Customer Reviews

Harman Kardon DPR 2005 7.1 Channel Surround Sound Digital Path Audio/Video Receiver

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

 

 

I had been looking for a new receiver to upgrade my home theatre system, and after extensive research, both online and in stores such as Sony, Fry's Electronics and Best Buy, I decided to get this one. My primary use of my surround sound system is for music- and the DPR 2005 is as good as it gets for a mid-upper range receiver for that.

Harmon Kardon manufacture the best receivers in this price range in my opinion, better than the likes of Pioneer, Yahama, Onkyo and Denon for SOUND. The tone quality is phenomenal- rich, warm, full are adequate adjectives to describe the phenomenal sound. And not only is the sound quality amazing, but the design of the receiver itself is second to none.


I previously owned the Pioneer VSX-1015TX, which is also a great receiver, with excellent functions, but its sound did not compare to the DPR 2005 or my friends AVR 340 or the AVR 435/635. Though I really liked the sound of the AVR 635, which can be bought for a similar price to the DPR 2005, it was too large for my room, and the idea of digital sound without conversion appealed to me.


Disregard all reviews that criticize the HK DPR 2005 and the AVR series- admittedly the DPR 2005 lacks digital outputs, but its superior sound more that compensates for that. All the bugs that people claim plagued the DPR 2005 have been largely fixed, and the receiver that I bought last week has presented no problems at all. I highly recommend this receiver, which can be had for a bargain price nowadays- I spent many weeks searching and researching to find the best receiver and I truly believe that if you want to get the best out of your 5.1 or 7.1 surround system, then this is the receiver for you.

Harman Kardon DPR 2005

I have owned a number of Harman Kardon receivers in my lifetime. From the AVR 40 to the AVR 135. I even own the DPR 1001. Since my tastes in music and film have change over the years so has my expectation of the performance of an audio/video system. For me a system should convey the intent of the artist/film maker. In addition it should reproduce what it is given as faithfully as possible.

A receiver is only a part of a system. In addition to it you have the source, the speakers, the cables and even the room. A system that sounds great in one space can sound very different in another. Conversely a system can sound very different to two people listen to it in the same room at the same time. These facts are known to most people who read this so why am going in to this? Only to say that in my system, in my space this receiver has exceeded my expectations.

The reasons are numerous. First I have grown accustomed to the "H/K" sound over the years. Second years ago I've learned that nothing in the world of audio/video is perfect so when you stumble upon something good you run with it. Third I really like what I'm hearing so far.

I won't go into detail of the rest of my system however believe me it is not entry level nor top of the line. I tend to do a lot of research to determine what I don't want and keep an eye out for the products the meet my needs and tastes and that are a good match with what I already have. When it was time to upgrade my main system I was already well versed in the digital receiver market.

I like to think that I have a knack for finding a great deal. That's why I find the DRP 2005 so hard to resist. Although it lists for $1799.00 it can be had for as little as $599.00 from online line retailer such as One Call. Currently I do not see myself in a position to drop $1800 on just one part of an a/v system however I was able to hustle up the $626.02 (PB & maybe J for the next few months) required to have this piece delivered to my door.

After reading as many reviews concerning the DPR 2005 as I could find and taking a closer listen to the DPR 1001 (moved to the bedroom because of space issues) I placed my order and waited. Cold out of the box the sound was full with a "processed" feeling to it. My wife is into Karaoke big time so after about a week of "Do It Yourself Concerts" I dove back for a closer listen. The processed sound yielded to a warmth I've grown to expect from H/K. On CD after CD I heard richness and detail. If it was on the CD it was reproduced. On DVD after DVD a relaxed presentation of the soundtrack was the norm. The surround soundstage was more lifelike and natural. Lately I've spent more time listening to music and movies than listening to my system.

So is this the greatest thing to enter the world of Home Theater? Not by a long shot but it is very good as what it sets out to do. Is it worth the $1799 list price Harman Kardon is asking? I won't know but if I ever have to replace it the price will be much greater than the $626.02 I paid. If my best friend had $500- $700 to spend on a receiver would I recommend the DRP 2005? Yes.

Thanks for reading.

I've had my DPR 2005 since they were brand new and it has been a great receiver. The only issue I've had was with the unit randomly shutting off after owning it a few years. I could power it back on but it would immediately shut off again. I found that by resetting the processor, per the owners manual - last page, it solves the issue. This has happened to me twice in the last year and the reset trick worked both times. I've seen numerous people complain about this problem and not being able to get it working again. I'm hoping the reset trick will help you like it helped me.

If you are looking for sound quality then this is your beast. I seem to only mess with H/K or marantz and this is the best sounding unit of everything I have owned. Its short fall is the amp. Its like my wife, it needs plenty of room to vent off the heat. I found this out when my amp board went bad. Good luck finding a new one as no one makes it anymore. I got lucky and found a broke dpr2005 on ebay and the amp board was good. I now keep a 4" mini fan on top if it blowing on the amp board and also raised my self I never shut the door or kept anything on top of it). If you find one at a good deal, it is worth buying, just keep it cool.

I just wanted to add my input on this receiver. It has never given me problems. The sound quality is amazing. I use it to watch movies and listen to music and I couldn't ask for a better sound. The only thing is that it doesn't give you hdmi inputs but if you're not looking for that and want 7.2 sound than look no further.

