Harman AVR 525 7.1 Channels Receiver

Pre-Purchase Considerations

I have been purchasing Kenwood receivers for years, as I always felt that they provided good sound quality and features at a reasonable price point. I had most recently purchased the VR-510 THX Select model back in 2001. I heard many good things about the new 6070 model, which I picked up for a good price just a few weeks ago. It began to occur to me that there weren't a great deal of significant enhancements from the 510 to the 6070. I had always heard good things about Harman Kardon products, aside from some reliability issues in previous years, and I started to fall into the mindset that if I was going to upgrade from the 510, I should make it a DEFINITE upgrade. After doing EXTENSIVE research online (about 12-15 hours worth), I came to the conclusion that although the former HK avr-520 could be had at a great price ($499 new), there were a number of reliability complaints. Those that commented on the avr-525 had nothing but good things to say about the audio quality and features. On a side note, the weight of the new Kenwood 6070 is 20.6 lbs, while the HK avr-525 comes in at 44 lbs. The 6070 is rated at 100 watts per channel, while the "high current" design of the 525 puts out only 70 watts per channel. The gears in my mind began turning with the realization that I wasn't comparing apples to apples here. Clearly, with a lower wattage output and over double the physical weight, those additional pounds were most likely comprised of higher quality components. I considered other products from Denon, Onkyo, and the Sony ES line, but I have always held Harman Kardon in the highest regard over the years due to their tremendous number of loyal customers, their reputation for high quality audio components, and the fact that they pioneered the first audio/video receiver several decades ago. For those that are interested, the websites that I compiled the majority of my information from were: www.hometheaterforum.com and www.avsforum.com. They are essentially message boards that allow users to come together to exchange information. Very helpful.

I was debating between the avr-325 and 525 models. Not too much difference, other than a couple of features and a 20 watt variance/channel in their output. I decided that for another $200, I'd opt for the 525, which would eliminate the "What If" scenario that invariably creeps in when travelling the road of the lower cost option.

The Purchase

Once I knew what I wanted, and by the way, the short synopsis above doesn't begin to touch on the indecisiveness that I underwent for more than a week; I proceeded to look for the best deals around. I quickly found that Circuit City wasn't going to budge on their $999 price tag, nor was Fry's Electronics. Given the questionable reliability of former HK receivers, I wanted to be sure to buy from an authorized dealer, so I would have the full manufacturer's warranty (2 years) available to me. This list can be found at www.harmonkardon.com. I found several authorized online merchants that were willing to part with the 525 for about $699, but many that wanted $999. I had heard mixed reviews about www.onecall.com, but I decided to give them a call since they were in Washington and the shipping might move more quickly than ordering from the east coast. The deal breaker with them was that they accept absolutely no returns, unless the merchandise is defective. Given that I had never actually used the 525 in my own home, I didn't want to commit to a $700 purchase without some type of guarantee as to my satisfaction. I also heard mixed reviews about J&R Music World (www.jandr.com), but I also decided to give them a call. I talked to one sales rep that was particularly short and rude, so I got off of the line and called back to reach another. The second representative was much more helpful and made me feel better about the company. The pluses to J&R were: they did offer a 30 day guarantee (the only loss would be shipping in both directions), they are an authorized HK dealer, they were currently running a promotion that included free shipping, and they are located in New York, which meant no tax being shipped to California. Everything looked good, so I went ahead and ordered the avr-525 at an out-the-door cost of $699.00.

I was impressed and have since left positive feedback for J&R. I ordered on Monday and I received the receiver on Wednesday. It was double boxed and the actual factory box was sealed tight and in perfect condition. Having the patience to wait two days saved me about $380 compared to what I would have paid at the local retailers.

