Home > Consumer Reviews > Harman Kardon AVR65 Surround Receiver

The HK AVR-65 is a great receiver - especially when trying to put together a DTS system on a relatively "sane" budget. The sound quality and features are unmatched for a receiver in this price class. The problem is with HK's backing of the product. Four months ago the center channel on mine went dead. A fluke by the statements of the service technician. HK still cannot deliver the parts to repair the unit. The repair technician has told me that this kind of treatment is typical from HK. After numerous calls to HK's service department I have decided to sell all of the HK equipment I currently own. So if you feel "lucky" I strongly recommend the AVR-65. But if you even have the smallest problem with it you might as well throw it in the nearest dumpster and buy a sunfire.

Less than a month after installing the AVR65 it failed and had to be brought to a Harman Kardon service center for repair.

This is an excellent A/V receiver, DD, and DTS sound awesome. I do realize that some people are having problems with humming or hissing, or RF Interference. Well there's a solution when the first batch of the 65's came out they had problems. Units made after January '99, and after the 10,000 serial number range were supposedly fine. My unit was purchased in August '99 for $ the production date is March '99 the serial number 11,073. Disregard the people who had problems with these as they probably purchased this unit when it first came out. This is an excellent receiver, and should sound superb when I hook it up to my Nakamichi PA-1 amplifier. Saving Private Ryan in DTS on this unit sounds amazing. A must have, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!

I am pleased with the sound of my reciever and it is very simple to operate. I like all of the options i have when setting it up with its plethora of jacks. My biggest gripe has got to be the inability of it to play low volumes. The lowest level is a bit loud for listening to in bed and then it just cuts off. Other than that it is a great reciever and well worth the money i paid for it

The AVR-65 has the potential to be a great low to mid-range receiver. It handles the all basics (DD5.1, DTS, 6-channel analog, coax, and optical inputs, S-Video switching) nicely, without the added complexity of DSP modes and dozens of buttons and front panel lights you'll never use.

Unfortunately, H/K quality control has fallen down on the job. Internet review sites are awash in stories of AVR-65 owners experiencing an inordinate amount of hum, hiss, and RF interference. Mine is suffering from only the first two. H/K doesn't seem to want to own up to the problems at all. At this point, even if I can manage to get it fixed, I'm soured on the brand.

Too bad. Features wise, it's great, and when adjusted to volume levels that mask the hum/hiss, it sounds very nice. But the problems are unacceptable for a product at this price point, from a company with the kind of good reputation Harman/Kardon has. (Had.)