Review 21 for Harman Kardon 300W 5.1-Ch. A/V Home Theater Receiver
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Get the next model up, AVR-247
11/26/2007
By andycap80
from Cincinnati, OH
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What's great about it: Greate sound quality
What's not so great: HDMI audio receiver that doesn't process HDMI audio!?!
"My friend purchased the 146 model after seeing my 247 model and how happy I am with it. The difference between these two models is enormous! I came over to help set it up and was frustrated at the lack of capabilities! To streamline his setup, I was going to use the HDMI inputs / outputs for this HD-DVD and Blu-Ray DVD players, but the receiver only passes through the video to the TV but does NOT handle HDMI audio! I thought that was the point of HDMI on a receiver! Now he has to buy more optical cables and use all his optical ports on the receiver. The On-Screen Display menu (which I found easy to use on both models) only works through composite or s-video on this model where as it’s available through HDMI on the AVR-247. the OSD is more basic than on the better model and has far fewer options. It also doesn’t look as good through the standard definition cable.
Spend a little extra money and get: true working HDMI, 7.1 or 5.1 multi-room, more sound options, better OSD, automatic speaker setup (works well), more A/V connections, and more power!"
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
No
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0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 22 for Harman Kardon 300W 5.1-Ch. A/V Home Theater Receiver
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Great Receiver for the Money
11/24/2007
By TWAJeff
from Mesa, AZ
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What's great about it: Input Combos, Appearance, Price
What's not so great: Poorly Laid Out Remote, OSD Connection
"My trusty AVR40 was getting a little dated so I started looking around for a replacement. Having been 100% happy with my 11 year old Harmon-Kardon, I decided to stick with the brand. I picked up the AVR-146 on sale and the price was 1/2 of what I paid for the AVR40 7 years ago. The initial setup on this is a bit of a pain. You have to connect it to your TV using an S-Video or Composite cable. The labels of the connections on the back of the receiver don't necessarily match what you see on the On Screen Display so there is a little bit of trial and error but nothing intolerable. Once you get everything connected and configured, you should be a happy camper. The unit is more than powerful enough to make for some great home theater fun. I'm using JBL's Sub 10 Subwoofer and 5 of the Simply Cinema satellite speakers and the sound is fantastic."
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
Yes
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 23 for Harman Kardon 300W 5.1-Ch. A/V Home Theater Receiver
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Excellent value
11/23/2007
By NMELP
from Albuquerque, NM
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What's great about it: Thanksgiving Sale Price, Feature Balance, Audio Quality
"I picked this up this morning as a doorbuster deal ($200) - got the last one left in my local store. Took it home, had it set up in just a few minutes, and am very pleased with the overall value. Doesn't have a ton of bells and whistles, isn't ultra high power, but it supports 1080p HDMI, and no nonsense sound field and speaker setup. Also, the styling and build is great - even my wife was impressed with the aesthetics. If you are looking for a good all around home audio receiver, this is a great deal."
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
Yes
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Review 24 for Harman Kardon 300W 5.1-Ch. A/V Home Theater Receiver
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WORTH EVERY PENNY!
11/13/2007
By Theologian
from Cleveland, OH
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What's great about it: Every input imaginable in any combination, GREAT SOUND!
What's not so great: You have to use RCA or S-Video for initial configuration
"Impressive sound! I loved this receiver from the moment I opened the box to this very moment.
Sleek look. Every possible connection. The remove control is a bit complex, and I did have to connect a video source to either RCA-video or S-Video to see it's menu system on the screen to setup all of my input combinations (HDMI1+OPTICAL2, COMPONENT2+RCA3, etc.), but after that, never had to use low-end video again.
And I love the sound. That's what should matter most. I couldn't find a unit under $600 that does a better job of what this Harman Kardon can do."
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
Yes
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2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Review 25 for Harman Kardon 300W 5.1-Ch. A/V Home Theater Receiver
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Failure
10/25/2007
By Lars
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What's great about it: Sound quality is very clear.
What's not so great: Software system is overrated. HK customer service sucks.
"4 weeks after purchasing this reciever it decided to rewrite it's programming. It has the ability to couple any video input with any audio input. The outputs should remain the same but mine rewrote its own code so the HDMI (the reason I bought this model) output is now just a monitor output. The monitor output is designed specifically for programming the inputs in a visual style. The system is not supposed to be capable of returning any signal out of the HDMI output BUT the HDMI inputs.
