Customer Reviews

Harman Kardon AVR 145 5.1 Channel Audio/Video Receiver

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I owned a Sony STR-DE695 6.1 receiver which was rated at 100 watts per channel for my upstairs AV room. Despite those seemingly impressive specs, something seemed to be missing. I decided to get an HK having owned one before and I knew that their power was rated honestly.

Let me tell you, my new HK at 40 per channel is like my Sony at 180 per channel. The difference is unbelievable. I now realize how much Sony either overrates their power or HK underrates. Either way, I am very pleased with the HK. The sound is amazingly crisp. Highs are sharp and the bass is full. Set up is easy and the feature set is well thought out.

Now my Sony goes downstairs in the living room and the Harman Kardon is the center piece of my AV room combined with my HD-DVD player and Samsung LCD. Worth every dollar!!

The HK AVR 145 is by far the best surround receiver in it's price range: quality build, well thought out controls, easy set up, and superb sound. Don't let the power ratings fool you, this baby puts out clean honest watts to all chanels; it blew away my Kenwood rated at over twice the power. Great buy, highly recommended.

You can't beat this reciever for your money, sounds and looks great.

Works perfect with Universal remote programming. I am very happy so far.

The quality of the sound is great! I am definitely not using all the features. I have it driving a Bose Acoustimass 6 speaker system, and I am very happy with the sound. As all the HK systems look similar, I was confused regarding which features the 145 actually had, and thought it had HDMI interface. It does not, but my Toshiba HDTV has 3 HDMI inputs, so I don't need any more anyway. My final choice among the 145, 146 and 147 was the physical dimensions, as the depth of the 145 was smaller and a better fit for our furniture.

Does everything I need it to do. The AVR145 is a great entry level 5.1 channel receiver if you don't need: audio over HDMI, HDMI upconverting, 7.1, etc. The sound is great and supplies more than enough power for my JBL Venue Series floorstanding Stadium and Tour speakers. Manual setup is also very easy. Definitely recommended if you are on a budget.

Just bought this to bring life to my system. Running Polk audio bookshelf speakers as the front channels, pioneer's as the rears and center. Mirage Omni S8 sub set up in a small apartment living room. The AVR 145 brings everything you would expect from Harman/Kardon. The highs are crisp and clean and the lows are smooth. Don't let the low wattage scare you (because watts are not important, amps are important. This will shake you and bring quality sound to any application. The controls are a little more complicated, but learning the various functions does not take long and is well worth the time investment. Great value, got it for $150 on sale. Excellent choice unless you're looking for HD video connectivity, which you'll need to upgrade to the AVR146. You can't go wrong with Harman/Kardon!

O.K., I TOOK EVERYONE'S ADVICE AND PURCHASED ONE OF THESE RECEIVERS...LET'S SEE, IN THE FIRST WEEK, THE REMOTE STOPPED WORKING AND THE SALES PEOPLE TOLD ME TO JUST GO AHEAD AND BUY ANOTHER REMOTE...GEEE WHIZ GUYS...THANK'S A LOT! NOW TO THE OTHER PROBLEMS....YOU MUST, I REPEAT, YOU MUST HAVE AN ADVANCED DEGREE IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING JUST TO OPERATE THIS THING FOR SWITCHING BETWEEN YOUR DVD/VCR/AM/FM/ETC. WHAT A FREGGING HEAD-ACHE! I HAD MY NEIGHBOR COME OVER AND HE WORKS FOR A CABLE T.V. COMPANY, AND AS SOON AS HE SEEN THAT I BOUGHT A HARMAN KARDEN UNIT HE ADVISED ME TO SELL IT AND GET AN ONKYO. HE ADVISED ME THAT ONKYOS ARE GOOD UNITS FOR THE MONEY, AND GREAT FOR THE STRESS LEVEL FOR THE EASE OF OPERATIONS....NONE ARE BETTER. HE EXPLAINED ALL HE DOES ALL DAY LONG IS HOOK-UP PEOPLE'S CABLE UNITS TO THEIR HOME SYSTEMS AND HARMAN KARDON SYSTEMS ARE NOTORIOUS FOR THEIR DIFFICULTY TO OPERATE...AND I REPEAT...HE DOES THIS ALL DAY LONG! HE EXPLAINED THE UNITS ARE VERY GOOD, BUT THE REMOTES ARE NOTORIOUS FOR FAILURE, AND UNLESS YOU HAVE A THIRTEEN YEAR OLD WHO IS A WHIZ AT ELECTRONIC DEVISES HANGING AROUND YOUR HOUSE...FORGET-ABOUT-IT!