I've been looking for a decently priced 7.1 receiver capable of multiple HDMI inputs, anyone care to share their experience with this particular brand/model?

I've never owned a Harman Kardon, only have experience with Sony and Onkyo and my current Onkyo is flaking out on me right now.

I can't speak for this model, but HK is a solid brand. One of my HK receivers that's almost 20 years old is still kicking!

zxinfinity wrote:I've been looking for a decently priced 7.1 receiver capable of multiple HDMI inputs, anyone care to share their experience with this particular brand/model?

I've never owned a Harman Kardon, only have experience with Sony and Onkyo and my current Onkyo is flaking out on me right now.

Reviews

HK is well respected, and this is a good deal. If I had the money I would replace my Onkyo with it.

zxinfinity wrote:I've been looking for a decently priced 7.1 receiver capable of multiple HDMI inputs, anyone care to share their experience with this particular brand/model?

I've never owned a Harman Kardon, only have experience with Sony and Onkyo and my current Onkyo is flaking out on me right now.

Amazon link shows 4 stars after 30 reviews, priced at $359.55 by marketplace seller World Wide Stereo (fulfilled by Amazon), or $381.68 sold by Amazon.

Dwass wrote:I can't speak for this model, but HK is a solid brand. One of my HK receivers that's almost 20 years old is still kicking!

I had the higher end AVR3600. The preamp section died after a little over a year. While it worked, the sound quality was great, but you can't really compare newer HK stuff to older HK stuff for reliability.

The only thing to be concerned about this really is the low power rating (65W). You'll probably want relatively sensitive speakers with that. However, since all AVR manufacturers use different methods to measure that power rating, it's never all that accurate anyway.

Anyway, for more information than you could ever possibly need:
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1178816/official-harman-kardon-avr-1600-2600-3600-owners-thread

I've been keeping an eye on these, if you arent in a rush to build a system, I suggest holding out and snapping up a returned unit from Amazon Warehouse. They are still covered under warranty(considered open box, new). I have seen the AVR 3600 hit the ~$270 region for a "Very Good" condition

Dwass wrote:I can't speak for this model, but HK is a solid brand. One of my HK receivers that's almost 20 years old is still kicking!

Agreed! Best sound ever out of mine from the early seventies (before I was born). Mine doesn't have HDMI ;0 but you would think it did. It can drown out the godawful rap music for miles with the sweet sounds of country music!

I've owned this receiver for 8 months as a replacement for my aging HK AVR230 receiver, which was still perfectly functional after being purchased 6 years ago as a refurb. This is a very good receiver for the price, with a lot of inputs and features.

I would suggest not worrying about the 65 watt rating for two reasons. First of all, the difference between 65 watts and 100 watts, which is what many other receivers are rated at, is ~2dB. Second of all, Harman receivers tend to be rated for higher current than most others. As a result, they will more easily power low impedance speakers and may even offer more total power across all channels than your average 100 watts/channel receiver.

Does anyone know if this model upscales all the inputs to HDMI?

It's really nice having just one HDMI cable connecting the receiver to the TV.

never had one home to experience audio quality, but HK speaker demos in stores have always been pleasant.

this receiver, though...gets major points for looking awesome. the front, at least.

VolleyB wrote:Does anyone know if this model upscales all the inputs to HDMI?

It's really nice having just one HDMI cable connecting the receiver to the TV.

Yes. According to the technical specs found at http://www.harmankardon.com/en-us/products/pages/productdetails.aspx?pid=avr%202600 this receiver offers Faroudja DCDi Cinema™ scaling/processing to 1080p.

I have the older generation one model up from this and it is superb. Had it for two years or so and it handles my Polk 70/40/CS2 5.1 setup extremely well, leaving me 2 channels for an outdoor 'Zone 2'.

Previous statements are correct, HK's 65 is closer to a TRUE 65w than just about everyone, overpowering many other brands that claim 100-120+ per channel. This is reportedly due to their testing while every channel is actually sucking that much juice, rather than just driving a couple of channels to put a nicer spec on the box.

Another quick thing to note, I got my last one from the 'harmanaudio' OFFICIAL refurb store that they operate on eBay, and it's normally a spot to get great deals. They have this model up for $299 consistently, free shipping. Not sure that I consider $15 savings to be Woot Worthy, but I guess maybe the warranty is longer? Here, check it out for yourselves: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Harman-Kardon-AVR-2600-Z-7-1-Channel-A-V-Receiver-with-HDMI-Repeater-/390476772814?pt=Receivers_Tuners&hash=item5aea3ab5ce

I have an AVR247, which is an older brother of this model. It's coming up on 5 years old an djust went in for service for the first time. There were a number of capacitors that had blown. The receiver was still functioning for the most part, except it would keep losing HDMI output. Other than that it has performed flawlessly.

What is a "solid" brand? Also, if it is such a "solid" brand, why are these refurbished? Yours might have lasted 20 years, but the all of the ones in this techWoot! have not.

Dwass wrote:I can't speak for this model, but HK is a solid brand. One of my HK receivers that's almost 20 years old is still kicking!

