Harman/Kardon AVR 1600

Pros: HDMI Capable, Stylish Looks, Audio Quality is Very Good

Cons: Bright Power Light, somewhat confusing manual

Summary: I think this is a great receiver. The audio quality is much better than my older Yamaha receiver, and the ability to use the new HD Audio formats is great. It's definitely a looker, too. I really love H/Ks styling of this unit. The only thing I'm really not crazy about is that really bright power light which can't be dimmed, but I have a solution: Take some scissors and cut a very thin piece of duct tape to lay over the light. If you do it right, you should be able to just cover the light with the tape in a way that makes it almost unnoticeable. Just one layer of tape reduced the brightness to the point that it is no longer so distracting during a movie in a dark room. On the other hand, the volume knob light and the front display can both be turned completely off, which is nice. I also like how this receiver matches the styling of my Sony KDL-46EX500 TV.

One other weird thing is that I've heard people in other forums saying that they've gotten manuals stating that this receiver puts out 35W per channel, and other people saying that the manual says 50W per channel. My manual says 40W per channel! I don't know what to believe, but I do know that this easily gets as loud as my old Yamaha HTR-5940 and that was rated at 95W Per Channel.

Basically, if you're looking for a stylish receiver with great sound and a nice set of features, you should probably consider this one.