Harman Kardon AVR 3600 85-Watt x 7.1-Channel High Performance Home Theater Receiver (Black)

by Harman Kardon

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 21.8 x 18.3 x 10.5 inches ; 30 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 34 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B002IKKFUA
• Item model number: AVR3600
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,356 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
  • #68 in Electronics > Televisions & Video > AV Receivers & Amplifiers

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

For more than 50 years, Harman Kardon products have been engineered to deliver the ultimate listening experience. That tradition continues with Harman Kardon's new AVR 3600 home theater receiver. High performance starts with a high-current, ultra-wide amplifier design which delivers uncomprimised realism and dynamics from your all your music and movies, including today's latest high-definition sources like Blu-ray. Connect your Blu-ray player to the AVR 3600 and it will play back the high-resolution Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks with stunning detail. The AVR 3600 can even deliver an exciting 5.1 or 7.1 surround experience from sources that aren't in encoded in surround sound using proprietary Logic 7 processing. This includes an iPod or iPhone with the included Bridge III dock for iPod.The AVR 3600 adds the latest sound processing technology from Dolby laboratories called Dolby Volume processing. Set your preferred volume once and Dolby Volume maintains that level across all your content no matter what source you happen to be listening. When it comes to video, the AVR 3600 sets the same performance standard that it does for audio. Using advanced Faroudja processing, video is upscaled to stunning 1080p resolution while display settings can be indpendently optimized by source for the best picture possible. Setting up and using the AVR 3600 couldn't be easier.The AVR 3600 can be set-up to deliver sound to a second zone for a whole house audio system and is even capable of being integrating into a powerful A-BUS distributed audio system. Finally, a newly developed high-definition full-color on-screen menu system utilizes both pictures and text to guide you in setting up your home theater system while calibration and equalization is both easy and accurate with the included EzSet/EQ calibration system.

Product Description

For more than 50 years, Harman Kardon products have been engineered to deliver the ultimate listening experience. That tradition continues with Harman Kardon's new AVR 3600 home theater receiver. High performance starts with a high-current, ultra-wide amplifier design which delivers uncomprimised realism and dynamics from your all your music and movies, including today's latest high-definition sources like Blu-ray. Connect your Blu-ray player to the AVR 3600 and it will play back the high-resolution Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks with stunning detail. The AVR 3600 can even deliver an exciting 5.1 or 7.1 surround experience from sources that aren't in encoded in surround sound using proprietary Logic 7 processing. This includes an iPod or iPhone with the included Bridge III dock for iPod.The AVR 3600 adds the latest sound processing technology from Dolby laboratories called Dolby Volume processing. Set your preferred volume once and Dolby Volume maintains that level across all your content no matter what source you happen to be listening. When it comes to video, the AVR 3600 sets the same performance standard that it does for audio. Using advanced Faroudja processing, video is upscaled to stunning 1080p resolution while display settings can be indpendently optimized by source for the best picture possible. Setting up and using the AVR 3600 couldn't be easier.The AVR 3600 can be set-up to deliver sound to a second zone for a whole house audio system and is even capable of being integrating into a powerful A-BUS distributed audio system. Finally, a newly developed high-definition full-color on-screen menu system utilizes both pictures and text to guide you in setting up your home theater system while calibration and equalization is both easy and accurate with the included EzSet/EQ calibration system.

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars HK AVR 3600 dissapoints, October 4, 2011

By 

R. Gillilan - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harman Kardon AVR 3600 85-Watt x 7.1-Channel High Performance Home Theater Receiver (Black) (Electronics)

11-28-11. After returning 2 of these units to Harmon Kardon for the same issues (see below)and having to pay shipping ($44) once, HK thoughtfully upgraded me to an AVR3650, all at their cost. None of the issues with the 3600 were ever resolved, but the 3650 is a whole different animal. All problems with the 3600 are corrected to some degree. I give HK a big pat on the back for dealing with these problems and making me a satisfied customer again.

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I purchased the AVR 3600 5 months ago after a long research process. My past history with HK receivers probably colored my research, as I have never had a bad one, and I have owned 3 over the years, and had them all in service for 6 years each. The 3600 directly replace an HK AVR635 that is a serious monster performer, but lacks current technology, and connectivity (hdmi etc.). Yesterday the 3600 went back to HK for repair or replacement with shipping at my cost.

