Frustrated with Harman Kardon!

This is a real interesting thread, since I'm debating about an HK vs. Yamaha stereo receiver (posted in the General Forum). Suddenly, I think I'm going for the Yamaha RX-497 even though the HK 3380 looks tempting and is priced less.

Sorry to hear about your HK troubles, but thanks for posting all your experiences; it helps the rest of us with our decisions.

Almost every DVD player I've had, will work perfectly and then at some point of time will, without any advance warning, fail to work because the laser is worn out or something. On some DVD player/recorders, unless you power the unit down, the laser is still being used!

The main point is while $150 or so may not seem to be such a great sum, if your happy with the unit & it breaks down after your warranty is used up, that's another $150 or so to spend.
I'd rather pay any extra $40 and be guaranteed that I can replace it for a period of 3 years. Again, I'm assuming from personal experience that all DVD players break down in less then 1 & a 1/2 years.

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Originally Posted by Century L100

This is a real interesting thread, since I'm debating about an HK vs. Yamaha stereo receiver (posted in the General Forum). Suddenly, I think I'm going for the Yamaha RX-497 even though the HK 3380 looks tempting and is priced less.

Sorry to hear about your HK troubles, but thanks for posting all your experiences; it helps the rest of us with our decisions.

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I still wouldn't have any problems recommending their receivers, which for the most part have worked very well (i own 3 HK receivers). :)

I give a big kudos to HK for really going out of their way to help me. Chances are they've lost a decent chunk of money by sending me so many FL8385s, yet they extended my warantee at no charge to keep me satisfied. This is especially true since i only paid $90 for it when i got it (can't really complain about price). Also, I am getting a newer model DVD player which retails for quite a bit more than i originally paid for my DVD22.

I am the type of person that likes to do business with a company that takes care of its customers, and so far HK has done pretty good.

Keeping that in mind, I am still boycotting a local little ceasers for taking an hour and a half to serve me one of their hot-n-ready pizzas which are supposed to be ready in 5 minutes. In addition to that they double charged me. :o

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Originally Posted by EdwardGein

Almost every DVD player I've had, will work perfectly and then at some point of time will, without any advance warning, fail to work because the laser is worn out or something. On some DVD player/recorders, unless you power the unit down, the laser is still being used!

The main point is while $150 or so may not seem to be such a great sum, if your happy with the unit & it breaks down after your warranty is used up, that's another $150 or so to spend.
I'd rather pay any extra $40 and be guaranteed that I can replace it for a period of 3 years. Again, I'm assuming from personal experience that all DVD players break down in less then 1 & a 1/2 years.

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I guess i can definately see your point of view on this. I notice that I am always replacing optical drivers, whether its on a computer or for my audio setup, they have a fairly short lifespan. The good thing about DVD drives on the computer is that they only cost $15-$20. :)

I'm glad to hear HK is taking care of you- a couple DVD players and some shipping costs is a drop in a bucket for them; however, I know many other companies that wouldn't return calls/e-mails, so kudos to HK. Hopefully the 27 serves you well.

Funny story about Little Caesers- I didn't even know those places were around anymore- I think they closed all of them in the Chicago area. Do they still sell the pizzas in pairs? Pizza Pizza!

When I was in Chicago a few years ago for all of a few hours between a layover on a train trip to St. Louis from the Washington DC area- I hated my job so much, I wouldn't fly as I didn't want to take the chance of dying for those cretins, I was by the train station near the Sears Towers & I ate one of the best pizza meals ever at a place call Xchakers (Spelling) or Ex or X something right next to Tower Records there. This was real genuine Chicago Deep Dish pizza & it was huge and excellent.

Now i want pizza.

I've been known for downing massive quantities of pizza, the best food ever created.

I was in chicago last summer to visit some people and they ordered something called the "football pizza" It's basically an insanely big pizza cut into probably about 40 squares. I ate more than 3/4 of it in a couple hours with a few breaks inbetween to let it "settle." In addition to that i also ate some burritos, tacos, and what now. I like to eat :) I will regret it in a few years when i get fat :eek:

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, there's nothing like pizza in Chicago- I know New York has their own claim to fame with pizza, but it's hard to beat Giordono's, Lou Malnatis, Pizzeria Uno, Gino's East, etc. The smaller pizza joints are fantastic as well- thin crust, deep dish, etc.

