Harman Kardon AVR 1565 5.1-channel, 70-Watt Audio/Video Receiver with HDMI v.1.4a ,3-D (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

I purchased this from Amazon for a great price and it arrived in one day delivery although I only paid for 2 day delivery. Thank you Amazon.This AVR replaces my Sony of comparable product. I have a comprehensive speaker system with polk and jbl and two sub woofers. The Sony sounded fine even though I am an audiophile from a long line of vacum tube amplifiers. I upgraded to this Harman Kardon AVR because I need more component connections. Not knowing the sound was so much better. This AVR has such terrific sound. I was really impressed by the open sound, great clarity between low and high. There are so much timbre that resonates.I only opted for the default Harman Kardon Logic 7 surround sound effect. It was great. I am so glad I choose to make this upgrade. It is well worth the money for such terrific sound improvement. Definitely 5 stars, highly recommend.Update Feb.11,2013I like this AVR so much I bought a second one. I found this AVR has a power switch in the back so that I can connect both my AVR to the same system of speakers and still be independent. This way I have a lot of flexible of using both of my AVRs. The appearance of the AVR is like an art display instead of the usual switch board style, very pleasing. The unit has strong binding posts for speakers that allows also banana plugs instead of just filmsy clips like Sony any other products in this price range. The Amazon price make this purchase a terrific deal. Thank you Amazon for an excellent product at a very reasonable price.

I've been an audiophile fanatic for over 15 yrs. I always wanted to buy a Harman Kardon for its notoriety in high end equipment. I finally got it and I have to say I'm glad I did. It doesn't disappoint. Easy to instal, looks very handsome and the quality of sound blew me away. I was torn between other great brands for around the same price. I can't think of another receiver that will perform this well for around $240. (Amazon price, Harman Kardon website is double). With that said, I compare it to an old Marantz I had that blew over after 12 yrs. By that time no HDMI direct or true DTS coding was around. In comparison, there is really very little difference in quality sound. I was expecting a more vibrant and progressive sound since now is 12 years ahead on technology than my old Marantz. Other than that, excellent product.

I recently switched to HDMI sound from a HK AVR 154. Both systems are incredible, but the HDMI sound is impeccable. Completely satisfied.Updated review... I enjoyed the receiver at first but ran into a problem just like others. The sound from my receiver is simply faint and not as strong as it used to be. It's literally hit or miss with the volume. Originally, -30 was perfect and very satisfying for movies, to get the same level I need to increase the volume to -19 or higher. I have not changed any equipment, I set all levels accordingly. I never once figured out what the usb in the front is for, and the night feature is non existent: even after reading the manual multiple times. The receiver also does this logic 7 processing which is extremely annoying. It's like this receiver has no idea how to code the sound at times and defaults to logic 7 which concentrates much of the sound on the center speaker. Contacted customer service and got some Indian guy who could care less about myself or Harman Kardon, definitely some of the worst customer service I've had. I think this is the first 1 star review I've given on amazon. Should go to show how disappointing this receiver is. I think there's a reason why this model is discontinued but I would stay away from HK all together after this experience.

The HDMI processors on this unit aren't good. If you attempt to send your HDMI from computer, to this receiver, to your HDTV, you will get horrible video quality. I bypassed it's HDMI ports and sent my audio on via optical. My HDMI goes straight from my computer to my Samsung HDTV. Perhaps Samsung's receiver would have done a better job.Want to use HKs universal remote to control your HDTV? Forget it. Most HDTVs use a 4 digit infared code now. This baby only supports old school 3 digit codes. Fail.Good luck, it's not bad for the money.

It replaces an old sony with lots of digital enhancement options. I do not seem to miss all the Sony bells and whistles . On a film with lots of locational sound effects it has performed well doing the job at a reasonable price. We will see how long it lasts....the old Sony lasted many many years.

What an awesome piece of equipment. I purchased this unit to replace another Harman receiver model # avr146 which I loved a lot. The thing about that receiver was it did not have enough power rated at only 30watts per channel. That receiver was Truly awesome in its sound quality. The logic 7 feature is what has me staying with this brand. This receiver, the 1565 features a higher wattage power supply, an additional HDMI port but less digital audio inputs. That's ok. I'm missing those inputs but I'm good. I'm very happy I was able to find this receiver because just like my other receiver both are discontinued models by the manufacture. I want to thank Amazon for having these discontinued items and having them for brand new purchases at an Awesome Amazon price. Another reason why I want to stay with these older models in Harman Kardon is because they truly produce awesome sound quality no matter what your listening to. The older models feature the ultra bandwidth high current power supply which creates that awesome moving sound I'm not hearing in other receivers. The newer models of Harman feature digital amplifiers. Since I haven't heard any of these new models I can't comment on them. My awesome 1565 is teamed up with an awesome pair of Bose AM 5 Bose Acoustimass speaker system and Bose center channel speaker at the front line. At the rear my setup features the Bose 161's model speaker. Also for thunder my setup brings down the house with an awesome 10'inch Cerwin Vega sub. Simply Awesome. Thank you Amazon so much I'm so happy because of you. I look forward to many, many more purchases from your market places. THX.