Help picking an AVR...HD 1000

[jkane08]

Hi all,

Brand new to the forums, so forgive me if this has been covered before in a stickied thread somewhere that i'm not seeing, but I did do a search last night for an hour or so through all of the threads for similar topics, but have too many questions of my own to put into one of those threads..

I just ordered the Klipsch HD 1000 last night, (GREAT price, been looking at them for a while now, OneCall is selling brand new ones for $530 right now, which is cheaper than the 500, and cheaper than a refurbed/used 1000). When I was searching through the forum last night, I saw some people in various threads were suggesting the Harman-Kardon 154 to power them.

I've looked at the specs of this series of AVR on Harman's website. They have the 154, 254, and 354. The 254 offers full HD menus, more audio codec options, and a lot more things than the 154. I was just looking up reviews and stuff for the 254, and the 354. I'd like to get the 254 (the 354 is over my price range, and doesn't offer that much more than the 254 overall.) Refurbished 254's are on ebay sold by HarmanAudio for starting bids around 40$, and they go up after being bid to it seems between $150-250.

I really like the sound of the 254, it seems to offer a lot of great stuff, and it looks appealing to the eye. My only problem is that on this forum..

a LOT of people who own any of these 3 models have had numerous issues with the playback of 1080p, PS3, and dropping audio. It seems like a few firmware updates have come out to fix the issues, but there's still people posting on there in the past month or two that have issues even after updating. So i'm wary to order one of these, only to be plagued by issues with playback.

I know that if you buy a refurbed one from HarmanAudio on ebay, it is covered under warranty, and someone in an Amazon.com review of the model said that they had issues and called customer support, and Harman-Kardon replaced their 254 with the 2600 model. So i know there are options in case there are problems, but it just seems like it isn't something that a small faction of people deal with, it appears to be almost every model.

So, (if you're still with me after all of that, lol) my question then is, what AVR can you guys suggest to me that is similar to the Harman-Kardon 254? I want something easy to use, at least 3 HDMI ports, and my budget is under $250, and i'm fine with buying refurbished as long as it has a warranty covering it.

I know Onkyo has good products, I've been told Yamaha isn't that great, but I really like what the HK-254 offers, so anything you guys use, or know of that would be similar, and at a similar price range(brand new i believe it is $599).

Also, this will be everything that I'll be hooking up:

HDTV - Vizio 42" 1080p LCD

HDMI - Xbox 360

HDMI - PS3

HDMI - Macbook Pro (Not always connected, but hook it up to watch Hulu sometimes)

Coaxial - Cable ( I use the tuner in my tv to get the free HD channels, have a comcast box but don't use it since I don't pay extra for the HD, free to use tuner instead)

Thanks in advance!

[Yura]

Stretch your budget to $300 and run to Costco to see if they still have the Onkyo HT-RC160 receiver. It is the same as 607, minus a few inputs. Bang for your buck - it is the best deal out there.

Be warned - Onkyo's run hote and need a lot of cooling, otherwise you will fry it.

I don't like HK because of all their HDMI bugs and failure rates.

[smokarz]

Or stretch your budget a bit further ($400) and get a Denon 1910 like Yura.

I too was looking at the Harmans you mentioned, mainly due their cheap refurb prices on ebay, but there are way too many issues with them, as you already know.

[wsu99999]

Issues or not, Harman Kardon stands behind their products. You will be assured continual support. I've heard horror stories trying to get Onkyo, Yamaha, or Denon to do anything for their faulty work. HK will pay for the shipping, and have your unit back to you within a few weeks.

Chances are you will have a perfectly functional unit and never have any issues, ESPECIALLY if it's a refurb. I've purchased several refurbs direct from HK and I did have an issue with an HK AVR-745 a few years back. I shipped it off to them and a non-refurb back in 2 weeks. For the price, and your speakers, there isn't a better receiver out there sound quality wise in my opinion.

[Yura]

I would rather get an AVR that i don't have to ship back and forth in the first place. Look at how many refurb HKs there and how many Denons.

I've made my choice.

[smokarz]

it's great that HK stand behind their products, and i've heard many owners enjoying great sound.

but i guess it's not for everyone. i am the type that like to buy a product and don't have to deal with it again until 3-5 years down the road when it's time to move on. just don't have the time nor expertise to deal with any issues that might arise.

[jkane08]

Thanks for all your input everyone, I was looking at the HK, but decided against due to the uncertainty of whether the product would work or not, and the tediousness of sending it back and forth for fixes. I ended up getting a Denon 1610 on ecost last week for $207.99, $237.99 after shipping. I just got it the other day, and it was in great condition, haven't used it yet, my speaker wire only arrived today.

<br><br>

Thanks for the help again