Official harman kardon 1565,1650,2650,3650 thread - Page 4

Yes, if i switch to FM and press the OSD button i can see the menu.

Sat Receiver, PS3 and XBOX 360 works, in every HDMI slot.

I tried it with my desktop pc, HP laptop (WIn7), MacBook Pro and with a laptop (Win7) of a friend. Nothing works on EVERY HDMI slot.

Every source noticed that there is the H/K AVR connected and it's possible to move an open folder or movie/music on the TV. But still black screen and no sound.

The firmware update is for the EX series, i got a BX. I already flashed the BIOS and checked everything for updates.
Edited by Luke868 - 8/23/12 at 11:42pm

Is the 7550 able to have its firmware updated from 1.3 to 1.4a? The refurbished models being sold by HarmonAudio state 1.3.

Yes...
However..
Keep in mind that the 7550HD will handle 3-D video streams when set in the Bypass mode..
But HK did not provide the other HDMI 1.4A options including ARC.

Just my $0.02...

Maybe you can give some guidance. I have the 635 and just upgraded my TV to a Samsung 60" HD and a blu-ray player. The 635 unfortunately does not have hdmi ports nor upscaling capabilities. At first I was considering a 3650 or 2650 over the 3600 since they were the most recent updates.

Having read your posts, it made me think of going with either 3600 or the 7550. The 3600 would be a new unit. However, the 7550 would be a refurbished unite sold by harmanaudio on ebay. My concerns of a refurbished unit is who did the work, the condition of the unit and the accessories cosmetically.

I have Polk surround speakers set up for 7.1. Is the the 7550 overkill? Would the 3600 be the way to go or with the newer models.

In terms of ARC, I am less concern. My plan is to feed the cable box and the blu-ray directly into the avr via hdmi and the the avr to the TV.

Your thoughts? Thanks.

Hey everyone,
I'm helping a friend who is having some difficulties setting up her HK 1565 (and Polk soundbar) that she got for a killer deal.
Basically, the question is whether or not the 1565 can output sound through digital or optical, or if it can only do it through the analog speaker connectors?

For a little more detail, she is feeding in 2 HDMI sources, and wants to send video via HDMI to her TV (which is no problem) and send audio to the sound bar, which only accepts a digital or optical source.

I've tried searching this, but it's too specific of an issue to get any good results.

Thanks in advance!
Steve

I have an issue I can't seem to resolve- I had an older LG BD player that, when I played a BD, my HK AVR-1650 would display either "DOLBY TrueHD" or "DTS-HD Master Audio". Today I bought a Sony BDP S-590 (for more streaming options), set it up for "bitstream" output and now for some reason my display says "multi-ch PCM". I've double and triple checked the output setting but have no clue why it won't say "TrueHD" or "DTS-HD" now.???

First off, you are playing a disc with a DTS-HD or TrueHD track, right? Some Blu Ray discs use a MPCM track, in which case the AVR displaying multi-ch PCM would be normal/correct.

If the disc has, and you are using, a DTS-HD or TrueHD track and the AVR is still saying multi-ch PCM, your player is decoding the surround track and outputting it as PCM to the AVR. To correct this and let the AVR decode the material, the player needs to be setup to bitstream the native audio stream. To do so with your Sony player, go to the audio settings menu. Make sure the HDMI audio setting is still "auto", and change the "BD Audio MIX" setting to OFF

I have a 3650 and have issues with audio dropping off when watching recorded shows from my PVR. It happens when I fast forward through commercials and is random, about one in every 5 or 10 sets of commercial.
Also, the Internet Radio and Network features are unreliable. If I do a hard reboot on the unit they work for about 10 minutes, then I hear static and then nothing and menus show 'empty'. HK support had me set my demilitarized zone in my router for the AVR which I did. (Strange the IP shown from the AVR is not the same as my router detects, off by 1 the last digit.)
This didn't work and now the tech wants me to send in the AVR.
Pretty annoying, I have another full HK system (amp, tuner, CD, cassette) for 20 years that still works and sounds great so that is whey I bought HK again. Seems their quality has dropped significantly from what I'm reading in the forums.

I need help with something.

