Harman AVR 35 Receiver
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Harman Kardon AVR35 - Good sound at low levels
Pros
Reputation, Solid Construction, Lots 'O' Buttons for the Gadget-heads
Cons
Low Output Wattage, High Retail Price
Recommended it?
Yes
This reciever was purchased as an open box auction item. The primary application is as a power amp driven by a pc soundcard. This may sound strange, but it works very well considering I have most of my 200+ cd's encoded into MP3s on my home LAN. Anyway, off to the races...
This is a large unit with a very extensive remote control included. The standard surround modes are there, with Hall, Theatre, Pro-Logic, and Dolby Digital Surround. I can't comment on the tuner section as I haven't used the reciever with an antenna. The standard RCA inputs are also present with coaxial digital and fiber (toslink) inputs also available. Input levels and surround delays are adjustable within a significant range. In summary the reciever does everything you should expect a decent unit to do, but how about sound quality?
The sound floor is very clean and any noise encountered in my installation is easily traced to the low-level soundcard providing signal output. Consider also that I'm using analog interconnects at this time, digital inputs will drop the noise level further. Tone and balance controls *are* analog knobs, and do detract from the reciever's on-the-shelf appearance. They are effective in range and provide for rapid tuning options.
The only real *complaint* I can levy against the AVR35 is that it doesn't have a more powerful output stage. The speakers I'm using are JBL stereo surrounds with dual powered subwoofers. These are essentially bookshelf speakers with large subs and are not the most efficient drivers available. Better speakers would compensate for the low output wattage, but the reciever is loud enough to cause a visit by the local gendarmes if opened up with a strong input signal. If you can find an AVR35 for a good price at auction jump on it, although I would suggest one of the models with higher output.
This is a large unit with a very extensive remote control included. The standard surround modes are there, with Hall, Theatre, Pro-Logic, and Dolby Digital Surround. I can't comment on the tuner section as I haven't used the reciever with an antenna. The standard RCA inputs are also present with coaxial digital and fiber (toslink) inputs also available. Input levels and surround delays are adjustable within a significant range. In summary the reciever does everything you should expect a decent unit to do, but how about sound quality?
The sound floor is very clean and any noise encountered in my installation is easily traced to the low-level soundcard providing signal output. Consider also that I'm using analog interconnects at this time, digital inputs will drop the noise level further. Tone and balance controls *are* analog knobs, and do detract from the reciever's on-the-shelf appearance. They are effective in range and provide for rapid tuning options.
The only real *complaint* I can levy against the AVR35 is that it doesn't have a more powerful output stage. The speakers I'm using are JBL stereo surrounds with dual powered subwoofers. These are essentially bookshelf speakers with large subs and are not the most efficient drivers available. Better speakers would compensate for the low output wattage, but the reciever is loud enough to cause a visit by the local gendarmes if opened up with a strong input signal. If you can find an AVR35 for a good price at auction jump on it, although I would suggest one of the models with higher output.
