The Harman Kardon AVR-146 provides all the basics you'll need to set up a 5.1 channel home theater system in a small room. This A/V receiver provides a good variety of features, and plenty of connection options for both audio and video formats.

The audio section of this receiver provides a total of 150 watts of power (30 watts into each of its five channels.) For stereo listening, this receiver provides 40 watts into two channels. It features discrete amplifier circuitry and dual independent power supplies for the front and surround channels--meaning that when the mains are filled with sound during an intense scene, they aren't power-starved by the surrounds. There is a built in AM/FM tuner, and analogue audio inputs for CD, tape, and 6-channel audio (for use with SACD, DVD-Audio or the analogue outputs of a new high definition DVD player).

The receiver has two optical and two coaxial digital audio inputs on the back of the unit, plus an additional optical and coaxial input on the front panel. If you have a CD recorder, you can even connect it to the coaxial digital output for pristine recordings of anything fed into the receiver. The AVR-146 utilizes Cirrus Logic's latest 24-bit twin core digital signal processor, an incremental update to the Cirrus line that has populated Harman Kardon products for years. It features all the current surround sound modes including DTS (96/24), DTS (Neo:6), DTS, Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic, and Dolby Pro Logic II.

Additionally, with Harman Kardon's optional docking station (The Bridge), this receiver can play music, photos and video files stored on your iPod. You can even use the AVR-146's remote control to control your iPod. It's a very impressive option and The Bridge is designed, as its name implies, with a flowing graceful look that blends well with the elegance of the AVR-146.

The video section of this receiver provides all the basic options of connecting video sources to your display--composite/S-video inputs and one output, two 100 MHz assignable component video inputs and one component video output, all on the back panel. There are also, notably, two Simplay HD-verified HDMI inputs and one HDMI output. However, while it's important to point out that while this unit does offer HDMI switching, it is not set up to pull the audio data off the HDMI inputs. It simply passes any audio information straight through to the display. With this in mind, you will have to utilize one of the other types of digital audio outputs from your video source to feed the digital audio data from the source (DVD player, cable box, satellite TV receiver, etc) to the receiver.

The AVR-146 is very user friendly at this price. It offers on-screen display through the composite and S-video outputs, and while you can criticize it for not offering this via component video, most other brands don't offer that at even higher price ranges. More user-friendly features include the ability to rename source inputs allows you to personalize your system, and color-coded connections to assist novices in the initial setup. The programmable remote control is very logically laid out, but does not offer backlighting for operation in the dark. We were very impressed with the AVR-146 User Manual, being intuitive and helpful, with step by step instructions through the initial set up and calibrating process. We were also very pleased to see speaker binding posts that could be connected using bare wire or banana connectors.

While the Harman Kardon AVR-146 does not offer overwhelming power or advanced video features, the inclusion of HDMI switching and an on-screen display at this price point is almost unheard of in the industry. This is an entry level receiver that should serve very well for most home theater enthusiasts with small-to-medium sized rooms.

Pros: HDMI switching, on-screen display, plenty of AV connections for all your home theater gear, very good manual
Cons: odd volume knob blue light may be distracting if receiver is in view during movie watching, no back lit remote control, only supports up to 5.1 surround sound outputs

Warranty
2 years