Setup

This was a lengthy ordeal that consumed about three hours Wednesday night. I had about 40 connections running into my Kenwood 510, which all had to be disconnected, marked, and re-connected to the HK. I was working in tight quarters to boot. My anticipation grew with the setup, particularly as I lifted the 44 pound monster into my audio cabinet. As I was hooking up my connections, everything went smoothly. My current system consists of the HK avr-525, 36" Sony WEGA television, Sony 5 disc carousel CD player, HK DC-5 cassette deck, Kenwood 7030 Equalizer, Panasonic RVP-61K DVD player, Toshiba 6 Head VCR, and an Xbox. Everything hooked up with connections to spare, which was great. The only caveat to the situation is that I prefer to use the digital outputs of the DVD player, 5 disc CD player, and the Xbox, given that the DAC's (digital to analog converters) in the HK are higher quality than what's contained in the individual units. The 525 has plenty of digital inputs, but my components all contained only optical outputs, rather than coaxial, which left me one short on the 525 (it only has two rear inputs and one front mounted). Rather than sacrifice the digital connection for aesthetics, I opted to run an all black Toslink optical connector to the front input on the 525, which actually is not even noticeable unless you're standing right over the audio cabinet. A small price to pay for preservation of the digital signal in my opinion.

Initial Impression

When it came time for the moment of reckoning (powering up), I felt compelled to use music with acoustical clarity, so I opted for track four of Kenny G's "Paradise" album. In a word, amazing. My speakers never sounded so good! Prior to even optimizing the system, I was immediately struck by how much richer and more natural the sound was. I had read a couple of reviews that had commented on a subtle "hiss" out of the speakers when the 525's not in operation. I thought my Kenwood was dead silent when in standby, but the HK was even more quiet. I have no idea what these guys were talking about.

I felt compelled to optimize the 525 prior to retiring for the evening, which consumed at least one hour of the three hour setup process. This receiver allows you to optimize virtually everything via an on screen display on your television. Let me put it this way, even if the Kenwood and the HK had identical sound quality (which they don't), the 525 would still be worth the additional $300 just due to the tweaks that can be made. For example, you can set the initial volume level that the receiver defaults to upon power up, individual crossover points for each set of speakers AND on each individual input! What this means is that for the eight or so different inputs (Video 1/2/3/4, CD, DVD, etc.), you can set the exact preferences which remain in resident memory (for up to two weeks during an interruption in power) for each component. These include crossover points, small/large speaker configurations, +/- speaker gains, delay settings, etc. One feature I love is the ability to set your front left and right speakers to receive a full bass signal as well as the subwoofer. This is great for someone like myself that has full range front speakers with 12" woofers, and a 15" down firing Cerwin Vega sub with a 250 watt amp! You can also specify whether or not you want those bass settings to apply to each input (globally) or on an individual basis. The on screen display makes the adjustments very easy and visual. One drawback is that the OSD can't be transmitted to the television via the component outputs, only by S-Video or a regular composite signal. I suppose a work around would be to run the component signal directly from the DVD player to the television if video switching wasn't necessary. Speaking of that, this unit has what it takes - 50 mhz video switching for the most demanding needs! The Kenwood unfortunately lacked in this respect with a mere 10 mhz rating, which wouldn't cut it for a component signal without serious degradation.

Specifications

Audio
Stereo Mode
Continuous Average Power (FTC) Per Channel : 85 Watts per channel at less than 0.07% THD, 20Hz – 20kHz, both channels driven into 8 Ohms
Seven-Channel Surround Modes, Power Per Individual Channel :
Front L & R Channels : 70 Watts per channel at less than 0.07% THD, 20Hz – 20kHz into 8 Ohms
Center Channel : 70 Watts at less than 0.07% THD, 20Hz – 20kHz into 8 Ohms
Surround Channels (L & R Side, L & R Back) : 70 Watts per channel at less than 0.07% THD, 20Hz – 20kHz into 8 Ohms
Input Sensitivity/Impedance Linear (High-Level) : 200mV/47k Ohms
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (IHF-A) : 95dB
Surround System Adjacent Channel Separation :
Dolby? Pro Logic? I and II : 40dB
Dolby? Digital : 55dB
DTS? : 55dB
Frequency Response at 1W ( 0dB,idB) : 10Hz – 100kHz
High Instantaneous Current Capability (HCC) : ?45 Amps
Transient Intermodulation Distortion (TIM) : Unmeasurable
Slew Rate : 40V/?sec
FM Tuner
Frequency Range : 87.5 – 108.0MHz
Usable Sensitivity : IHF 1.3?V/13.2dBf
Signal-to-Noise Ratio : Mono/Stereo 70dB/68dB
Distortion : Mono/Stereo 0.2%/0.3%
Stereo Separation : 40dB @ 1kHz
Selectivity : ?400kHz 70dB
Image Rejection : 80dB
IF Rejection : 90dB
AM Tuner
Frequency Range : 520 – 1710kHz
Signal-to-Noise Ratio : 45dB
Usable Sensitivity : Loop 500?V
Distortion : 1kHz, 50% Mod. 0.8%
Selectivity : ?10kHz, 30dB

