Here's a review:
http://lazytechguys.com/reviews/harm.../#.UPQ7DOgtd8Y

The reviewer states 100w @ 2 channels and 95w @ 5 channels. I think there is a bit of controversy concerning how they rated the wattage, but I still had to spring on this one considering the price. The salesman who rang me up in the Magnolia section was surprised at the price as well and said "Damn, I going to have to get one myself by the end of my shift". I haven't seen a lot of reviews of it, but the ones on Amazon seem pretty positive for the most part and the quibbling seems to be over specific features, rather than the unit as a whole. I haven't had time to hook it up yet, though.

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by quickdraw

Here's a review:
http://lazytechguys.com/reviews/harm.../#.UPQ7DOgtd8Y

The reviewer states 100w @ 2 channels and 95w @ 5 channels. I think there is a bit of controversy concerning how they rated the wattage, but I still had to spring on this one considering the price. The salesman who rang me up in the Magnolia section was surprised at the price as well and said "Damn, I going to have to get one myself by the end of my shift". I haven't seen a lot of reviews of it, but the ones on Amazon seem pretty positive for the most part and the quibbling seems to be over specific features, rather than the unit as a whole. I haven't had time to hook it up yet, though.

it's tempting. I wish there was a comparison between it and the 600 series Onkyos so I could decide if it was worth the upgrade. if it was I'd movie the 605 over to my secondary plasma to power some towers I've got there with a dying amp

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by wormraper

it's tempting. I wish there was a comparison between it and the 600 series Onkyos so I could decide if it was worth the upgrade. if it was I'd movie the 605 over to my secondary plasma to power some towers I've got there with a dying amp

I hear ya. I'd been looking at several Onkyo models myself. The lowest right now for the 616 is about $380. I'm sure it will eventually get down to $300. I think the Onkyo has more features, but it lacks Airplay, which is a little bizarre. It's also a 7.2 channel system, where the HK is 5.1 and has the Audyssey speaker calibration, but it's the entry level software, so it's probably a wash when compared to HK's calibration software. The HK doesn't do upscaling or video pass-thru, but if you can live with those shortcomings, I think it's at a price that's hard to pass-up.

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by quickdraw

I hear ya. I'd been looking at several Onkyo models myself. The lowest right now for the 616 is about $380. I'm sure it will eventually get down to $300. I think the Onkyo has more features, but it lacks Airplay, which is a little bizarre. It's also a 7.2 channel system, where the HK is 5.1 and has the Audyssey speaker calibration, but it's the entry level software, so it's probably a wash when compared to HK's calibration software. The HK doesn't do upscaling or video pass-thru, but if you can live with those shortcomings, I think it's at a price that's hard to pass-up.

yeah, most of those features I'd never use. my 605 doesn't have Audessey at all. (I use an spl meter and test tones) ... I can't FIT a 7.2 system in my room. I'm just wondering if the amp power and sound quality is an upgrade from my 5 year old receiver. I'd rather pay for an upgrade than a lateral move if you know what I mean.

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by wormraper

yeah, most of those features I'd never use. my 605 doesn't have Audessey at all. (I use an spl meter and test tones) ... I can't FIT a 7.2 system in my room. I'm just wondering if the amp power and sound quality is an upgrade from my 5 year old receiver. I'd rather pay for an upgrade than a lateral move if you know what I mean.

I don't think BBY has these set up for demo (at least the ones I've visited), but I think Fry's has them set up for a crude test against other receivers. This is a blind buy for me, but the reviews on Amazon have been pretty glowing about the sound quality.

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by quickdraw

I don't think BBY has these set up for demo (at least the ones I've visited), but I think Fry's has them set up for a crude test against other receivers. This is a blind buy for me, but the reviews on Amazon have been pretty glowing about the sound quality.

nice, I posted over at AVS in the HK 1700 thread to see what info I can get. I've always felt my Polk Monitor 70's were a bit underpowered with my 605

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by wormraper

nice, I posted over at AVS in the HK 1700 thread to see what info I can get. I've always felt my Polk Monitor 70's were a bit underpowered with my 605

I had some Polk towers about 10 years ago that were my go-to speakers. I thought they had such nice presence without being booming. I ended up frying a tweeter and ripping the foam edge on a mid before I gave 'em up a couple of years ago.

[quickdraw]

Fry's has this up on sale right now for $199 if you missed the Best Buy deal. If you can live with a 5.1 system, this unit is a steal. Set mine up last week and hooked up my Panny blu, Vizio 60", PS3 and Apple TV to it. The sound quality easily surpasses my old Yamaha set-up with the ezset/eq, although I did have to tweak the levels on my surround speakers a little. The ezset/eq really does a tremendous job creating definition with dialogue, yet doesn't sacrifice on the warmer tones and has thundering bass without being overwhelming. Now that I've hooked up the Apple TV, it's completely awesome! It's so convenient to have access to my itunes on my computer as well as all the other goodies that come with apple TV (BTW, itunes sounds incredible through Logic 7!). I'm also happy to report that the HM remote now controls all my devices without a hitch, but there is a little bit of a learning curve figuring out the corresponding button locations for each device.