Harmon Kardon

[Justyntym]

How come nobody mentions Harmon Kardon?

I'm sure I can get it cheaper but what's the skinny?


http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1205245968852

[Blu-Dog]

Originally Posted by Justyntym

How come nobody mentions Harmon Kardon?

I'm sure I can get it cheaper but what's the skinny?

Many years ago, in the late 1980's, HK quality began to fall. I don't know why. At the time, they had a good line of high current receivers - rated fairly low in RMS wattage, but which had plenty of clean reserve power for spikes, with low distortion.

Then the build quality began to fall off. I don't know what happened. It's still that way, I think.

Acid test: Go to the showroom and simply twist knobs. If it's silky smooth, it has good build quality. Push down on the top of the receiver. If it doesn't flex, it's solidly build. Check the fit and finish on the plastic on the front - tug at it, see if it's screwed on, or glued on.

Harmon Kardon was failing at all this. The last time I looked one over was about two years ago - there was some improvement from the low point they got to, but I simply wasn't impressed with them.

I can't tell you about performance, I haven't seen one hooked up anywhere.

[lojack1976]

From everything I've read they still put out a great sound. The last time I listened to one I thought the same. This was a couple of years ago, but I don't know about build quality since I didn't toy with it much. The company is huge and I'm sure a lot of things get outsourced to China, but these days nearly every company does that. I do have a Harman Kardon speaker set which not only sounds great, but the construction is very good. The sub weights nearly 40lbs. and the satellites have a nice weight to them...very solid. I don't know if that's a testament to the build of their receivers, but I would expect quality across the board from Harman. The weight of a receiver is a good indication of build quality since good parts will be heavier than inferior components. The Harman AVR-254 is actually a couple of pounds heavier than my Onkyo 605 and I'd say that's a good sign.

Harman has a pretty good reputation overall, but I have read that certain models of their receivers had some video issues. Check some of the owner's threads around the net and you'll see. On the other hand, they still sell quite a bit of receivers and at not so cheap prices, so I would imagine that they have a low failure rate overall. Most owners seem to love them, but in my personal opinion there is a lot competition out there offering more features for the same or sometimes less money. I suspect that the main selling point is the warm sound that Harman fans love. I must say I like it a lot myself. The best thing to do is compare them in the store with the competition and make the determination for yourself. I do know that Yamaha and Onkyo build their receivers like tanks, but Harman Kardon receivers are pretty sexy from an aesthetic standpoint. It should be noted that Yamaha and Onkyo offer 2 year warranties while Harman offers 1 year.

[bryce.thompson]

Everyone is partial to different brands. There are diehard Yamaha, Harman Kardon, Denon, Pioneer, and Sony people. The best thing is to go to a store and test it for yourself. I work Home Theater at Best Buy. My location is not a Mag, so we're without high-end equipment, but the 254 and 354 have been the two best sounding receivers that I've set up and tested.

We currently have the Yamaha 863 set up with the Klipsch VF-36 fronts, VC-25 center, VS-14 surrounds, and Sub-10 and I am VERY disappointed with the overall quality of it. Our 254 was connected to that set up for a day or two, and with that unit being nearly half the price it (in my opionion) blew it out of the water in level of detail and clarity at high volumes.

Then I connected the 354 and it was hands down the most powerful, best sounding receiver we can get our hands on. With the Yamaha turned up to +1 db there was a lot of cracking and popping in the speakers. The 354 couldn't be turned up past -1 because it was overwhelmingly loud to everyone standing around and there was no loss of audio quality whatsoever.

Cosmetically, the Harman Kardons are some of the most gorgeous receivers out there. And if you're able to perform the firmware updates to get rid of the factory issues, then there isn't any reason you would not be more than happy with either the 254 or 354.

[Trix]

I grew up with Harman Kardon products. Therefors, my opinions are definitly not "neutral", or unbiased. That being said, I have always liked the sound that comes from their receivers. But, wouldn't necessarily consider them to be "the best" receiver manufacturers, just because I know my knowledge on mid- to high-end equipment to be quite limited. That being said, I still think my favorite HK feature is the power ratings and reserve. HK takes the effort to rate their receivers based on all channels driven, not one or two. The AVR 354, for example, can, and WILL drive 7 speakers with 75 watts each, unlike some receivers that are rated at 75 watts, but only driving 2 speakers, giving them approximately 30-40 watts per channel on 7 channels.

But, there are still area of vast improvement. As someone pointed out, HK does outsource their production in China. While this doesn't guarantee defects, HK receivers are known to have had their problems over the years. From my documentation, they also offer 2 year warranties on their receivers, but the 3rd and 4th years seem to be somewhat problem prone on certain model years. Someone also pointed out the video issues with the 254 and 354 this year. There is HK firmware available to remedy some problems, and since my 354, unupdated, has no problems at this time, I cannot comment on how perfect or inperfect the new firmware is.

So, all in all, I like the sound HK produces. I also like the relative price-feature point, though it is much more elevated than other entry-level receivers. Still, I've always held HK receivers in high regards, and have also been surprised at the lack of love for them on here!