Video
Television Format : NTSC
Input Level/Impedance : 1Vp-p/75 Ohms
Output Level/Impedance : 1Vp-p/75 Ohms
Video Frequency Response :
Composite and S-Video : 10Hz – 8MHz(idB)
Component Video : 10Hz – 50MHz(idB)
General
Power Requirement : 120V AC/60Hz
Power Consumption : 120W @ idle,
1,040W @ rated output (7 channels driven)
Unit Dimensions :
Width : 17.3" (440mm)
Height : 6.5" (165mm)
Depth : 17.1" (435mm)
Unit Weight : 44 lb (20kg)

Performance

I've been using the 525 for a couple of weeks now and have put it to the test with DVD's, CD's, AM/FM, etc. The more optimizing I perform, the better it sounds to me. I can't say enough good things about the sound quality of the 525. Everything sounds much more warm and natural than any receiver I've used in the past. I've heard that HK's really shine when it comes to their musical rendering capabilities and I would definitely attest to that. I prefer HK's own "Logic 7" processing for musical sources. For those that are unfamiliar, it transforms a two channel source into seven channels with excellent spaciousness and separation. It would be considered a direct competitor to SRS Labs' "Circle Surround". I also found "DTS:Neo6 Music" to be excellent for listening to CD's. Even AM/FM reception is much improved. Another quality of the 525 that I found particularly useful are the individual bass/treble/balance adjustments found on the front of the unit. I don't see this on many DD 5.1 receivers, but it is quite an asset when particular sources are a little too bright or dull or in need of more of a bass punch.

I know that some people are concerned with the rear mounted fan on the 525, but I have yet to hear it kick on, even with relatively loud volume levels. Speaking of volume levels, don't buy into the "Watts" game, as I call it. Some would dismiss the HK receivers due to their lower rated power output, but I can assure you that this receiver will outperform any Onkyo, Kenwood, or Sony rated at 100-110 watts/channel. It all has to do with HK's high current design, which can reach a max of 45 amperes on the 525 and a possible power consumption of over 1,000 watts. The volume controls span from -60 to 0 and I am rarely able to get past -35 without hesitation as to how the neighbors will feel. Bottom line is that 70 "HK" watts per channel should be enough for even the most discriminating listener.

Remote Control

No review of an audio/video receiver would be complete without touching on the remote. I had heard mixed reviews about the 525's. Perhaps I'm more flexible than most, but I haven't had any serious complaints about it. There's a feature called "EZ Set" built into it, which didn't work particularly well for me, but it's really more of a novelty than anything else. It's supposed to use a built in microphone in the front of the remote to "listen" to your different channels from your listening position and automatically increase or decrease the decibel level of each to optimum levels. My speakers may have been adjusted perfectly as is, because it didn't make any adjustments as it went through the testing. I did notice at one point when I didn't have the volume up as loud as recommended, that it raised the volume level of each channel to compensate. I think what it's striving for is balance between each speaker, rather than actual volume levels.

You can set the remote to control various components, which can include learning functions by holding the two remotes end-to-end. I have had some trouble switching from component to component, because ideally (in some cases), I would like to control the television from the remote without actually switching the input signal to that source. I'll have to do more reading in the manual.

The remote has backlighting and a relatively intuitive interface to it, particularly once you get used to it. Some of the buttons are fairly small and close together, which could be a problem for some.

Conclusion

I would definitely recommend the Harmon Kardon avr-525 receiver to anyone in the market for a high quality receiver. J&R Music/Computer World provided me with great service and a great price, so I would recommend them as well. I am personally sold on the difference between "moderate to low end receivers" compared to "high end receivers". Well worth every additional cent. Sometimes you lose perspective when you don't have a side-by-side comparison to reference. I truly look forward to powering up the 525 every chance I get now! As I mentioned, the 525 would be perfect in my opinion if it had a couple of additional rear mounted inputs, which actually wouldn't have been an issue if my other components had provided coaxial as well as optical outputs. Overall, I couldn't be happier with my avr-525!