Harman Kardon AVR 3600 7.1 Channel 3D Ready A/V Receiver with iPod/iPhone Dock $434.99 + Free Shipping!

I was looking into the Denon 1713....how does this compare?

I have this and I must say that Harman Kardon is geared towards a purist audiophile who is willing to forgive some missing bells and whistles in exchange for pristine audio quality.

Some egregious omissions by HK include the lack of HDMI passthrough in standby mode (cant watch TV without the AVR powered on). Also, there is no source volume level go get all your audio sources to the same output (although dolby volume attempts to normalize them, with its own complications). Also, the EQ is limited to bass, treble and sub levels. No parametric or other advanced equilization. The USB port is for firmware only, and will not decode any media, not even MP3. There is a cat-5 jack on the back, but no network capabilities. The cat-5 jack is for daisy chaining compatible hardware.

That being said, the AVR is beautiful to look at, is rated to put out at least 80 watts over the full spectrum 20 to 20kHz, and is fairly well underrated (tests upwards of 100w / ch). The video conversion and up-conversion is top notch. It will even up-convert from analog sources, though I haven't tested myself. It also sports audio pre-outs should you find yourself looking to add mono, stereo or tri-channel external amps in the future.

The output is very clean and well balanced, and I really dont find myself missing most of the features since it sounds so good without the need for EQ tweaking. Mine is coupled to the highly reviewed budget pioneer FS51 towers and C21 center. I have dayton surrounds and sub to round out the 7.1 setup. I am very pleased with the sound quality and output level - although it wont break any decibel levels. I am 90% home theater and 10% music, but both have impressed me. I have gotten around the missing HDMI standby passthrough issue with a $40 splitter. All in all, this receiver is a steal at this price for an audio purist. But for someone who wants all the bells and whistles, you'll be disappointed by what you're locked into. And the new ones are even worse.

Eh looks like this receiver is a 2010 model.

Quote from BlackEmac : Eh looks like this receiver is a 2010 model.

I assure you that you want the previous generation over the newer chinese made models (xx50's). Although the new ones have networking capabilities, they lost some very important features like pre-outs and ipod bridge, and the weight has gone down considerably (alluding towards inferior quality components). A couple quick searches on AVS forums will confirm that the older models out perform the newer gen.

What's the point of up-conversion by the AVR when DVD/BD players with HDMI interface already up-convert the video?

Not decoding any media is huge in my mind.

this receiver has been this price for about a week now, and this thread is a repost of this from a week ago.

http://slickdeals.net/f/5212214-H...k-445-w-FS

that being said, this isn't some entry or entry-mid grade receiver that retails for $500. this price is very very good for the receiver and the lowest yet especially with the separate ipod dock. the amp selection is the best you can get for this $$ even though the a/v features aren't as updated as this year's models.

if you want pure sound quality, this is the receiver to go with, but it will not be much help in the future proofing department. A lot of people compared this receiver to the yamaha rx-a1000 that went on clearance last year for $399 and the yamaha looks like the winner in both features and sound quality, this was close. that a1000/a2000/a3000 clearance was a once in a lifetime and ymmv deal, and had tax. (included this as a measure of receiver vs pricing for this grade receiver)

Quote from imitations : this receiver has been this price for about a week now, and this thread is a repost of this from a week ago. http://slickdeals.net/f/5212214-H...k-445-w-FS

this is a lower price and now has that bonus 10% CB Rakuten Points that really makes this receiver under $400 total

Quote from imitations : this receiver has been this price for about a week now, and this thread is a repost of this from a week ago. http://slickdeals.net/f/5212214-H...k-445-w-FS that being said, this isn't some entry or entry-mid grade receiver that retails for $500. this price is very very good for the receiver and the lowest yet especially with the separate ipod dock. the amp selection is the best you can get for this $$ even though the a/v features aren't as updated as this year's models. if you want pure sound quality, this is the receiver to go with, but it will not be much help in the future proofing department. A lot of people compared this receiver to the yamaha rx-a1000 that went on clearance last year for $399 and the yamaha looks like the winner in both features and sound quality, this was close. that a1000/a2000/a3000 clearance was a once in a lifetime and ymmv deal, and had tax. (included this as a measure of receiver vs pricing for this grade receiver)

The time you spend typing should've been the time you spent reading to realize that this is a lower price than your referenced link.

Quote from rixsaw : What's the point of up-conversion by the AVR when DVD/BD players with HDMI interface already up-convert the video? Not decoding any media is huge in my mind.

The converter / interpolation is of much higher quality vs the inexpensive ones in most set top players. But for the most part, theres very little real world benefit. I sure couldn't tell the difference without side by side still captures.