Harmon Kardon AVR 20 II

[lynnatny]

I don't know much of anything about audio equipment. I have an old Hardon Kardon AVR II receiver (it must be at least 15 or 20 years old) in good condition and working as far as I know (it's been on a shelf in a closet for many years). Is this still usable with today's equipment? Will it power a new set of speakers? Will it work with a new HD tv? Any information would be appreciated.

 

[Adam]

Welcome to the forum!

I'm downloading the owner's manual right now, and I'll post in a couple of minutes once I've looked it over.

 

[Alex2507]

Post #5 in this thread:

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40552

has a link to the manual.

Edit: I just wanted to beat Adam to it.

Read the whole thread just for general info on that unit.

 

[Adam]

Thanks to Alex for posting that other thread.

You can still use it. It does Dolby Pro-Logic, which is surround sound, but nothing at the level of Dolby Digital or DTS, in my opinion. It could power a new set of speakers, but you'd want to pay attention to the minimum impedance of that unit (which is a true statement for any receiver that you'd get). As for working with a new HDTV, you wouldn't want to route video through that Harmon Kardon, but you could use it for the audio.

Here's my take on it. IMO, a modern receiver in the $200-or-less range (such as the Onkyo TX-SR506) will be better than that receiver in just about every way - if not in every way. For under $200, you can do Dolby Digital and DTS, route high definition video through the receiver, and have about the same amount of power (the Onkyo is rated as higher, but that doesn't mean everything).

 

[lynnatny]

Adam, thank you for the information. I am wondering, though, why would I want to route video through an audio receiver anyway? And is it even possible to use this receiver with a new television, when (I assume) it doesn't have any digital inputs/outputs?

 

[Adam]

Some people, myself included, like to route video through a receiver because it allows someone to switch the video and audio source at the same time. In other words, you can click "DVD" on the receiver's remote, and the sound will switch to the DVD player, and the video on the TV will switch to the DVD. You can also accomplish that with a programmable remote. The acronym AVR that shows up in a lot of places stands for Audio/Video Receiver.

Other people like to plug their video sources (e.g. DVD player) directly into their TV. It's all a matter of preference.

If you have a TV with a stereo analog audio output (Left/Right audio outs), then that's what you would use to connect to this receiver. Dolby Pro-Logic is surround sound that is carried over a stereo connection (it's called matrixed surround). Like you said, that receiver doesn't have any digital inputs, so you would need to use the analog inputs.

 

[lynnatny]

Adam,
So, combining this with what you said in your earlier post, I could route my current (non-HDTV) video through this receiver, but not a new HDTV. Correct?
Thanks again for the helpful information.

 

[Adam]

Your welcome!

As far as I can tell, you can route composite video through your receiver. Composite video uses a single RCA jack (typically colored yellow these days). S-Video would be a bit better, but I don't recall seeing that on your receiver (I'm not at the same computer right now).

I can double check that for you tomorrow if you'd like.

 

[lynnatny]

I think you're over my head now...

 

[Alex2507]

Oops, I'm sorry. The manual for that rec'r is in post#7 of that link. I guess nobody has looked at it. That rec'r doesn't support S-Video.

 

[Soeakerserious]

I am considering the purchase of this AVR 20ii for $35. My only desire is to use it as a stereo amp to play CDs, Vinyl and stream music (if it would accept the attachment of a Bluetooth receiver).I am not planning to use it for home theater at all.

Does this make sense for analog music (or digital streaming), or is it too outdated even for this purpose?

Is there a better option one could recommend?

 

[everettT]

I am considering the purchase of this AVR 20ii for $35. My only desire is to use it as a stereo amp to play CDs, Vinyl and stream music (if it would accept the attachment of a Bluetooth receiver).I am not planning to use it for home theater at all.

Does this make sense for analog music (or digital streaming), or is it too outdated even for this purpose?

Is there a better option one could recommend?

I used this unit back in the mid/late 90s and it was a nice little work horse. For Stereo only and $35 it's certainly worth a gamble..