I travel once in a while for business and I'll be in Orlando and the Houston areas for weeks at a time- there's nothing worse than bad pizza- I still eat it, but just miss Chicago's home cooking.

The deep dish pizza is such a great meal!

Now I'm really hungry!

Okay, that's my argument for Chicago pizza!

Later.
Eric

P.S. Bjorn, once the HK 27 gets going, let us know how it works.

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Originally Posted by Eric Z

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, there's nothing like pizza in Chicago- I know New York has their own claim to fame with pizza, but it's hard to beat Giordono's, Lou Malnatis, Pizzeria Uno, Gino's East, etc. The smaller pizza joints are fantastic as well- thin crust, deep dish, etc.

I travel once in a while for business and I'll be in Orlando and the Houston areas for weeks at a time- there's nothing worse than bad pizza- I still eat it, but just miss Chicago's home cooking.

The deep dish pizza is such a great meal!

Now I'm really hungry!

Okay, that's my argument for Chicago pizza!

Later.
Eric

P.S. Bjorn, once the HK 27 gets going, let us know how it works.

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Guys, you are killing me. I can almost smell the pizza from here. MMMMmmmm good.

I've never had a Chicago pizza, but I have heard good things. I am from NY and have had many good pizzas. But the best I ever had was from a place in Pa. I'll be moving across the street from it this year.

I see your point. It's kind of like cars: If your local Toyota dealer is a jerk, it might be better to buy some other car, with a less stellar reputation but with from a dealer who will take care of you.

An HK receiver I might go for, but from what I've read about the CD player, no thanks. I'd choose something else, even if it did mean that I'd have to have another remote floating around.

WTF?? Do you live in a rocket ship or something? Is gravity different where you are?
This is ridiculous. I can't imagine the frustration you must be going through.
H/K must be thinking you're playing games with them by now (or they know how crappy their products are).
Evem Sony on it's worst day wouldn't give you the troubles you've had.
I'm speechless. I've never met anyone as unlucky as you bjornb17...don't know what else to say. I'll pray for you.

I woke up this morning and when i turned on the FL8385, the mechanism that turns the carosel broke. Now it will just open and close and not spin. This was a brand new unit and is only about a week old :mad: Oh well, on to unit #5 or a refund.

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Originally Posted by bjornb17

I woke up this morning and when i turned on the FL8385, the mechanism that turns the carosel broke. Now it will just open and close and not spin. This was a brand new unit and is only about a week old :mad: Oh well, on to unit #5 or a refund.

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You should be working for Underwriter Labratories. (UL) ;)

And how did my reply get posted before your latest post?

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Originally Posted by kexodusc

WTF?? Do you live in a rocket ship or something? Is gravity different where you are?
This is ridiculous. I can't imagine the frustration you must be going through.
H/K must be thinking you're playing games with them by now (or they know how crappy their products are).
Evem Sony on it's worst day wouldn't give you the troubles you've had.
I'm speechless. I've never met anyone as unlucky as you bjornb17...don't know what else to say. I'll pray for you.

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Actually i live on the international space station. I'm not sure if i forgot to mention that :)

I am so tempted to pick up the unit right now and throw it out of my second-floor window, but that will hurt my chances of getting a refund. I'm at the point where i just want HK to refund my money for the FL8385 AND DVD22. I dont even care about getting an exchange anymore, even if its for a better unit. For the time being, BOTH of them are broken. What pieces of crap :)

As for H/K, i'm curious to know what they are thinking too. They have 1 main person that works in the customer service and for the past few months he's been asnwering atleast 1 email a week from me related to problems with HK units.

Oh man that sucks. It's good that they don't just blow you off but come on. Enough is enough. What are they building these things out of?

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Originally Posted by GMichael

Oh man that sucks. It's good that they don't just blow you off but come on. Enough is enough. What are they building these things out of?

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I am actually curious about opening up the FL8385 to see what's inside :p

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Originally Posted by bjornb17

I am actually curious about opening up the FL8385 to see what's inside :p

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It's a camera. Once you get the top off it will snap your picture and say, "Kiss your warranty goodbye sucker."