Regarding the 1565 AVR, has anyone had any issues toggling through the "Night Mode" function on the remote. It never seems to display on the avr what stage I'm in (Off, Mid, High), so I never know whether it's turned on or not. The manual says nothing about this, so can any of you please help me out with this?? Thanks!

hi guys, new to the forum and right off the bat, i'm having issues with my 3650, or at least i think its the cause of my problems. anyway, here goes...

i've sent my HK AVR 3650 for repairs and they recently called me back saying that they found no issue during their testing. here's a description of my issue:

Its been having black out screen problems at random, intermittent times no matter the source (PS3, HTPC, XBOX360). The screen would go black for 2-3 seconds and the sound cuts out at the same time and then returns to nomal. During that 2-3 seconds, the receiver's LCD displays indicate as if the signal has just been picked up such as the source and the type of surround sound (pcm, dolby, etc).

I've replaced the HDMI cables on all components as well as from the TV to the receiver. I've updated the firmware on the TV as well and the same results. There currently isnt a firmware update available for the 3650.

The technician is recommending to feed all the HDMI inputs to the TV directly and use an optical from the TV to the receiver until Harman Kardon releases a firmware that may fix the problem.

I'm wondering if anyone here has had a similar experience with their respective AVRs or have any ideas what the problem might be. Any assistance is greatly appreciated!

rollen

I searched this thread and found no info on an issue I'm having with my 1650. For some reason the audio on my video source cuts out and will not cut back on. It has done it with both cable and BD. HDMI from each to my AVR then out to my Panny plasma. Anyone had this issue???

FYI to all, it turns out it was the "BD AUDIO MIX" that was set to ON. I forgot to thank you for the info. It was driving me crazy.

Yes my 1650 does the same thing when I pause or fast forward my DVR. It also started doing this recently with my Sony BD player. Have you had any luck finding out the cause?

Hey , I just bought the 1650 , had it for a week and after setting up EzeQ of my room and speakers it rocks! its making my old mach5000 speakers sound great Im waiting for delivery of fluance x7 towers to really see if this unit can carry a full 95watts though. Im hearing alot about some digital power amp that wont push but im hoping it can. Ill give a feedback once I know. But full surround sounds great , clean and powerful .

RE: WCH3's post from September 2012:

Hi. I am in the same boat, though I am upgrading from a 2600 (which I like very much but which does not have enough power to drive my 6 ohm speakers).

What did you end up buying? Did you get any feedback? My options are 7550 used from Amazon Marketplace for ~$550, a new 3650 from Amazon for ~$750 (or a refurb from HK for $699) or a refurb 3600 from e-bay HK for $399.

Bank for the buck seems like the 3600, but for only 150 more should I get the used 7550? (I'm worried about the horror stories regarding the reliability of this unit).

I don't care about HDMI 1.4 (1.3 is fine) and will not be utilizing the "height" or "width" ambiance speakers. I'm interested in good audio and video quality (and reliability).

Thank you.
Edited by Dr. X - 2/20/13 at 1:44pm

Did the stupidest thing ever , installed firmware update for avr3600 on avr3650 . Lost the display but radio works . Called the tech support they said they can't help . They said i have to ship it to them . Is there any way to restore it to factory default ? Or does anyone have firmware for avr3650? Please help !

I don't own a HK product but would think the process is similar in updating an AVR firmware.

First, how could you update the 3650 with the 3600 firmware? The 3650 has a network connector in the back. Assuming you connected the network cable, went through the instructions, then you first would have found out (i) it is latest firmware, or one is available; (ii) if one is available then you would have started the update.

Do you mean the menu gave you a bunch of model to update, and you picked the wrong one?

If so, you can repeat the same process to update with the correct model 3650 firmware?

Am I missing, or incorrect in any of the above?

As to reset the processor, an online 3650 OM page 42 would help:
http://www.harmankardon.com/resources/Brands/harmankardon/Products/ProductRelatedDocuments/en-US/OwnersManual/AVR_2650_CORE_OM_EN.pdf

folks, issue i am facing is with AVR254.. but suspecting that some of 2650/3650 owners may have faced such issues, posting it here as well..

---

folks, after three and half wonderful years with HK AVR254, my AVR254 today decided to begin sending only garbage low-freq sounds to front channels. Other three channels play normal. this happened after i disconnected AVR254 (to test a friend's new Denon 2113CI.) and re-connected after a couple of hrs.

- i switched front and surround speaker connections at AVR end, the surround speakers that were connected to front channels at AVR-end had same issues. So issue clearly with the receiver's front R and L channels.
- Did factory reset, still same problem.

I suspect others must have faced same issues, but my fear is how many would be reading my thread here on AVR x54 forum.. Please respond if you faced this and if there is any way out..

