Harman Kardon AVR-154 5x30W 5.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver Review

I consider myself an "audiophile" by all rights with my downstairs system costing in the $30-$40,000 price range (although price doesn't necessarily equate to quality but my separate components are amazing and were hand picked over years of trial & error). This receiver though is for my daily upstairs system where the family watches tv and occasionally a movie together during the day or early evening and we do like the sound to be good through our 5.1 "upstairs" system too. When we want to get "serious" about music or movies however we go downstairs!
That's why I was all the more shocked by this relatively inexpensive receiver looking and sounding so good! And even more surprised that I could buy it brand new through Amazon for the same or less cost than similar used or refurb'd systems elsewhere (Ebay, etc). There are lesser priced receivers out there but they are definatly lesser quality too and/or don't have or switch HDMI w/1080p!
I don't particularly like the big Japanese firms receivers with all of their rediculous bells and whistles (like who really flips through 20-30 different sound fields anyway like hall, disco, reverb, ambiance, and whatever else kind of fluff they offer) give me a good upmix of two channels to my five or seven (natural sounding not overly synthesized or mechanical) along with the usual great Dolby Digital and DTS and I'm good (and of course a good six channel analog pass through if using an SACD OR HD DVD source)! And the fact that everyone who goes to Best Buy or Circuit City or Walmart gets "sold" on them there. I almost overlooked the HK AVR's after seeing them in Costco stores (but I've purchased several big screen plasma/LCD's from them and their all great) but I'm glad I took a closer look!
Harmon Kardon has hit the mark perfectly with this receiver the AVR 154. It's an elegant looking receiver which has a high WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) with a very simple uncluttered front face that looks good on or off (unlike the Japanese receivers which seem to have a race to see who can cram more knobs & buttons onto less real estate the quickest).
The rated 30 Watts x 5 channels (which is a very real power designation and you should note the low distortion which is across the whole frequency range of 5Hz-30KHz where many Japanese models will offer their rating only at one frequency like 1KHz or only with the two front channels driven) are plenty for almost any sub & sat combination however if I were using it for full range speakers I might want to look at the next model up which offers 50W x 7 channels (although it might be worth trying the less expensive model first). I replaced an older model Sony ES (Elevated Standard) receiver CD/DVD/SACD player all in one unit (which was rated 110 watts per channel) with the AVR 154 and I could not hear any difference in power to HK's 30 watts per channel! Wow!
My only gripe is that it does not upscale digital video (or on screen display/GUI; this requires a complete separate video connection) such as 480p or 720p to 1080p HDMI although it does a great job of switching or passing the native signals through. For upscaling I need to go up to the next level receiver the AVR 254. Other than this little nuisance it is a very good receiver for not a lot of cash.
I would highly recommend this receiver to anyone who wants a world class receiver on a very limited budget. Great sound, great looks, easy to operate (once set up because the quick start guide and manual are a little confusing)! Highly recommended...
I may try out their higher end AVR 254 and if so I will offer my opinion for you on it too.

Buy it here now!