Are you kidding me, Bjorn? It's actually a little humorous what you're going through- on my side, not yours obviously. Are you pulling our legs? Are you serious about all of this bad luck with HK. I have to ask since I've never heard anyting like this :) Seriously though, this makes me never want to buy an HK product EVER! Even though it sounds like their service is good since they are working with you. At this point, you must be ready to just say, **** it! I agree, I wouldn't even want an upgrade a couple steps above- especially since odds are it's going to malfunction!

Good luck!
Eric

anyway, i just fired the unit up right now and somehow its working again like there was no problem. What's the deal lol.

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Originally Posted by Eric Z

Are you pulling our legs?

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APRIL FOOLS BAHAHAHAHA i gotcha all good :D















just kidding, i really am having all of these problems :mad:

:D Let us know when you hear from HK about the next steps.

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Originally Posted by Eric Z

I have no experience with HK, but just think the receivers are trying to looks a little too futuristic- like it's from Mercury with the blue light around the volume knob. However, looks really don't matter too much to me since all of my equipment is behind glass doors and it's easy not to notice them too much. I've heard HK are overpriced- is that true?

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I totally agree, HK stuff looks way to futuristic for me too. I have an older HK PA5800 amp and it is rock solid and played great for years. I used an HK AVR 20 II for the preamp. And they both still work perfectly. I didn't have the same luck with an HK cd changer. FL8550, I had three of them, and each one crapped out. Terrible peice of equipment!! But at the time I thought they sounded good. Until I heard CD players from Cambrige Audio, Music Hall, and Jolida. They Blow HK away in terms of sound quality.

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Originally Posted by bjornb17

APRIL FOOLS BAHAHAHAHA i gotcha all good :D















just kidding, i really am having all of these problems :mad:

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Blow me






A kiss

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Originally Posted by bjornb17

Okay


















































haha you looked.

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I looked for the reply button so I could try and stop you. You're not my type dude. I like my women with less facial hair.

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Originally Posted by GMichael

Blow me






A kiss

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Okay


















































haha you looked.

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Originally Posted by bjornb17

In case you forgot, you're the one that asked for the kiss :)

BTW i have a girlfriend.


So don't tell her.

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I would die first.

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Originally Posted by GMichael

I looked for the reply button so I could try and stop you. You're not my type dude. I like my women with less facial hair.

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In case you forgot, you're the one that asked for the kiss :)

BTW i have a girlfriend.











So don't tell her.

hey guys,

I've been gone for a while (working on a new model airplane project that's taking tons of time).

Anyway, i got my new DVD27 last week. It's very similar to the DVD22, but it has a few differences.

1) The cosmetics seem to be a bit nicer. The front panel is more minimalist, now using black buttons instead of the silver ones on the DVD22. Also the blue "on" light has a slight turquoise hue to it. Nice touch, in my opinion. It's not different enough to be very obvious in comparison to the lights on the cd player and receiver, but it can be noticed if you look close enough.
2) The unit itself is smaller and lighter. I'm not sure how i feel about this, since i like having clunky things that are built like a rock. Construction quality still feels pretty solid. Its an inch or two less deep than the DVD22 and weight a couple of pounds less.
3) They fixed the digital-out jacks. No longer does it take 2 seconds to lock onto the sound format, it happens instantly. I thought this was a receiver issue but apparantely it was the DVD player.
4) The graphic it displays while in "Stop" mode is much nicer than the only one on the DVD22.
5) The remote is different. I can't say that it is better, just different. It suffers from the same problems as the old one. However, now the play, stop, and pause buttons are smaller. However the remote itself looks somewhat nicer.
6) Better layout of outputs on the back.

I did notice a small problem though. When i first set it to "progressive scan", the graphics were are jargled up. turning the unit off and back on fixed this, and now its running very nicely.

overall i like it a lot more than the DVD22. I guess the exchange worked out in my favor :)

At least something good came of all your troubles. Good luck with it.

i'm sure you'll be happy with something that just keeps on working :)

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Originally Posted by bjornb17

I'm starting to get irritated by all the problems that my Harman Kardon products have. ...

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I have a Harmon Kardon 330A receiver I bought circa 1973 -- still works well. I'm using in my bedroom system; listen to FM on it every day.