Harman Kardon AVR 330 Product Information - Page 3

Night Football. In at least one case - the title music to The West Wing, which inherently sounds a bit "pumpy" due to recorded compression - Logic 7's presentation was dynamically a tiny shade smoother than DPL II's. A bit surprisingly, the AVR 330 doesn't offer access to any of DPL II's adjustable parameters, such as Center Width or Panorama. The AVR 330 was generally easy to use, though in this respect it didn't quite match the high standard of its sonic performance. Menus and controls are logically ordered, and the extensive setup choices allow about as much customization as you could want. However, the remote has no learning capability and is densely packed with micro-labeled, nonbacklit keys. Five of them (including the power button) can be programmed with macros - a string of related commands like: turn on the receiver, DVD player, and TV, switch the receiver to its DVD input, and commence playback. In every important respect, the PLUS Generous power, fine sound. Logic 7 processing for 2-channel material is useful option. Extremely flexible speaker/ crossover-setup options. Impressive multiroom facilities for price. MINUS Remote control could be easier to use, can't learn codes for other brands. Abundance of setup memories could confuse some users. No parameter settings for DPL II. Harman Kardon AVR 330 is a very fine re- ceiver. True, if you were content to look only at watts per dollar on spec sheets, the conservatively rated AVR 330 might not make the top of your list. But if you look beyond the easy numbers to sonic refine- ment, configurability, and overall capabili- ties - as well as actual measured power - the AVR 330 should climb very high on your list indeed. S&V