Product Description

The Harman Kardon AVR 3550HD is a very high quality Audio/Video Receiver that will give you all the features to make you home theater sound great and look exceptional. With Logic 7 and Harman Kardon high current amplifiers you will get excellent sound. You also get A-Bus Multiroom capabilities so you can expand the sound throughout your hous. It uses HDMI V1.3a with Deep Color and Faroudja DCDi Cinema video Processing with upscaling to 1080P for great video. It also includes the Bridge II docking station so you can play the music on your Ipod through the receiver.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #45767 in Consumer Electronics
• Color: SilverBlack
• Brand: Harman Kardon
• Model: AVR 3550HD
• Dimensions: 6.50" h x 17.31" w x 15.00" l, 38.10 pounds

Features

• 7.1 channel home theater receiver
• 75 watts x 7 channels
• Multiroom capable
• HD certified
• XM ready tuner

From the Manufacturer

AVR 3550HD: Exceptional Performance, Ease of Operation and Flexibility

The new Harman Kardon AVR-3550HD advanced-technology 7.1-channel audio/video receiver offers exceptional performance, versatility and ease of use. It shares many of the features found on more expensive receivers, including HDMI V1.3a capability with Deep Color, multichannel PCM digital audio from HDMI sources, Faroudja DCDi Cinema video processing and upscaling, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding, and multi-room audio capability with A-BUS connectivity. It even includes an RS-232 port to enable future software and firmware updates. The automated EzSet/EQ room equalization system lets you adjust speaker channel levels, distances and crossover points to your precise room parameters all at a touch of a button. It connects to a universe of digital and analog sources, as well as to external amps, and with the included Bridge II docking station it will play, control and charge your iPod. To ensure that everything works together seamlessly, the AVR-3550HD features a full-color graphical user interface and an ergonomic illuminated remote control. There's even a second remote to control multi-room audio. Harman Kardon founder Dr. Sidney Harman has always believed technology should serve users, not intimidate them. The AVR-3550HD is a perfect case in point.

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The Harman Kardon AVR-3550HD provides a host of connections and features View Larger

Make Your Movie Library Look And Sound Its Best

You know the latest Blu-ray movie or high definition broadcast is going to look great on your high-definition display, but what about everything else? The Harman Kardon AVR-3550HD improves the look of standard-definition video with advanced Faroudja processing, automatically upscaling lower resolution sources to the 1080p HD standard. Display settings may also be configured manually, allowing you to specify the optimal picture quality and aspect ratio for various sources such as game consoles or your current DVD collection.

And what the AVR-3550HD does for video, it also does for audio. Harman Kardon receivers have earned worldwide accolades for their uncompromising sound quality, and the AVR-3550HD builds upon this renowned heritage. It incorporates the brand’s acclaimed high-current, ultrawide-bandwidth amplifier sections, which push 75 Watts to each of the AVR-3550HD's 7 channels. The receiver also utilizes Quadruple-Crossover Bass Management, which enables optimal bass performance for all loudspeakers in the main home-theater room. Lip Sync Delay functionality compensates for the delay that can occur between the audio and video signals in some home entertainment systems, ensuring that your audio is always perfectly synced to the video signal. In addition to decoding the latest Blu-ray surround formats such as Dolby True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio, the AVR-3550HD also includes proprietary Logic 7 processing, which is capable of generating discrete 5.1 or 7.1-channel sound from traditional 2-channel sources.

The included EzSet microphone automatically calibrates the AVR-3550HD

Fine Tune Your System Like A Pro
There’s an important difference between your home audio system and the ones you hear in movie theaters and concert halls. Professional systems are precisely calibrated by audio technicians to deliver the best possible surround sound experience. Harman Kardon’s powerful EzSet/EQ system gives you all the tools you need to achieve professional sound calibration at home. This proprietary automated room-equalization and system-calibration feature simplifies system setup and achieves optimal audio quality in any listening room. It automatically measures the frequency response dips and peaks in the listening room with an advanced omni-directional microphone, and applies a precise, compensating equalization curve to achieve extraordinary sonic accuracy. Speaker-output levels and delay times are calibrated as well. It sounds complicated, but using it couldn't be easier. Just connect the included microphone to your Harman Kardon AVR-3550HD receiver and follow the on-screen instructions. With a few simple steps, it will automatically adjust the sound to suit your exact room parameters.

