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Why are all the new Harman Kardon A/V receivers low on power?


Kain

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I've noticed that the newer Harman Kardon A/V receivers are fairly low on power (watts per channel) compared to the competition and the older Harman Kardon receivers. I have the top-of-the-line Harman Kardon A/V receiver that I bought several years ago (2002 I think) and its rating is 110W x 5 or 125W in stereo mode. The latest top-of-the-line model today from Harman Kardon is the AVR 355 and its rating is now 65W x 7 or 70W in stereo mode. Why have the power ratings dropped so much?

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By the way, I've noticed that the price of today's top-of-the-line Harman Kardon recevier is about $800 (which seems appropriate for the power it puts out). I bought mine in 2002 for about $2,000 and it rivaled top-of-the-line receivers from makers such as Denon and Pioneer and even today is considered to be an excellent receiver. It seems Harman Kardon has stopped making high-end receivers?

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I've never owned a HK, but most people say that other manufacturers "estimate" their wattage, whereas HK is a lot more accurate in their wattage. So say Pioneer for instance, claims 130 wpc, in actuality, it may be more like 90-100. But HK claiming 65 watts is a true 65. Keep in mind this is just what I've been told........

Either way. You'll push Klipsch speakers with a HK receiver

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A lot of receivers rate their power for each channel with one or two channels driven which inflates the numbers quite a bit. If a Harman kardon says 65 watts it will drive all of the channels at that rating at the same time. My yamaha will not push 135 watts on 7 channels even though it is rated 135x7 Don't get me wrong. I like my Yamaha very much. They just play with the numbers as do a lot of companies. Don't let the numbers make your decision. HK makes excellent gear.

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