Customer Reviews

Harman/Kardon AVR7200 7 x 100W 7.1-Channel A/V Receiver

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I purchased this a number of years ago, probably around 2003. There hasn't been a glitch or problem with the AVR7200 the entire time. It is extremely heavy and well built. Features are plentiful, except for a lack of HDMI (which was not finalized in its present form at the time) and DTS 24/96. The AVR7300 adds that DTS mode, and the AVR8000 includes THX certification, which I consider to be worthless. The higher the model number of these three amps, the slightly more power you have, but essentially they are similar designs. They all have EX and ES 7.1 capability. All use big toroidal power supplies.

The big exception in similarity between these three, arguably the finest Harman has ever produced, amps is the AVR8000's Analog Devices DACs in contrast to the others' Cirrus Logics. The CLs sound to me very similar to the Emu 1212m pro sound card's CS4398. The Harman's implementation is noticeably smoother and more refined, the Emu's slighty more resolved, particularly in the highs, but they otherwise have the same presentation. I wouldn't be surprised if the only difference was the opamps and caps. Of the two, I like the Harman's DA converting better than the Emu, but I could live with either. The AVR7200's are superior to about a dozen different converting-capable standalone gear I've compared it to. The only ones I would really put in the Harman's league are an imported universal Pioneer SACD/DVDA player I have and an TDK delta-sigma 24/96 setup. Though there is some occasional material I prefer on one of those over the Harman, for the most part the Harman wins out. I also have a modded Denon HDCD player and the only thing it rivals the Harman anymore with is certain HDCD disks, like Silva Recordings.

The AVR7200 is 24/192 decoding capable in stereo mode, but you need either a pro sound card with that output capability in SPIDIF or one of the rare DVD/Bluray players on the market that could output that format. For the most part, you are better off decoding in the player itself and inputting the analog into the 8 Channel Direct inputs. Obviously, that's what you should do with DVD-A and SACD. Most DVD-As are locked out for SPIDIF, anyway. It would be nice if Harman came out with a new firmware that added ADAT or 24/96 surround compatibility, but that's highly unlikely.

The 8-ch direct inputs have optional DVD Audio bass management modes that will kick on the Cirrus Logic Twin Core DSP A/D converter & processor chips. This allows you to crossover every pair of speakers at a different frequency, but keep in mind that you are AD/DA converting all that pure analog multichannel goodness. It's a nice feature, but you're better off just making sure you have sufficiently full range speakers not to need it. Otherwise, just use the Harman's own converters by sending the material in digital. While this feature is intended for DVD-A and SACD, it seems to defeat the purpose of these audiophile standards, in spite of the good quality 24/96 conversion capability of the Twin Cores.

Speaking of purity, the stereo analog inputs are all capable of going pure analog direct. I had originally assumed this was not possible and strictly used the 8-ch directs in the back for analog. Well, tonight I did a series of tests with tones, high output preamps, and pro meters. It turns out the Harman manual is indeed accurate on this topic. When an analog stereo input is selected, DSP is Off, and the fronts are on Large, the signal is sent directly to the volume attenuator which then goes on to the main output stage for the front amps. These years I've been sweating going through complex arrangements, and it was all unnecessary. Also note, the reciever's factory default has the DSP on, fronts as small, and a 100hz sub crossover. You must have a screen connected to the composite out for menu access for removing the crossover or switching the surround backs to Multiroom.

Unfortunately, there isn't a dedicated biamping mode as I've seen on other brands, but you can either duplicate the input selection under Multiroom (requires more work when adjusting volumes) or you can run a short pair of quality interconnects from the front pre outs to the input of your choice that will be selected under Multiroom. There is just a minor volume difference that must be compensated for with -5 on the Multiroom volume. It's about a third of a dB too much, but it's close enough. Gives a little kick to the bass, at least. Volume changes on the master volume will affect the pre out in this way and simplify matters. Again, it's annoying that Harman just didn't include a Biamp setting under Advanced, but this technique is sufficient to make up for this oversight.

The remote control is classy, can learn commands from other IR remotes, and has punch through capability for things like master volume or channel changing. EZsetup uses a sound meter in the front of the remote to automatically adjust volume and delay in a surround setup. Just make sure the remote is pointing the correct directions and volume is sufficiently loud. The tone controls are in the analog domain and specific to the fronts only. They can be bypassed with a tiny little button on the front. I like the quality binding posts in the back. They are still as sturdy as day one. It should also be mentioned that the amps themselves are conservatively rated. Total harmonic distortion is actually less than half what is in the specs and with even 5 channels running at once it won't clip until it goes over 140 watts on all channels at once.