Listen To What You Want, Where You Want
As any family will tell you, a two-zone entertainment system can be a real crowd pleaser. While the kids watch their favorite movie on the theater system in the den, for example, you can be out listening to your favorite CD on the deck. The AVR-3550HD makes setting up a basic multi-room system easy. First, build a high-performance 5.1 channel home theater around your video display. Then assign the two remaining channels to a second zone, wire in an extra pair of speakers to a nearby room or outdoors and you’re done.

If you are planning for a state of the art 7.1 home theater, you can still take advantage of the AVR-3550HD's multi-zone capabilities. Either integrate a dedicated multi-zone amplifier for a high-powered second zone, or integrate the latest A-BUS distributed audio system for more flexibility and control and you can still enjoy sound in another part of the house.

Of course with the AVR-3550HD, each zone can choose to listen to what they want to. And with the included second zone remote or by integrating an A-BUS keypad, local control is only a button press away.

The included Bridge II docking station plays and charges iPod devices

Spend More Quality Time With Your iPod
The iPod isn’t just a great way to take your favorite music and videos anywhere, its also a great way to simplify the entertainment experience at home. The Harman Kardon AVR-3550HD makes it easy with the Bridge II docking station for iPod. A universal dock that connects with a single cable, the Bridge II lets you navigate your music and video libraries with high-resolution on-screen menus using the AVR-3550HD remote. Browse your iPod the way you usually do, whether by artist, album or genre. Audio is played back in rich, room-filling detail that only a Harman Kardon audio system can deliver. Videos are automatically upscaled to the HD standard, even including 1080p, and the Bridge II keeps your iPod fully changed even when the receiver is powered off.

On-screen graphical menus make setup easy

Taking the Complexity Out Of A Cineplex-Quality Home Theater
There’s no denying that a typical home theater system can be challenging to set up and use, but Harman Kardon receivers are far from typical. The AVR-3550HD comes with a Quick-Start Guide that walks you through the color-coded connections that you’ll need for even the most elaborate multichannel systems.

Once connected, you’ll discover a Harman Kardon-exclusive: a newly developed high-definition full-color on-screen menu system that utilizes both pictures and text to guide you in setting up a home theater system, and in verifying that components are connected and configured properly. The HD-resolution graphical interface utilizes alpha blending, a technique that allows the menus to be partially transparent and the video image to remain visible while using the menus. The menu system also enables you to customize the name of each source that is displayed on the AVR-3550HD's on-screen and front-panel displays. Complementing the interface’s unmatched ease of use, the AVR-3550HD includes a newly designed backlit remote control with an intuitive ergonomic design.

Adding to its appeal, the AVR-3550HD features Harmon Kardon's striking new, minimalist industrial design. It is elegant and distinctive, with gracefully rounded corners, a gloss-black and dark-graphite lower panel, and soft-white illumination.

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Customer Reviews

Great AVR Reciver
If you want the best, the easiest true Audio Video Reciever, this is it! This thing is awesome. The on screen set up feature, auto audio/eq adjusting and even renaming your components is the easiest thing to do. For the most part it is all automatic with everything. All you have to do is go through the menu and select your components, tell it how you plugged it in (HDMI, S-Video, ect..) and it does the rest. All video is upped to 1080p, all audio is converted to 7.1 even if you have analog input. Less than 1 hour and I was watching moves, great product!! Spend the extra dollars for this reciever, you will never be happier, unless you get a higher end model from Harman Kardon.

Great Features, but Many Flaws
I was really excited to get this receiver. Had all of the inputs and outputs that I needed for the range of devices I had. Set up was relatively easy, though I had some problems figuring out how to get the system to work with my 5.1 setup.

Anyway, this thing runs really hot. I thought my JVC was hot, but the HK goes beyond anything I've ever seen. I have it in a rack, by itself, with 3.5 feet of space above it and it still overheats. Screen blacks out periodically. Added a couple of 4" fans to blow on it and that seems to have solved the problem.

The other major issue is popping. If you read the various forums, many people make note of audio popping issues. For me, it happens whenever I use a trick mode on my DVR or DVD player, there is a pop. Loudness of pop varies. Sometimes it's quite soft, other times I wonder if I'm going to damage my speakers.