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| Brand: Harman Kardon
Category: CE
List Price: $649.00
Buy New: $399.00
You Save: $250.00 (39%)
New (20)
Avg. Customer Rating:  27 reviews
Sales Rank: 1577
Color: SilverBlack
Media: Electronics
Batteries Included: Yes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 33
Dimensions (in): 15 x 17.3 x 6.5
MPN: AVR 254
Model: AVR 254
UPC: 028292506208
EAN: 0028292506208
ASIN: B0016BGRX6
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Don't buy this receiver until you read this. December 15, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Bottom line, don't buy this receiver. You can stop here or read my story:
I did a lot of research before buying. I was looking for great sound without tons of wattage. I also wanted lots of HDMI 1.3a and digital audio ports. I am a long time HK fan going back to the 1970's Citation receivers. The AVR254 looked like it fit the bill. My second and third choices were the Onkyo TX-SR606 and Yamaha HTR-6160 (Onkyo had lots of reports of very high heat and the Yamaha didn't have the ports or sound quality I was looking for).
I read that the AVR-254 would have to have a firmware update, but being an EE, programmer and network engineer I figured this was a piece of cake. I WAS SO WRONG!! I hooked the AVR254 up to my Dell Inspiron serial port and all there software downloads went across the cable just fine, then the updater program failed while configuring the new software, leaving the receiver useless. I called HK and Ken from HK support said they are having lots of reports of problems running the update from notebook computers. He said the voltage level on notebooks is not high enough for the software configuration part of the update and only a Dynex cable from Best Buys works on notebooks; otherwise, I'd have to use a desktop. This didn't make a lot of sense to me since I've used the same serial cable and computer to set up countless routers and switches through the years. Well, the Best Buys near me had no Dynex cable and I purchased two other serial cables from two other places and neither worked. I then connected the AVR-254 to a desktop with the original serial cable and, sure enough, the firmware update completed. OK so now I have a receiver again. Time lost 6 hours. Why, in 2008 is HK using a serial port?? Haven't they heard of USB or firewire? How about an Ethernet port and a simple Web and TFTP site like every home router or cable modem?
I wanted to attach a Yamaha CD player and a Tivo HDXL to the receiver. Then I wanted to set up two zones A&B.
Unfortunately the receiver has NO labeled input ports for a CD player only a single AUX port. So I hook up the CD to optical port 1 and the Tivo into component 1 and optical 2 (I put the Tivo's HDMI directly into my Sony TV). I plug the HDMI output to my Sony HDTV. I use the Onscreen display to assign the Optical ports to the right devices which was simple enough.
Next, I try to set up the remote control to operate my CD and Tivo. I need to program the AUX button on the remote for my CD player. I tried all six Yamaha CD codes found in the Appendix of the manual and none of them worked! Only one code did anything at all which was the remote control's on/off device button made the CD's tray open and close. Since there was no button on the remote control for a Tivo, I read the instructions on how to reassign a device button and I set the remote's TV button to be another AUX port (in the manual only Aux ports can be assigned a Tivo device code). Then I tried all 5 Tivo codes and none of them worked! Figuring I may have made a mistake while reassigning the TV button I tried setting the remote's AUX button with each of the 5 Tivo codes and still none of them worked. As far as I know, there have only been 5 Tivo models ever made (Series 1, 2, 3, 3HD & 3HDXL) and none of HK's 5 codes works??? Didn't HK test anything?? So now I can't use the remote to control anything but the HK's sound. I need to keep the Tivo and CD's remotes handy. I call HK's support again and they say there is nothing I can do and they will not be making a new remote for this receiver. Time wasted 2 hours!
Finally I try to set up zones 1&2 (A&B) for sound. The receiver cannot use sound from the optical or HDMI inputs for zone 2. Unreal! Instead, I need to use the analog right and left RCA output jacks from my CD and Tivo and plug them into the analog 1 & 3 ports on the AVR, go back into the onscreen setup and reassign the analog ports to output to zone 2. Incredible. Time wasted 1 hour.
When its all said and done the sound is excellent in Zone 1. But I have to use three remote controls and my digital sources are converted to analog before I can play them in Zone 2.
The user interface on this system is horrible and apparently untested. The remote control is worthless, not to mention bulky and poorly labeled. The serial port is ridiculous and, finding a computer that even has a serial port is going to be harder and harder to do as time passes. The sound may be great but an A/V receiver that cannot control AV devices IS JUST A RECEIVER!!
