Harman/Kardon A/V Receiver Reliability??


Hello My Fellow Members:

I know I was one of the posters which in the recent past has often given advice to those that was needed (among many others as well, to credit them also..... and they seem to be at least as knowledgeable.... if not more so than I am), and was giving this advice willingly and on my own free will because of my undying love and devotion to this great hobby of ours.

So with that said for now and all, now I am in the position to receive some advice of my own. Now that I have stated my positions and all, I seem to have a dilemma of my own.

And my delimma is this:

I am in the position to put the finishing touches on my home theater in the upcoming months and all with the purchase of a DVD Player (that is already chosen, a Pioneer Elite DV-37) and an Audio/Video Receiver. Unfortunately though, it is the Audio/Video Receiver purchase in which I am struggling with. As I am set to purchase an A/V Receiver in the next two or three months (after acquiring the Pioneer DV-37), the model that I seem to have my heart set on right now is made by Harman/Kardon (AVR-210). The reason I would like to go with Harman/Kardon is because of the reputation of the brand, the attractive performance/features/price ratio that the brand's current A/V Receiver line deliver and the sound quality that I am after in lieu of using a very small speaker system like the Paradigm Cinema with a PDR-10 Powered Subwoofer (which will be placed in a small room. What I am being told by a few people on another board is that the current line of Harman/Kardon Receivers are having issues right now with respect of reliability. They are breaking down often and they are being returned for other brands, and so forth. What I would like to know is did any of you hear about these issues as well? I got to know now before I end up making a mistake that I am going to regret later on. If so, what are they?? If these issues turn out to be true, then I would be looking at alternatives such as those from Denon, NAD and Onkyo. I thought about Marantz also, but as good as they sound, I am not fond of their mix of features at all. In short, what is the deal with the reliability of the Harman/Kardon Audio/Video Receivers?? Keep in mind, my budget for an Audio/Video Receiver is $700.00 (max).

Thanks in advance for the replies I know I am about to receive.

--Charles--
128x128chaskelljr2001
I bought one about eight years ago and my parents are still using it (and AVR65??? I think). I haven't heard anything about their new models. The Denon receivers are also very good, and they might even sound better (I've never compared, but they do sound great). My only experience with Denon receivers was in the $1800 range (the 3200 or 3600...I forget which). Have you checked out audioreview.com? There might be some customer reviews of your model on that site.
hi, i have the Hk 500 for about a year. No problem, It had plenty of power for the small speakers I use, and it has nice features. for the price, HK is a good av unit.
joe