Harman Kardon AVR 147

Another killer point is that the remote is programmable; the manual includes a set of popular brand codes to punch in, so we can eliminate other remotes once we have the AVR.

The output power is 50 watts per channel @ 8 Ohms, which is more than enough, especially if your speakers have sensitivities like 89 or 90 dB. Let not the 100 watt systems from the competition blur your decisions – power is not all in an amp.

Performance
We have been using this to check players and TVs for the past two weeks, so now I can safely say that the sound has seeped in well. It has a clear and crisp tonality, with extensive low end and controlled mids and highs. The frequency spectrum sounded quite flat, except a slight forwardness I felt at the high mids and mids area, say, around 3-5 K. This did have a positive effect on vocals and dialogs, so it works out well. Highs shone out, but not the best response I’ve heard. Loudness is well handled; there was no audible distortion at all, at least not in a normal-sized room.

In movie sequences, the subs receive nice jolts of power from the AVR, and I loved the overall experience. As I mentioned it’s a perfect workhorse unit that pumps power in the right amounts and with the right features; nothing fancy.

Conclusion
At Rs 30,000 the unit is quite reasonably priced, considering it comes with some usable features like the EZset/EQ. Once you acquire a device like this, you enter the arena of real home theater gear; so couple it with a nice 5.1 speaker set and you are good to go. This kind of money has to be spent if you seek quality, so in that respect I’m rating this cool AV receiver as a topper in its field.