GGA1759 wrote:What is a "solid" brand? Also, if it is such a "solid" brand, why are these refurbished? Yours might have lasted 20 years, but the all of the ones in this techWoot! have not.

Because if they weren't refurbs, the price would be higher?

I have the AVR 347. These are well built units- mine is rated at 55 watts. It has good dynamic clean power, but overall does not put out a huge amount of sound. At $280 this is priced well- but if you are looking to blow the doors off your room, this will not do it. I realize that their rating is still considered conservative. I miss my 1994 JVC RX815V- if I could have that back with all the latest surround sound stuff- I would take it in a second. But today's HK is a decent deal as long as you don't need to blow the room out.

Where are they made these days? Back in the day, they were of unbelievable quality. I have a HK 330b receiver that I bought new in 1975. It has no surrond-sound or HDMI inputs, but I use it every day. Rock solid quality.

delete- answered wrong post

compmikey wrote:Where are they made these days? Back in the day, they were of unbelievable quality. I have a HK 330b receiver that I bought new in 1975. It has no surrond-sound or HDMI inputs, but I use it every day. Rock solid quality.

Where else- China
Not a bad thing really- some of the very best (along with some of the worst) electronics are made in China. It's really hard to find stuff that isn't made in China. It's really pretty amazing when you look around and see how many different things and the quantities of stuff China produces- it boggles the mind.

No HDMI standby pass-through is a dealbreaker. Otherwise I would jump on this!

Dear equipment designers: I can't see dark gray text on black in a dim living room. I haven't picked up the remote for my audio in years. Sadly my bonus check will have to be spent elsewhere and I'll continue using my ancient receiver for now.

cbomberg wrote:No HDMI standby pass-through is a dealbreaker. Otherwise I would jump on this!

Just curious (and I'm not trying to be rude or anything) why you would need 'stand-by' pass through of an HDMI signal? Wouldn't you want your AVR on for the sound? Just could not think of why/when it would be needed... Should clarify that I'm FAR from an audiophile or tech guru!

zxinfinity wrote:I've been looking for a decently priced 7.1 receiver capable of multiple HDMI inputs, anyone care to share their experience with this particular brand/model?

I've never owned a Harman Kardon, only have experience with Sony and Onkyo and my current Onkyo is flaking out on me right now.

I have an HK that is a few years old and it has been the best receiver I've ever owned. I've never heard better sound quality. I previously had Onkyo & Sony and the HK is better and they have a good rep.
A couple things to note: HK does sell refurbs on ebay so you may want to compare prices. Shipping may cost $50+ though.
When you connect it, if your TV has an HDMI output, I highly recommend connecting the devices like your cable/sat box, DVD player etc. to your TV then run 1 HDMI from the TV's output to the receiver HDMI 1 input. That way you don't always have to have the receiver on. This could add years to the life of your receiver, save electric plus you don't have to wake anybody up if you don't need 7 speakers and a sub-woofer going.

cbomberg wrote:No HDMI standby pass-through is a dealbreaker. Otherwise I would jump on this!

But the link posted from above shows an HDMI bypass screen just 7 pictures down. Maybe the amp has to remain on, even though the signal is unprocessed? http://www.avsforum.com/t/1178816/official-harman-kardon-avr-1600-2600-3600-owners-thread

I have the HK-3490, which is basically the stereo version of this receiver, without HDMI, but a much larger wattage rating:

http://www.harmankardon.com/en-us/products/pages/productdetails.aspx?pid=hk%203490

From the front, it looks almost identical to this 7.1 receiver.

It is a gorgeous addition to my speaker setup. The sound is crisp and balanced, and it is easy to use. If I had need for another 7.1 receiver, I'd definitely buy this one, simply based on my experience with the 3490.

Will this upconvert a cable TV signal? I have a flat-screen TV that does NOT have a cable box, so it doesn't do HD even though it is capable. Can I run the cable through this receiver and get HD quality on the TV?

scubalab wrote:Just curious (and I'm not trying to be rude or anything) why you would need 'stand-by' pass through of an HDMI signal? Wouldn't you want your AVR on for the sound? Just could not think of why/when it would be needed... Should clarify that I'm FAR from an audiophile or tech guru!

It's just a nice feature to have. Sometimes I might watch TV and don't need or want the receiver on. With 'stand-by' pass through, it allows me to do so.

zxinfinity wrote:

I've never owned a Harman Kardon, only have experience with Sony and Onkyo and my current Onkyo is flaking out on me right now.

LOL my Onkyo also is flaking out (TS-DX575) after 12 years of faithful service the right front channel is intermittently dead.

If you need a 2nd HDMI output (ie. for a projector) you really can't beat the TX-NR616 for $350 new at amazon right now. Cheapest I've seen by over $50, and apparently they finally fixed all the firmware issues. We'll see.

If you don't, this looks like a great deal.

Refurbished doesn't always mean that it was broken and then refurbished.

Refurbished can also mean that someone bought it and returned it because they didn't know how to make it work or didn't like it. And since it was used, it can't be sold as new. So they rebox it, test it, and clean it up.

Also, if it was broken, it was likely a defective part that they test and then replace and rebox in a new box.

