Review – Harman-Kardon AVR-7000 Receiver

Serious Power You Can Really Use By Mike McGann



There’s an old joke commonly discussed in the automotive world. What’s the fastest car in America? No, it’s not some Ferrari or Porsche. Very likely, it’s a rusty, tapped-out gray Buick Century station wagon, the kind of car the police never take notice of. More important than having sheer speed, it seems, is the ability to be able to use it.



There’s no question that there’s a good dozen a/v receivers priced between $1,500 and $3,000 that can make virtually any audiophile salivate. Once in use, though, most are never able to live up to their potential because it seems like you need a Ph.D. just to sort through the various modes of operation. In recent issues, you might remember, I’ve taken companies to task for unnecessarily difficult operation, while praising those with simple straight-forward operation.



To paraphrase Shakespeare, I come not to bury Harman-Kardon’s AVR-7000 ($1,700), but rather to praise it. It’s one of the first high-end a/v receivers with a load of features that mere mortals can operate without suffering through a migraine. Oh, and by the way, it sounds pretty damn good, too.



When you first see the AVR-7000, you’ll be struck by the slightly unusual look, which I think imparts some of the unit’s simplicity of function.



Taking a modern and elegant twist on McIntosh’s retro, shiny, transparent black front with backlit functions, Harman manages to say simple and beautiful without retreating into the early 1970s. There’s one big, black knob for volume control and three smaller knobs for bass, treble and balance. Across the front are some simple, but fairly intuitive, controls for source, speaker and so on. Without using the owner’s manual, or even the on-screen setup (which I wasn’t able to use due to a dead remote), I was able to figure out everything on the AVR-7000, including assigning the proper digital inputs to the proper sources.



And as is the fashion, the AVR-7K is a big beastie, and not just tall like we’ve seen in units from Onkyo, Yamaha, B&K and so on, fully belonging to what I’ve taken to calling the “dreadnought” class of receivers. One caution, though—this unit is also about a good 4 inches deeper than most units in this class, so make sure you have plenty of shelf room when you bring this baby home.



On the back, there’s just about enough inputs and outputs for almost anyone, including two component video inputs. But you’re out of luck if you want to switch high-definition video from a tuner or a progressive DVD output, something found now in less expensive receivers, such as Denon’s AVR-3300. Since the AVR-7000 is Harman’s flagship piece, that’s a surprising flaw.



Of course, there’s S-Video and composite, as well, for hooking up your various VCRs and satellite boxes. There’s also four digital audio inputs, two coax and two optical. As is pretty common with receivers in this class, it will control a second room’s audio, and does so very simply and elegantly, thoughtfully providing a second remote for the system’s operation.



As for remotes, in my case it was a good thing I had the second “lifeboat” remote. The main remote, a sturdy, backlit twin to units used by Parasound and others, was dead on arrival when I set up the AVR-7000. It lit up but seemed to have dropped the codes for the unit. Fortunately, the Harman was so easy to use, especially from the front panel, that I was able to operate it pretty easily with the second remote and never felt the need to ask for a new remote.



And I can say that second remote got a good workout, as I used the Harman for its test, as well as those I did on the Infinity Interlude IL10 speakers and the Fujitsu plasma display reviewed elsewhere in this issue.

Of course, I used the Harman first with the RBH Signature Series 4-ohm speakers, which have been living in our test lab since we reviewed them for our spring issue, as well as my Monitor Authority 200-watt, 14-inch subwoofer of death.



Once I got it properly broken in, playing hours of test tones and a few more hours of static-filled talk radio in Logic7 mode (which tends to be easier to listen to than test tones while I sit and write), I was immediately surprised at how much sheer power Harman had packed into this receiver.



I started out with two-channel audio and was quickly impressed with how it seemed as if the AVR-7000 was never really pushing that hard, despite loud enough volume levels to shake my windows. Better yet, it seemed to generate a large and deep soundstage. Pianos, like those used on Queen’s A Day at the Races, were very sharp and clear and sounded like they were coming out of the center-channel speaker and sometimes almost behind me. Bass information just oozed and was full and deep. I did feel like the tops of vocals, like Freddy Mercury on “Someone to Love,” sounded a bit thready, breathy and raspy on the RBHs and even more so when I used the Infinity Interludes, which seem to tend toward that even more so. My test lab tends a bit toward the bright, anyway, but I suspect that this Harman would sound best in a slightly dead room. Of course, detail was excellent, reproducing sound in a class of significantly more expensive gear.



Moving on to five-channel audio, I cranked through the DTS test disc, as well as Roy Orbison’s Black & White Night and Peter Frampton’s Live In Detroit. All these sounded great, although it was interesting to hear the differences between Dolby Digital mixes and those from DTS. On the Orbison disc, the bass was tighter in the DTS mix, while I found the opposite is true on the Frampton disc. As is usual, the DTS mix tends to be about 4 dB louder but, to me, doesn’t seem to sound any better.



My final stop was movie soundtracks. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, offers some nice dynamic challenges, like hearing clear dialogue when Powers and Dr. Evil’s female assassin are plummeting to the sidewalk, which the Harman handled easily. Better still was the opening sequence of Dances With Wolves, where the dialogue can sound muddy or the rifle shots can sound distant, but, again, the Harman rang true. Explosions and gun shots were deep, loud and satisfying. Other than the Onkyo TX-DS989, which costs about twice as much, the Harman was the best performing a/v receiver for home theater material I’ve heard all year.



Having sampled a number of these big-buck a/v receivers, it seems pretty clear that Harman has managed to create a great-sounding unit that is a pretty good value. Having the bonus of being easy to use means normal folks will be able to get the most out of this unit. If there’s a better value on the market right now, I haven’t heard it.



Harman-Kardon AVR-7000 A/V Receiver Price: $1,700 + Heaps of power, two remotes, cool looks, easy operation, good value, good soundstage. — A bit harsh, large footprint, lack of high-pass component video switching. Target User: Home theater and music enthusiasts who want to spend more time enjoying great sound instead of reading the owner’s manual.