Don't buy this receiver.
 Great Receiver with Bad Rep December 11, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've had my receiver for about 4 months now.
I have read a bunch of reviews on this receiver and I hear nothing but complaints on the PS3 issue and the "Loud" fan. Just to begin with, I haven't updated my firmware yet, and will do as soon as I get a USB to Serial connector...which is the one thing I dislike. Though, I figure if you can figure out how to hook it up, you'll know enough not to mess it up. So I can't complain too much. Almost a smart move.
The fan is loud if you turn everything off in the room, including the PS3 which makes more noise than the receiver. I can only hear it when I stick my head next to receiver after a long session of listening to audio at a high volume. I do have it lowest to the ground with no heat underneath it which helps keep it cool. Maybe I got lucky, but I think more people just write reviews only when they have a bad experience. My experience has been nothing but amazing.
The whole issue with the volume dropping during blu ray movies, I haven't seen an extensive amount of movies, maybe in the teens, but out of all of them not 1 problem occurred.
I've had compliments from all my friends on the receiver. Girls come over and say it looks "pretty." Guys come over and are in awe by the on screen menu and sound. Yes, I've had issues where it defaults back to Logic 7, but it doesn't occur often. I know there's a reason it does it, and I'm still trying to figure out the exact reason. I'm sure it's the device hooked up to it that's changing and the receiver going to logic 7 because the input changed. It's not like every morning it defaults back.
Overall I've been nothing but happy with this receiver. In fact, after I bought the receiver I noticed all the PS3 and fan things going on. So I called up HK customer service just to ask them what was going on and if I should hold off on a blu ray play for now. The person on customer support was very nice and told me the truth. "Engineers have recreated the problems in the lab and are working on a firmware update." And really, the problem was found and worked on quickly. It's not like it took years for the update. That's good support!
Definitely happy I bought the HK254.
 Does not work even with latest firmware December 7, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I bought this a week ago even after reading negative posts online about firmware glitches. Other users claimed the latest firmware update cured the receiver of all ailments and that it worked well with HDMI devices now. Well that just isn't the case. After painstakingly updating the firmware to 07-10-2008 03 AFW V0.95.1.1, I connected my Comcast Motorola DVR, a D-Link DSM-330 Media Server and Philips 5982 Upscaling DVD player all by HDMI and immediately had problems. The receiver would hang when changing channels between SD and HD. I fixed this by adjusting the built-in upscaling in the Comcast DVR to force 1080i, but when I paused live TV or On Demand video for more than a few minutes the audio would drop out, fixed only by power cycling the receiver. I had the same audio drop out problems with the DSM-330. Worse still, when I tested a video in the Philips DVD player, the opening screen came up bright Pink instead of black, fixed again, by turning the receiver off and on. This sucks... when the receiver was working, it looked and sounded great. The menu system is sexy, the picture is sharp and the sound was gorgeous. But the receiver just doesn't work as advertised. I will try the Sony STR-DG820 instead.
Harmon Kardon AVR-254 December 6, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Fine receiver with a couple of problems that are nagging that a user should be aware they will be facing. The major problem is that the unit hangs when switching from 1080i HD programing to normal TV channels and must be turned off and on to get it to reset. There is a software patch that I have installed but it did not solve the problem. The second is that the instructions on programing the remote and limited and I have not been able to get it to handle my cable box properly. But overall the unit is excellent. Great sound and video and I would buy it again knowing its problems.
Excellent Receiver December 6, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Pros: Excellent receiver. Excellent value. Manual is good. Attractive. No problems. Power is great, bass is deep and signal is clear through a set of $1500 Thiel speakers. BluRay and digital channels sound amazing. Flexibility to use as a preamp is cool feature for audiophiles. Audio volume and mapping functionality worked effectively with the microphone automatic mapping feature. Flexible design, (I'm using it with my iPod and with my PC and in other manners i hadn't expected).
Extra Plus: I had not realized before purchase but it looks like HK is an American company so this is probably American designed, so at least some of the money and skill stays in the states. Nice to get a great receiver and do something for the economy at the same time. :-)
Cons: None.
Note: If you just use it like a normal receiver, you don't even need the manual. However, like anything that is this flexible you need to read the manual to be able to map input sources and rename things, and I'd recommend using your TV as the manual says to show the menu's since that is more intuitive than just the screen prompts.
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