The Harman/Kardon AVR161S
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Home Theatre AVR161S 5.1 harman/kardon
Being pretty frugal when it comes to buying audio equipment I felt it time to replace my tattered old 2004 JVC with a receiver which would not break the bank. Having four options at hand, Yamaha RXV379, Harman/Kardon AVR161S and the new Yamaha RXV381 or HTR4068 I was stumped for choice. Knowing someone years back with a harman/kardon repair job who was a first class arsehole left me dodging the 161 like a Bryan Habana. But and this is a very big BUT, many folk have raved about the reliability of this brand and of course the quality. As the retailer was selling this unit for at least R500.00 cheaper than competitors I felt it was money well spent for a known good brand with a switched mode power supply. Not that I have anything against either Yamaha or linear supplies.
The audio output is nothing to write home about, 85W RMS x 2 channels driven. I needed the HDMI more than anything which was 5 inputs, more than I needed in any event. Optical and coaxial inputs, 2 x analog RCA inputs and composite video output make this HT receiver as barren as the Sahara but this is what appealed to me. And the setup is ridiculously easy. Neat and tidy. An omni-directional microphone is part of the package and we were up and running within ten minutes.
Not going into what it can and cannot do, it’s all in the manual, it must be emphasised that this little receiver has excellent reproduction quality, it is quick to set up and the power is more than ample. The on screen display is simple to understand and all inputs are easily allocated – in fact I would say it’s the easiest installation I have ever done. But then again this is what HK is all about.
This is not a multi zone receiver like the 171 – I really don’t know of many people using this function either properly or on a practical level.
I did not like the volume control illumination but I did like the fact that the dimmer on the remote reduces this to a pleasing level.
For a little home theatre amplifier albeit big brand coming in at just under R 8 000 on the South African market is a rare steal. Thumbs up to Govan Mani in Durban.
I’d like to say this was an elementary review but when one purchases something for their own entertainment and nobody else it may come across as being biased justifying the purchase. In essence – just Iove it.
[Editor’s Note: Harman International Industries is headed up by Dinesh C. Paliwal as CEO. In November 2016 the company revealed it was to be acquired by Samsung. I wonder what Mr. Trump thinks of this?
Brands include: Harman Kardon, Becker, JBL, Crown Audio, dbx, Martin Professional, AKG Acoustics, Lexicon, Infinity, Mark Levinson, Revel, Soundcraft and Studer]
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