wheelman Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Well I just bought a Harman avr-130. My first impression was what the heck happened? I didn't hear that sweet sound I was really familiar with. I was really dissapointed and wanted to return it. It just lacked the top sweetness to my ears at first. The remote didn't controll my satellite. So one of the Harman reps said they would give me an upgrade remote. hmmm now this would be nice it would get rid of all the clutter I have. So I said well I will listen a couple more days, because I really didn't even give it a chance. I always start with the radio seeing how I listen to alot of classic rock radio it's just got to perform there. Well it is the best radio I ever heard in an av receiver so clean and pulls them in really good. Plus I love how you can search instead of just have your programmed ones. Because I have a tv antenna I use, and sometimes I move it and I may get different ones in I wouldn't know if I didn't have the search on the remote. I started hearing highs I just didn't hear with my denon. A little forward sound now, but not enough where it causes ear fatigue. I thought for sure at first I was gonna end up with a headache. But no nothing and it only got better. I just had to get used to a more neutral balanced sound everthing was there I mean everything. Now the bass has much more controll to it. When I listen to redbook cd's it is very revealing so mp 3's are junk now. But a good cd sounds fantastic. I put in T2 my favorite action flick for testing receivers. It was great how balanced the sound was it reminded me of a theater way more than any other receiver I owned. With some receivers I remember some scenes certain sound effects were very loud. This had just enough livelyness to it without overdoing it. My favorite test part is when Arnold gets blown through the window and the glass breaks. Some receivers will just kill your ears or it wont have enough thrill to it. This sounded very natural like glass really breaking without overkill. I tried a vcr tape the G3 concert and when Eric Johnson played "Manhattan" I couldn't believe the tone I was hearing soooo good. Compared to my denon it's like cleaning the wax out of my ears. I still love that denon though for the blues. But this new Harmon sound is totally different than their other offerings by far. What was a dissapointment at first turned out to be a great find. So close to a integrade sound it's not even funny. Clean with great control from top to bottom. Virtually no noise what so ever. Not many ins and outs which is great! I used to have a slight hum I haven't heard that yet. I am getting great results with the s video switching. It's almost like watching a dvd. Actually better in some cases. This will not crumble your house to the ground with wattage, but their 45 watts per channel is an awesome real rating. Were talking the whole human hearing with real low distortion levels. I did all my testing without my athena sub on. I talked with a rep and they did say all their models when they change have a different sound, because of their new processors. But this was ridiculous it didn't sound anything like I heard a Harman sound. By the way I only owned the two digit models which are older and throw an awesome sweet soundstage much more tube like. Still love the old Harmon avr65(bigtime and still recomend that steal used), but love this one also and look forward to listening to my new sounding Harman/Klipsch set up everyday. No more refering to a Harman as sweet now it's articulate/clean/neutral with a nice balance. Now for a few cons it doesn't have an a and b speaker selector which sucks. They had a real goof when they made this they put the satellite input for the remote to control video three which is on the front panel. Who in the world would want to put a patch cord right in front for all to see? Not I and they understood and are sending me another remote that does everything so that's cool. A little more power would of been just about perfect. It will crank big time but at lower volumes that more wattage would throw a slightly wider soundstage and add a touch more weight to the bottom. But it still sounds good for the money. So as it stands I still highly recomend Harman Kardon as my receiver of choice on a budget those new processors rock with intense clarity. Sorry for boring you all to death, but hay I was recomending Harman and had no idea this is what the newer ones sounded like, and it is gooooooood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
007 Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 what speakers are you using with the avr130? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted October 11, 2004 Author Share Posted October 11, 2004 ---------------- On 10/11/2004 2:20:17 AM 007 wrote: what speakers are you using with the avr130? ---------------- Synergy series. The sf-2's and the matching center. I ditched the Klipsch surrounds I had ,and used my old cambridge bipole/dipole whatever you want surrounds for some reason they throw a better surround sound for my seating arangement. They blend pretty well with the ratshack meter in use. I forgot to mention a very good thing about this receiver is it has independent crossover for different size speakers. What I love is now that I am using those smaller cambridges it has a 100hz setting. Which alot of receiver go straight to 120hz, or they are global and your stuck with the same crossover for your surrounds as your center. That really makes a difference in a small speaker to get the best out of it. Plus when I do turn my sub on it has a crossover of 40hz nice for towers to give you a wider soundstage, and just use those klipsch woofers as much as possible. The looks of the receiver is very nice and crisp just like the sound. Next to my other components it's almost to new looking. I feel I may have to buy a Harman dvd player to match it up better. My other components look dinjy in comparison. It has a volume nob that is a halo with no center, and it shines blue in the middle walls of it. So if you sit of to the right or left it looks like a cresent moon. It is only a full circle when you are directly in front of it. So if it seems to busy for you it does have a dimmer button to turn it down to off. I am not rich and I like to recomend no bs budget equipment that sounds great. Not to often that really happens. If you had a receiver like I did it will take your ears a little while to get used to hearing such clarity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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