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by Trix

From my documentation, they also offer 2 year warranties on their receivers, but the 3rd and 4th years seem to be somewhat problem prone on certain model years.

I stated that Harman's warranty is 1 year since that's what it says on Best Buy's site. After checking Harman's site it appears that they do offer 2 year warranties on their receivers.

[kefrank]

I own two Harman Kardon receivers. The first is in my home theater: H/K AVR110 5.1-channel receiver. I have always loved the sound from it and it has been a rock-solid performer for the 7 years that I've owned it.

I also have an H/K 3480 for my 2-channel music setup. I've been equally satisfied with its performance and durability. For the prices that I paid for these two receivers, I don't think I could have gotten anything more pleasing to my ears.

That being said, I know they've had some quality-control issues with their home theater AVRs in the last few iterations. It seems there have been multiple bugs with at least the last two lines, though to Harman Kardon's credit, they've eventually addressed these issues with updated firmware. Though I've been a very happy H/K owner, I would proceed with caution in considering their current AVRs and read up on whatever specific model is under consideration to find out any issues other owners have had.

[Opips2]

I bought HK AV/receiver 254, that’s my first time. Many people said its good quality and nice warm sound.

I learned HK update firmware is not easy. It’s very careful reads a manual on update firmware. My receiver was success on updates firmware. I’ve none problem on my receiver! I like HK AV/receiver.

[SeanMF]

I've had the hk 254 for a year now. I like the receiver a lot and sounds great. The firmware isn't easy to upgrade but that is minor to some extent. I did have an issue the past 6 months with it and my Harmony One remote (I moved few times....it controlled the power on/off and volume but nothing else) and this month I called my friend who installs home theaters for best buy over. When he couldn't fix it I considered selling it for something else. After searching for hours online on the problem with the remote/receiver I found it on AVS forums (wasn't easy...went thru 40 pages on that model till someone mentioned it briefly in 1 sentence). I had to program the remote for the 354 and it worked fine after that. I like the look of it...and the sound it produces...I recommend the receivers (my 2nd one). I actually sold my Onkyo 605 to get this receiver. So if anyone out there has the Hk 254 model and a Harmony One remote (might be problem with other harmonys also)...program it as the 354 model and it will work fine.

[Justyntym]

I was on the HK forum and apparently there are a lot of issues
with the HK and the PS3.

The thread I was reading covered 47 pages and 8 months and they
are still waiting for another firmware update.

I'll take a little less sound quality for something that works all the time.

HK...PASS.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1053202

[walmat]

I've had my 254 since last summer. I bought it to replace an old 110 which still sounded great. The only reason for the upgrade was for HD codecs and hdmi.
Anyways I use it with a ps3 strictly for mainly movies blu and dvd and to this day I've NEVER had an issue playing either. So far this reciever has sounded great even through my old CV satellites and performed perfectly.
IMO this is a terrfifc amp.

[Afflicted]

I have had the 247 for about a year and have had a few issues with it. I would consistently have the center channel drop audio, I would have to turn the power off and then back on on the AVR to get it back. When passing any video signal through it I would get "sparkles" of red and blue over the entire screen, especially in the darker colors. I sent the AVR back to Harman Kardon, as it was still covered under the 2 year warranty, about two weeks ago and haven't heard a word from them since.

On a positive note, their online customer support responded very quickly and were helpful with returning the AVR to them. The sound is pretty amazing too.

If I had to do it over again, I would avoid this thing like the plague just for the issues with the sparkles and the difficulties with the center channel dropping. I'll see how it performs if I ever get it back from them, but if I continue to have issues I'll be switching manufacturers for sure.

[kefrank]

Originally Posted by walmat

I've had my 254 since last summer. I bought it to replace an old 110 which still sounded great.

Hey another 110 owner! Even when I get a new receiver on my next home theater upgrade, I'll be keeping the 110 for another room. It's one of the best A/V products I've ever owned.

[hardcorefrokid]

I have the H/K AVR-254 and I LOVE it! Great receiver!

[p_parker44]

I've had the HK AVR 355 (Australia) since late last year and had a few problems with the PS3 sound but since the firmware update those problems have gone. I've been impressed with it, the HK build quality issues appear to have been resolved as well.

[Justyntym]

Originally Posted by hardcorefrokid

I have the H/K AVR-254 and I LOVE it! Great receiver!

are you using a PS3 for you dvd player?

[hardcorefrokid]

A Bdp-s300.

[Opips2]

PS3 60gb and BDP-S500 are monster hardware!!

[thecroshow]

AVR 154 here, my first real receiver. I'm impressed with the sound but wish I went with the Onkyo 606 because the AVR 154 passes video only through HDMI. passing audio through optical = lossy audio right? =/

i paired up my 154 AVR with 5.1 HK speakers and it sounds fantastic.

[SeanMF]

I couldn't be happier with my 254 after I did the update to it. I love the look of them...my 2nd HK receiver.