Harman Kardon DPR 2005 Review

Overall Rating

One of, if not, the most attractive looking AV receiver, awesome sound, assignable digital inputs.

Audio delay when playing digital sources... which just annoys me and shouldn't happen on a quality receiver at this price point. Also, poor remote control, no component video up-conversion, distinct lack of digital inputs, questionable build quality.

I'm not gonna front, I must admit that this amp is more than I deserve as I don't actually know a great deal about home cinema compared to proper AV/home cinema enthusiasts... BUT I really feel I need to let people know how I've got on with the Harman Kardon DPR 2005 as it's been a bit of a disappointment and I will be replacing it.

I purchased the amp along with the matching Harman Kardon DVD31 from Konextions (www.konextions.co.uk) who provided a great service and I will definitely be buying from again.

Unfortunately after setting it up I noticed that the front left channel was not working and the amp had to be sent back. Before it was sent back, however, I did notice that there was a noticable delay when playing and switching between, say an MP3, or a channel on Sky, or inbetween menu screens on a DVD.

My sources are all digital: the DVD31 on a coxial input, and then a Sky+ box and an Apple PowerBook G4, both on optical digital inputs.

At first I put the delay down to part of the problem with the amp's inability to play sound out the front left channel. But after waiting for the best part of a month for a brand new DPR2005, when I got the 2nd amp and set it up, much to my dismay the delay problem is still there!!

The problem in detail: for example when watching TV on my Sky+ box, when changing channel, the picture comes into view with no sounds, and after a split second there's a faint pop from the speakers and then the sound starts playing. Another example, when listening to MP3s in iTunes on my PowerBook, if I play ANY MP3 the first beat or lyric is missed... i.e. Dizzee Rascal's 'I Luv U' where the first lyrics are "I Luv U", the "I" or even "I Luv" is missed out completely.

A phonecall to Harman confirmed my fear that this was in fact a 'feature' of the amp. What a fantastic feature on an amp that retails at £1,300.

Apparently a fix is on the way "within the next 6 months" that may address the issue and involves me lugging my amp to a dealer so they can upgrade it via the RS232 port.

Other than this problem, I must admit I do love the amp - the audio quality is lush (playing through a 5.1 system consisting of Kef Q7, Q1, Q9C and PSW2500), and the look of the amp is stunning.

Build quality is a bit dodgy, although the front flap that conceal the front AV-inputs and extra controls feels nice and solid, the volume knob does feel a bit flimsy.

The remote controls on both the DPR2005 and DVD31 are poor in my opinion - they are very unresponsive and normally take a few presses before the amp or dvd player registers it, and they are ugly as sin. Also, when lit up some of the buttons don't even have an icon or text on the button to indicate what exactly the function is, so the backlight is a bit of a waste.

In addition, although I was aware of the ports on the DPR2005 before I made my purchase, I am starting to find the 2 component inputs and 4 rear digital inputs a bit limiting. When I found out a Denon 3805 had 4 or 5 optical inputs it did make me wonder why a digital amp like the DPR2005 didn't take more advantage of this by including more digital ports!

Also, lack of component video up-conversion (actually, lack of ANY conversion, even composite and S-video!) lessens the appeal of this amp to me.

Anyhow, to conclude, if it wasn't for the delay when playing digital sources I would be happy with this amp. Unfortunately this is not a problem I can live with and I will likely be replacing it with a new model from Marantz.