From day one the hdmi has glitches. It works well playing discs, but streaming, the video drops every 10-20 seconds, accompanied by audio drops of 5-10 seconds. There is a workaround for this and that is hdmi bypass. in bypass mode the unit will not display onscreen menus.

The processing is very slow. Video takes a couple seconds to respond after coming out of pause, but the worst is audio lags for 2-5 seconds more. After a pause I will miss 3 or 4 words in the dialogue.

Most features work adequately. Firmware update is easy. I don't have an I-device so i can't comment. I miss S-video inputs, as my satellite receiver is a dinosaur, and uses them. I am forced to use composite and the quality is further reduced. The up scaling works reasonably well, but lacks the proper image sizing options, so i end up with cropping, stretching, or top/bottom, and or side bars.

Lately, the unit has been going into protect mode on cold starts. HK tech suggested removing the speakers one at a time to eliminate them as a source of the problem. It didn't. Along with this issue the sound is beginning to degrade. Higher levels of static are coming from all the speakers, when the volume is set low, or no source is playing. Yesterday it was returned for repair or replacement. I re installed the 635, which is a much better machine. The amp section is beefier, and the overall build quality is better in my opinion. The sound is also better with better range, separation, and signal to noise. I think this speaks loudly of the quality of consumer electronics today. Feature rich, but poor execution, and poor build quality. Not just this product, but i see reviews for similar products with similar problems.

Overall I would not recommend this unit. It has to many bugs, and build quality issues. I am waiting for my replacement unit, and I will update this if problems are resolved. I hope HK can improve this product in it's next form. They need to go back to making the high end burly excellent sounding products of yesteryear with new features included. I for one will pay the price for a product that works until it is obsolete!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best receiver in price range., August 3, 2010

By 

Daniel E. Larson "author, software engineer, ... (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harman Kardon AVR 3600 85-Watt x 7.1-Channel High Performance Home Theater Receiver (Black) (Electronics)

This reciever is incredible. I am running Bowers and Wilkins (B&W) 600 series speakers with it, and it sounds amazing. You hear incredible clarity. I had an older model that the HDMI port stopped working on, and I sent it back to HK and they shipped me this model which is quite a bit nicer than the old model I had.

The video quality on this is quite nice-- I run all my video sources into the receiver with HDMI (xbox 360, PC, blu-ray, dish/tivo) and run one HDMI cable to the TV. But... you should buy this reciever for the SOUND. It does have 7.1 but nothing really uses this format, so the extra $500 or so on those 2 extra speakers isn't worth it IMHO. It also has a second zone, which I'm using for speakers that are wired to my patio.

I ordered a second unit (the 2600 model) for an additional living room. If you have small (bookshelf) speakers consider the 2600 model-- the 3600 model is great for tower speakers. It puts out plenty of power, the HK receivers are high-current, so 85 watts in an HK is way more than 100 watts in a Sony. The sound clarity is excellent, and I recommend pairing it with high-quality speakers (B&W 600 or CM series are an excellent choice).

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Reciever, November 26, 2009

By 

J. Zuniga "Buster6070" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harman Kardon AVR 3600 85-Watt x 7.1-Channel High Performance Home Theater Receiver (Black) (Electronics)

I've had this AVR for about a week now and am very statisfied. I updated from the HK AVR635 which I had for about 3 years. The sound is great and the new onscreen menu is a million times better than there old one. I have to say that being able to run HDMI has gotten rid of quite a few cable. The only problem I've had is some sound delay. I was having the video feed passed straight through as all my components put out 1080p or 1080i. I have since turned that off and let the processor on the reciever do it's thing and it's seemed to fix the problem. The EZ/EQ is good but still requires a little tweaking. I had to turn down my sub and raise my rear channels up. Also love the ipod bridge. I don't have an Ipod but my friends plugged in and sounded great. I plan on getting an Ipod touch and will update on how the video feed looks from that. The remote seems of good quality and is backlit at the touch of a button. I have a Univeral Remote so not much feedback other then that. Last but not least it is a very attractive looking.