Refurbished could mean better than new if you consider that it had to be tested before being reboxed. It's not like they want it to be returned to them again, wasting their time. In comparison, most new items only get one out of a batch tested.

GGA1759 wrote:What is a "solid" brand? Also, if it is such a "solid" brand, why are these refurbished? Yours might have lasted 20 years, but the all of the ones in this techWoot! have not.

jmalone wrote:I have the older generation one model up from this and it is superb. Had it for two years or so and it handles my Polk 70/40/CS2 5.1 setup extremely well, leaving me 2 channels for an outdoor 'Zone 2'.

Previous statements are correct, HK's 65 is closer to a TRUE 65w than just about everyone, overpowering many other brands that claim 100-120+ per channel. This is reportedly due to their testing while every channel is actually sucking that much juice, rather than just driving a couple of channels to put a nicer spec on the box.

Another quick thing to note, I got my last one from the 'harmanaudio' OFFICIAL refurb store that they operate on eBay, and it's normally a spot to get great deals. They have this model up for $299 consistently, free shipping. Not sure that I consider $15 savings to be Woot Worthy, but I guess maybe the warranty is longer? Here, check it out for yourselves: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Harman-Kardon-AVR-2600-Z-7-1-Channel-A-V-Receiver-with-HDMI-Repeater-/390476772814?pt=Receivers_Tuners&hash=item5aea3ab5ce

The specs on the ebay listing show that these may be the older version of this model, since it only supports HDMI 1.3a.

Just a handy infobit, the manufacturers web site mentions it offers upscaling and pass thru.

Hope that helps!

So if I don't want to >always< use the receiver for audio (e.g. most of the time I just want my TV speakers and that's it) can I just do this:
hook up all my devices (bluray, apple tv, cable box, etc) via HDMI to my TV
and just hook up the optical digital audio out from the TV to the receiver

And just like that I can use my TV (90% of the time) speakers without needing the reciever on and when I do - everything is already hooked up!????

zxinfinity wrote:The specs on the ebay listing show that these may be the older version of this model, since it only supports HDMI 1.3a.

The "Features" section on woot says the older versions of this model can be flashed with a newer firmware to enable 1.4a compatibility.

I bought the 5 piece Klipsch speaker deal on woot a couple of months ago now (http://www.woot.com/blog/post/klipsch-quintet-5-piece-speaker-system) but still haven't bought a receiver.

Would this receiver work well with the Klipsch speakers?

I had been looking for a replacement for my almost 5 year old Onkyo. I liked the reciever, and it was still working well, but it only had 3 HDMI inputs, and lacked the ability to process/pass through 3D signals, and also did not have support the audio return channel of the HDMI spec (so if you using the "smart TV" features of your TV you can hear the audio throught the reciever). This has all of them, as well as upscaling and Dolby volume. In for 1.

I just want to clarify what a lot of people are saying regarding 'HDMI Pass-through' and the picture referenced on AVI Forums.

HDMI Pass-through in this case is referring to the fact that the receiver can perform many video functions such as upconverting, rescaling, etc. If you enable HDMI pass-through you are disabling the receiver's handling of the video signal and allowing the native signal to pass-through to the TV unaltered.

The other feature that people have been mentioning is standby pass-through, where if the receiver is off all signals are still allowed through to the TV so that you can simply use the TV speakers without turning on the receiver. This device does not have this functionality.

WilfBrim wrote:I had been looking for a replacement for my almost 5 year old Onkyo. I liked the reciever, and it was still working well, but it only had 3 HDMI inputs, and lacked the ability to process/pass through 3D signals, and also did not have support the audio return channel of the HDMI spec (so if you using the "smart TV" features of your TV you can hear the audio throught the reciever). This has all of them, as well as upscaling and Dolby volume. In for 1.

Actually, this is missing the audio return channel functionality and as such is not true HDMI 1.4a. It does support 3D with a firmware update, though.

Source, cNet: "For example, the AVR 2600 technically has HDMI 1.4a ports (after a software update), but lacks audio return channel (ARC) capability"
http://reviews.cnet.com/av-receivers/harman-kardon-avr-2600/4505-6466_7-33770776.html?tag=

mikegdiaz wrote:So if I don't want to >always< use the receiver for audio (e.g. most of the time I just want my TV speakers and that's it) can I just do this:
hook up all my devices (bluray, apple tv, cable box, etc) via HDMI to my TV
and just hook up the optical digital audio out from the TV to the receiver

And just like that I can use my TV (90% of the time) speakers without needing the reciever on and when I do - everything is already hooked up!????

You CAN but you shouldn't. For one, make sure your TV can pass 5.1 through its optical. Many only pass stereo for all inputs except the antenna. Secondly, if you have blu-ray you're gimping the sound by doing that, as you won't be able to pass high def audio to the receiver.

Also, I've owned this receiver for about a year and a half. I got it refurbed from the official Harman ebay store. Before this I had another Harman that I got from the same place, which I replaced because the previous one did not have HDMI. So, I'm a fan of the brand. The first one is still alive and kicking. One of the HDMI inputs has started to crap out on the new one though. I'm not sure what the deal is, but I don't know if I'd be willing to try another one.