SOUND & VISION JUNE 2001 51
H
arman Kardon’s AVR 510 boasts
several intriguing features. It’s the
first digital surround receiver we
have reviewed that incorporates
stereo decoding for MP3-format
digital audio files. Of course, it
also does Dolby Digital, DTS, and Pro
Logic decoding for surround sound, and
there are additional surround modes, in-
cluding Harman’s own Logic 7.
Neat feature No. 2 is an all-new prepro-
grammed/learning universal remote con-
trol that incorporates a microphone and
sound-level meter so you have everything
you need to automatically balance the lev-
els of the five main output channels. Har-
man Kardon calls this feature EZSet.
Like most A/V receivers in its class, the
AVR 510 also provides a set of fully inde-
pendent line-level stereo outputs for a sec-
ond zone along with a multiroom infrared
(IR) control input so you can select pro-
grams and control volume from the remote
room. Harman Kardon even includes a
separate, basic remote control for use in
the second room.
And check out this unusual wrinkle: the
front-panel A/V jacks not only provide a
convenient extra input for a camcorder or
videogame console, but an onscreen menu
lets you convert them to
outputs for feed-
ing a recorder. An adjacent LED indicator
turns red when the jacks are in output
mode, reverting to green for input whenev-
er the receiver is turned off and on again.
The front panel also sports a pair of digital
audio connectors, one optical and one co-
axial, which normally function as inputs.
Like the analog jacks, the coaxial input can
also be converted to an output. Talk about
flexibility!
The AVR 510 has the same handsome
design Harman Kardon has used for sever-
al years, with black glass covering the top
half of the front, including the large, three-
part display. A big volume knob sits above
three small knobs for bass, treble, and bal-
ance — I’m seeing fewer and fewer such
easy-to-use rotary controls these days. The
tone controls operate in all surround modes
as well as in stereo, but only on the front
left/right channels.
The receiver’s back panel has a healthy
assortment of inputs and outputs. All video
paths offer a choice of composite- or S-
video connectors, and there are two sets of
component-video input jacks, hard-wired
to DVD and Video 2. (Like most receivers
with component connections, the AVR 510
cannot send onscreen menus to its compo-
nent output.) Other highlights include pre-
amp outputs and power-amp inputs for all
five amplified channels as well as a 5.1-
channel analog input for a DVD-Audio or
multichannel Super Audio CD player. (As
RATED POWER 70 watts x 5 into 8
ohms from 20 Hz to 20 kHz with less than
0.07% THD, channels driven individually
DIMENSIONS 17
1
⁄
4
inches wide, 6
1
⁄
2
inches high, 17
1
⁄
8
inches deep
WEIGHT 35 pounds
PRICE $999
MANUFACTURER Harman Kardon,
Dept. S&V, 250 Crossways Park Dr.,
Woodbury, NY 11797; 800-422-8027;
www.harmankardon.com
PHOTOS BY TONY CORDOZA
test report
BY DANIEL KUMIN
Harman Kardon
AVR 510 Digital Surround Receiver
fast facts
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