As far as the issue about shutting off, mine did it once a few years back and I (honestly) knocked it pretty hard on the side and have never had the problem since.
When it comes to sound quality it is absolutely the best I have ever had. Plenty of power and very smooth midrange. Much better than the Denon and Onkyo I had before and slightly better than my Yamaha. No complaints.

This is one of the most amazing pieces of sonic engineering HARMAN KARDON ever created. Since they own Mark Levinson and Lexicon, both high end pro gear manufacturers, they were in a unique position to create something truly special, and in an unheard of lower profile than ordinary manufacturers. The result was the stellar DPR (digital path receiver) series, which unfortunately like all things great, was not continued. But this is the flagship model, a 7 channel 120 watt in 8 ohms beast, which has the power to drive virtually ANY speaker system made, with plenty of power to spare. And unlike most receiver manufactures, Harman Kardon don't kid around about their power rating specifications. This receiver would easily beat the pants off most of the claimed 120 watt per channel receivers out there that actually only put out 50 or 60 watts x 7, if your lucky.

Having owned Harman Kardon and Infinity speaker products for the last 10 years, I can safely say that they create some truly special and unique products in the consumer audio field that stand far above the regular crowd of cheaped out mass market manufacturers out there who hide behind a brand name while producing shoddy gear, and then don't support their products or their customers when they often fail. Harman Kardon customer support will not desert you like that in or out of the warranty period. They really do want your business. But then I have also never had a single new or refurbished item break that I have bought from them. But obviously having items shipped through a parcel service can damage items in ways that might not be obvious until you turn it on, or use it a bit. And I provide plenty of space around my audio gear for proper cooling, too, which many people do not causing it to overheat and fail. Even setting another piece of gear on top of an amp or receiver might be enough to cause an overheating problem and component failure down the road. Anyone lucky enough to own one of these needs to treat it with the proper respect it deserves, and not seal it up with no ventilation in a closed cabinet and put it behind glass doors with gear stacked on it where it will heat up and eventually fail. High current high output amplifiers do not play well with heat, and never will.

But getting back to this review of this golden sounding all digital path receiver...

It is an AMAZING sounding piece of consumer audio gear at it's original price of $1800 retail. At the time it was released, I didn't hear anything else that came close to the realistic, sweet and warm sound these all digital amplifiers produced on the brutally honest sounding Infinity Interludes or Preludes series. Receivers like those from Onkyo and Sony, just sounded painfully harsh and metallic on these speakers, while Pioneer and Yamaha sounded a bit over restrained, muddy and muffled. Only the Denon's I auditioned even sounded close to the Harman Kardon's in terms of honest audio realism and an almost 3d quality of the recreated sound stage coming from quality Infinity speakers. And this particular DPR-2005 receiver was ultimately the stand alone pure sonic winner after much comparison shopping.

Using an HD-CD capable player, with the improved bit rate sampling of even regular CDs, also makes this receiver sound like sonic nirvana. And the playback of Blu-ray movies is just jaw dropping unbelievable. It's just too bad that Harman Kardon didn't wait a few more years to release this all digital bad boy with HDMI and digital lossless surround codec capability like DTS-HD, too!

Finally, there's the sad fact you simply can't buy a similar designed pure digital amp/receiver that sounds like this one in this price range, even today, unless you decide to spend tens of thousands of dollars on separate pro gear with all digital amps and all digital preprocessors. Yes, you can now get new receivers with digital pure pathways and this much power for 2 to 5 grand, but you can't get them with all digital amplification, too, that's the kicker.

I have owned this reciever for 3 years now. I got a great deal from an online store for 450$ and it has been flawless. I read reviews from when the DPR2005 first came out and had problems with shuting off when ever it wants to. I guess maybe I just got a good one. None the less, this receiver has been my 2nd Harman Kardon, the first being the AVR135-also a good receiver, but not close to the DPR2005. It has great crisp sound when hooked up to good speakers and dialed in correctly. I used to work for a home theater installation company and we mainly used high end Onkyo and Denon Receivers for our jobs, but the 2005 does just as good of a job for a much lower price. The only downfall the 2005 has now is that there is no HDMI, yet I have still kept this due to the clarity and quality it has produced for myself over hundreds of hours of Movies, TV and music over the past 3 years. If you can find one for a good price and dial it in to your speakers for your room setting, youll be very happy about your purchase- i have been! If I would have reviewed this a few years ago it would have been 5 stars.. due to the lack of HDMI, i gave it 4 stars.

First brand-new DPR 2005 turns itself off right after I turned it on. Sent it back to dealer at my own cost.

Second brand-new DPR 2005 has exactly same problem. This time I contacted HK and got the authorization to send it back

Third DPR 2005 arrived and last exactly 3 months. This time they offered to exchange it for a refurbished AVR 635. I heard great things about the AVR 635, but let's wait and see

I had this receiver for couple of days. The first day was fine and I was pretty happy with the sound quality. However when I was watching a movie in the second day, the sound all the sudden went dead. Then I tried to power cycle the unit, the unit came up and then automatically shut off within 5 seconds. Nothing can be done afterwards to revive it.

Also just checked Harman's website, noticed they had removed this product from their current product list. So looks like it is so troublesome and they just discontinued it. Don't waste your hard earned money on this piece of crap.