I hate when things stop working! Especially when they are basically NEW!"
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
No
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0 of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Review 26 for Harman Kardon 300W 5.1-Ch. A/V Home Theater Receiver
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I'll keep it simple ... PERFECT device
10/14/2007
By shark
from Chicago, IL
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"I was thinking a lot about what receiver to buy.
I went to best buy and there was this HK with JBL speakers on display.
The sound was amazing.
I bought the receiver and it is a perfect match with my BOSE speakers.
The setup was easy.
The sound quality is fantastic.
It really worth the money."
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
Yes
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 27 for Harman Kardon 300W 5.1-Ch. A/V Home Theater Receiver
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Solid receiver
10/12/2007
By simple
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What's great about it: the hdmi inputs
What's not so great: no audio thru hdmi
"Is sounds great out of the box. Easy setup and on screen menu. Unfortunately the hdmi inputs do not transmit audio so you must have another source for the audio.
Other than that a great receiver and would highly recommend"
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
Yes
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0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 28 for Harman Kardon 300W 5.1-Ch. A/V Home Theater Receiver
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Great Receiver for the money.....
09/29/2007
By siouxcityguy33
from Dakota City, NE
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What's great about it: Simple to Set Up, Great Quality
What's not so great: None as of yet....
"I just set this receiver up on 9/28/07 with a speaker package in a smaller room and I am very satisfied. The home theater installers at Best Buy at 792 in Sioux City, IA highly recommended this receiver over the Yamaha that I was looking at. Nothing against Yamaha, but H/K makes an amazing product.
When I move into a bigger apt, I will consider getting another H/K receiver and move my current home theater into my bedroom.
Highly recommend this product to anyone........plus the blue lights on the receiver look cool!"
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
Yes
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0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 29 for Harman Kardon 300W 5.1-Ch. A/V Home Theater Receiver
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Exceptional for the price
09/17/2007
By PhishGuy
from Chicago, IL
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"Harman Kardon has been one of the best receiver manufacturers for a long time. The high-current, low THD amplifiers sound great. Don't let the seemingly low power output steer you off, H/K is just more honest about their numbers. I bought this to run a pair of high-quality bookshelves speakers and a sub for a stereo-only setup. Sounds fantastic...very clear at low and high volumes!! If you're trying to push really large speakers at really high volumes then you will need to upgrade to a more powerful model. The new sleek and simple design is very aesthetically pleasing.
On the down-side; the monitor out, input setup, and on-screen display may not be completely intuitive to some users. A few more inputs and HDMI up-scaling would have been nice as well.
I once sold home audio equipment... many people were unfamiliar with the H/K name and so they ended up going with a more commercial brand name. Don't make this mistake. Home audio is their bread-and-butter and they surpass the competition (in sound quality) generally not in bells & whistles.
At this price-range it is a great stereo receiver / good home theater receiver. You will have to upgrade to get the power to run really big setups, more inputs, and/or more home theater features."
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
Yes
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3 of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Review 30 for Harman Kardon 300W 5.1-Ch. A/V Home Theater Receiver
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Absolutely no regrets here!
09/09/2007
By desron1
from Fairhaven, MA
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"I was looking for a good quality HTR for a second home theater setup in my home. I did a lot of research of major name brands but I've always associated the Harmon Kardon name with high quality and so went with it.
The cabinet itself is quite stylish with the subtle but striking neon blue light accents. Inside the cabinet is where , "the rubber meets the road" however, and this receiver delivers with exceptional sound at low and high volumes. The sound seperation among speakers is very discrete, especially in listening to crowd sounds in televised sporting events.
The setup was slight to moderately complicated and I eventually needed to contact customer services for directions in accessing the on-screen set-up menu,(which is NOT necessary for functionality but allows for more manual fine tuning inputs). If it weren't for this inconvenience I would certainly have given this receiver a 5 star review"
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
Yes
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2 of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Review 31 for Harman Kardon 300W 5.1-Ch. A/V Home Theater Receiver
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Very good quality for the money
08/16/2007
By AVReviewer
from Kansas City, MO
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"Price is well worth it. HDMI pass through is awesome. Easy set up and great features."
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Would you recommend this product to a friend?:
Yes
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2 of 3 people found this review helpful.
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