She's dead, Jim.

Monster Jam

Came home and wanted to listen to The Police in DTS DVD Audio, so I pushed the ON button on the Harman Kardon DVD 25 remote control and it came to life. I did the same with the Harman Kardon AVR 525 remote. Nothing happened.

I tried again. I tried again. I tried again, pushing harder (like thats going to help!), and noticed that the battery is good in the remote.

I tried it manually - the power light is red. Nothing. I turned off the unit from the main power switch and turned it back on, then tried the power button. Red light.

Uh oh.

I unplug the Monster Power unit. I plug it back in. Nothing. I unplugged everything from the AVR and moved it into a different room and plugged it in with no load. Red light.

The unit is dead. This was a replacement refurb for the original I bought that had problems too. Truth be told, this unit that just died already had a dead battery in it, so when I lost power, I had to reset everything the way I had it. Now its just a goner.

When it worked, it worked brilliantly, driving 4 LSi 15s and an LSi C at pretty loud volume levels - and sounded great doing it. I always new this would happen (see my signature), but it happened a little early. I dont have the cash to buy the amp or processor I want. I'm just dead in the water for a long time.

I wouldn't tell someone NOT to buy a HK receiver, but I would tell them of their questionable reliability.

Sherardp

Time to get a Denon in that setup, sorry for the loss of a loved one though.

Monster Jam

WTF?!

I left the AVR plugged into the other outlet (direct to wall) and it turned on! No load i.e. no speaker hookups like before, and its been approximately 30 minutes since tinkering with it. It wouldn't turn on before without a load.

Why would it do that?

Funny you mention that; my wife just mentioned over the phone that she's sorry she chose HK over Denon. Back story on that situation is that I told her that the brands were very close in price and performance - differences were largely preference. This was BEFORE I knew of HKs questionable reliability.

tonyb

Questionable is your choice to drive 5, 4 ohm speakers of an avr then get upset when it tanks.....thats questionable.

jmwest1970

Monster Jam wrote: »

WTF?!

I left the AVR plugged into the other outlet (direct to wall) and it turned on! No load i.e. no speaker hookups like before, and its been approximately 30 minutes since tinkering with it. It wouldn't turn on before without a load.

Why would it do that?

Funny you mention that; my wife just mentioned over the phone that she's sorry she chose HK over Denon. Back story on that situation is that I told her that the brands were very close in price and performance - differences were largely preference. This was BEFORE I knew of HKs questionable reliability.

My little 125 is doing something similar. It works well, but occasionally when you turn it off, it won't come back on. If I turn off the main power and let it sit for 10-15 minutes it will then come back on.

I don't know what to do about it other than replace it.

Monster Jam

tonyb wrote: »

Questionable is your choice to drive 5, 4 ohm speakers of an avr then get upset when it tanks.....thats questionable.

Come on now, no need to flame....

I know all about the risks involved, and I'm not really all that upset. Just thought I would pass along some information. Turns out its misinformation since it miraculously started working again.

By the way, if youve got a couple extra thousand dollars or a Halo 51 laying around, I'd take it.

AndyGwis

I have a 635 and it has no issues.

Then again, I only run speakers loads on it that are recommended by the manufacturer.

Use the 525s preouts and get a decent 5 channel amp. You can get something used for $600 - $800 that would do the trick, and you can resell for the same price once you choose to upgrade, if you purchase wisely.

There are always some nice parasound multi's on Agon.

Monster Jam

jmwest1970 wrote: »

My little 125 is doing something similar. It works well, but occasionally when you turn it off, it won't come back on. If I turn off the main power and let it sit for 10-15 minutes it will then come back on.

I don't know what to do about it other than replace it.

My unit was not hot. In fact, it was never on when it went into protection mode. Oh well....

dudeinaroom

I was looking into getting an HK about a year ago and emailed their CS department to ask if they had a receiver that would handle a 4 ohm load, they told me no, but I could get an external amp to run my speakers. So I guess what I'm trying to say is, either get a receiver that can handle your speakers or an amp. I've got a technics receiver that drove my SDAs for 2 years with out a hiccup. I now have A Denon that I'm some what happy with, it runs way to hot for my likings( SDAs are pushed by my ADCOM, all other speakers are 8 ohms).

tonyb

Monster Jam wrote: »

Come on now, no need to flame....

I know all about the risks involved, and I'm not really all that upset. Just thought I would pass along some information. Turns out its misinformation since it miraculously started working again.

By the way, if youve got a couple extra thousand dollars or a Halo 51 laying around, I'd take it.

Don't get upset my man,just calling it as I see it.I know not everyone has the coin to get exactly what they need all at once.But with all the info on this board about what the lsi's need to power them,I am still at a loss as to why so many still underpower them.Amps can be had for a couple Franklins,the same cost as a nice dinner for two.So many times people say they will get an amp later.....later never comes because the avr seems to be working fine.Seems to be.Get an amp and an avr with pre-outs an you'll be good to go.Sorry about the flame,just gets aggravating sometimes.Good luck on your replacement choices.

engtaz

Sorry to hear good luck on your replacement.

Sherardp

by the way are you using the preouts on the HK with a power amp. Or were you just pushing 4 LSi15s on that AVR? If so you're asking for that HK to go dead for sure. You need an amp or amps.

THX 3417

Monster Jam

Let’s see if this works shall we!

Open the unit up and look for the slow blow fuse remove it and check it over if the fuse appears to be blow replace it with the same amp type!

ohskigod

does that HK have preouts?. get an inexpensive used 2 channel amp to take some of the pressure off the HK and you'll probably be fine. Rotel, Parasound, some of the smaller Carvers can be had for a couple franklins and will really give that AVR some needed relief.

AndyGwis

Agreed. It's giving you a final cry for help before it perishes for good.

Get an amp. Don't risk ruining your awesome speakers and nice AVR because you wouldn't shell out a couple hundo for an external amp.

You're missing out without the added power. Honestly, 200-300 for a decent 2-channel or double that for a decent 5 channel will change your whole perspecitve on $hit.

MSALLA

I had an AVR330 for 2 months and had alot of problems with it. But as people have already said, your putting too much of a load on it and cheating yourself out of the full performance of those LSI's. If you think they sound good now, hook up an amp and you'll feel like you bought new speakers.
Look at it this way, it's a great excuse to go toy shopping.

jmwest1970

Monster Jam wrote: »

My unit was not hot. In fact, it was never on when it went into protection mode. Oh well....

My 125 isn't getting hot either. It's always cool to the touch and you can feel very little heat coming out of the vents. I think it's switch problem with the power supply.


...and FWIW I only run 8 Ohm speakers on my AVR.

Ron Temple

HK got back to me about replacing my second 235. Due to reliability issues, they offered to upgrade to the 445 for $250 or 245 for nothing. After thinking about it, I told them send me the 245. I was going to keep the Denon and sell this unit...still might, but I don't need the Denon's video features and though it sounds good now, I think I prefer the HK SQ. I'll try the new unit before I decide. 3 receivers in less than 2 years...hope this one lasts.

Monster Jam

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I'm in high level negotiations with the wife about which amp to get. Blue Diamond is the front runner....

Drumingman

I've owned a H-K for 2 or 3 years. it's on 24/7, so that is 17,520 hrs. in 2 years and not any problems, Very reliable unit for me. How many other units here have 17,000 hrs on them?

Monster Jam

My HK is lucky to see 4 hrs of use per week.