I have compared the sound to the much lauded vintage monster Sansui G-9700 and the rare oldie JVC R-1X. The Sansui clearly has about double the power compared to the Harman in stereo and better bass dampening for extreme rapid-fire rhythms or very complex passages (like DJ blends). It was not nearly as liquid, warm, extended, or refined as the Harman, though. There was also an odd shouty, overly dynamic presentation to the upper mids. The JVC has a lovely organic rightness to the mids and highs, especially those extended, shimmery highs. Side imaging and depth was excellent at low to moderate volumes, possibly better than the Harman due to microdynamic resolving capabilities of the JVC at those lower volumes. Watching Bladerunner with the JVC running the top half of my speakers and the Sansui running the bottom woofers was a joy, getting the best of both vintage amps. But the wonderfully sparkly JVC is a low power amp, lacks the Harman's transient drive & lower midrange warmth, and somewhat lacked the ability to create the same center fill. While the Sansui had far better dampening running the low-end drivers, the bass did not sound as rich and harmonically layered as the Harman. The vintage biamping combo did a lot right, in spite of its limitations, but back in went the AVR7200. The difference was immediate and not subtle in the slightest. Biamping with the Harman improved things even more. It lacks the most refined or dynamic highs and bass damping, but has an undeniable body, warmth, and layered richness for a single box with 7 amps.

My biggest complaint (other than biamp hassle) is the headphone jack. Comparing it to even the lowest-end Pioneer receiver in production right now, the AVR7200's headphone amp is cold, analytical, and a generally poor ambassador for this unit's high pedigree. I have no doubt people have misjudged the Harman's sonic signature, particularly of the pre-amp stage and DACs, due to this oversight. It's not a terrible jack, but they could have done much better with a little more effort. Oh well, at least they included a headphone jack. My brother's ultra-expensive Rotel didn't include one and also threw in a problem with his rear surrounds humming. Nice. I think he spent twice what I did...which was just a few bucks more than my NHT ST-4 speakers. And unlike the pretend heatsinks on the Rotel, the Harman's big heatsinks inside are fully functional.

So in conclusion, if you plan on not sending video through your receiver, using its headphone jack as an audiophile source, or decoding DTS 24/96 and can find one of the AVR7200/7300/8000 amps for a good price, I highly recommend them.

Edit: I recently had the receiver go out on me. Apparently all it needed was fuse 453 (slow burn 500mA/250V) replaced. Turning the unit off and on frequently from an external switch can cause this.

I'm also not sure if I mentioned it, but the line level inputs on the 7200 will accept a hot pro nominal 1.25V signal without distorting. The A/D converters of the DSP section will clip if you go over that, but if you've got that turned off you get unlimited headroom even beyond direct into the volume control and amp sections.

I've tested the HK's headphone jack and determined there's nothing fundamentally wrong with it. Acting as a line out or with a pair of iPod earbuds in parallel, it outperforms the jacks on a Numark dm900ex, dm905, Edcor 2020 dedicated amp (taking into consideration its 180 degree out-of-phase defect and reversed channels, don't ask!), Red Sound Micro Amp (hissy and no bass, so that's easy to beat), Cowon U5, and Sansa Clip portables. It's about in the same league as the Denon DCM-370 jack, that annoyingly only goes down to -12dB and no quieter, and the Xone 62 2nd gen mixer's jack. No, the Xone's bass lacks some definition and the highs aren't as pristine, but that's the A&H overall tone. Objective measurements are close on those, though.

There are no crazy IMD oscillations apparent in the bass response even with the ultra-low ohm earbuds in parallel, or any other errant peaks throughout. The only consideration is a slight and totally gradual/smooth half dB emphasis on the HK jack from the midrange into the mid treble, and a .4dB drop at 20hz as a line out and .8dB drop at that point driving the earbuds. That's at the level of some of Headroom's lower cost offering's, possibly without quite as much separation. Still, separation was as good as any of the others I've got (still need to buy a nice dedicated headphone amp) even with the earbuds, and with anything slightly higher impedance (they're what, only 16 or 24 ohms?) would improve dramatically.

Only the PPD9000's jack can beat the HK at low-end crosstalk separation and dynamic range and it presents a rise in mid & upper bass with very low impedance, like the dm900 & 905 do, so you don't even have to worry about that. What I'm probably accustomed to are Pioneer jacks similarly boosting the bass without intermod issues. That combined with the HK jack's tonal balance might be contributing to the impression of a lean, cold sound at times, but this appears to be probably just as accurate, or more so than the Pioneer VSX-711 is pulling off. You can even go a little past 0dB on the HK jack before it starts distorting, so there's some surprising voltage reserves in addition to the current capability being nothing too bothersome.

For some perspective, the Denon DCM-370 jack was once found by a reviewer to be indistinguishable (aside from the limited volume control) to the Headroom Home. If the HK jack can provide a slightly different flavor of nearly this caliber of sonics, with full volume control to boot, I can certainly admit I made a mistake attacking that. Well, there's always the lack of ultimate definition and refinement in the highs on the main amps ;-) For a sub-$800 7 amp receiver from 2003/2004, the HK is still a steal. It's also now lacking new HDMI lossless capability, but those standards have changed two or three times in the past few years alone. If you have a quality older receiver, your blu ray player purchase ought to have 8 or 9ch analog outputs and good DACs. I think that would solve the problem, assuming it also has good bass management or you're not using any.