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My Issue RESOLVED. Stupid me.. I had connected my composite out from PS3 into L/R Pre-out of Receiver. So AVR was sending only L/R unamplified signals out of Pre-Out and hence wasn't sending amplified signals to Front L/R.

I'm experiencing problems with my AVR 165 (1650). I have a couple of movies where I have audio dropouts each 10-20 seconds. The video plays fine tho. I already bought new HDMI cables, updated the firmware to 1.05, but nothing seems to help. I think I have pinpointed the problem to the DTS-ES 6 channel track. Each time I lose my sound, the display of the receiver shows "3/2/.1 ES-ON" or "3/3/.1 ES-ON". I don't have it with all other movies which show "ES-OFF", which I believe is a standard 5 channel track.

I have contacted HK customer support in the Netherlands (I'm from Belgium), and I couldn't get further the a receptionist type of person. She told me to send an e-mail to which I have never received a reply.

Movies where I have troubles with ... Disney's Bolt, Lord of the Rings, ...

I just picked up an AVR-2650 and have had 0 issues with the video systems so far. Xbox 360 (HDMI), Xbox 1 (Component) and Wii (Composite) are all handled by the video section flawlessly.

Just for fun, I gave the EzSet EQ a try. For the most part, it did a respectable job, but seemed to be unable to figure out that I don't have a sub hooked up even though the sub is set to "off". I'm not sure if it's because of this fact or not, but the fronts (AMR EXP-12V reference monitors) are a little light in the low end. The "bass" setting under audio effects doesn't seem to really affect bass, but turn up the overall level more than anything - very odd. Does anyone know if there's any way of accessing the EQ curves applied by the EzSet stuff? Even if it's over the RS232, I'm game.

---

Edit: After much research, trial, and error, I got some really good sounding results out of the ezset system. Calling it "ez", i would not. I ended up having to sit holding the mic very quietly and adjust its height and angle for different speakers as they were being EQed in the final phase. Pointing the top of the mic cone directly at a speaker helps tremendously when the system insists on making harsh 3-6K spikes in its curve.

I'm still disappointed that EQ curves aren't tweakable, and a little amazed that nobody has figured out a hack to get to them. I suspect that there are a finite number of parametric EQs per channel with a few bytes storing the settings for each. Is there really no way to get to and/or manipulate this data?
Edited by turner3d - 3/25/13 at 9:03am

Odd that holding the mic worked better as Ii would think there would be interference. I'm looking hard a a used 2600 or 2650 because I really want the Harmon sound for cheap. But, I think I might at some point end up with one as well as a Denon with Audyssey multiEQ XT to compared the two myself in my own room. it would be nice to find something that can deal with room correction.

I'd be happy to sell you my 2600 (I "upgraded" to the 3600 - honestly noting not much of a difference).

Let me know, PM sent.

hi fellow HK owners, i have been wanting to upgrade HK254 for a year now. tried Denon 2113CI and Pio VSX-60 a few months back. didn't like, nowhere near what i like. bought and listened to HK2650 a few days back. absolutely amazing sound, better than HK 254. then i brought Pio SC-1522 from costco deal. spent good deal of time following some recommended MCACC custom steps, and tweaking EQ. got it to work much better than before... BUT it still sounds dull (as opposed to FULL), and sound heavily-processed.

am i the only one in this place - love HK and unable to move to any other brand AVR mainly because dont-like-sound..? what are your thoughts?

I have had and loved my AVR 645 since late 2006. I need more HDMI ports so did a bunch of searches and after getting an amazing deal on a 3650 ordered one yesterday. Last night I found this thread. Should I contact Amazon and tell them not to ship?

I am now afraid it will barely have as much power as my 645, have video issues and generally be an expansive downgrade.

Thanks

Not all units are bad. I ordered two 2650 units over last month and no issues in any, other than HDMI handshake issues. Ffixed HDMI issues by using better HDMI cables - better i.e. Monoprice/Blue Jeans, NOT Monster .
Also, I found 2650 sounds amazing and much better in higher Freq bands than my current AVR254. So I suggest, go for it. Amazon will take it back, if you return becasue of issues.

Thanks for the input.

It came yesterday. I didn't have time to set it up. I unboxed it and it looks nice but is very light compared to other AVRs I have had (the 645 is heavy) I most likely won't have time to set it up until Saturday.

I tried to get media manager, It let me give them my info & said form submitted. Where do I get it?

Thanks.

I have it all set up. Sounds pretty good. sub hits much harder. There seems to be some jitter from the DTV HR34 that was not there running direct to the TV.

WTF with no stick for the mike? My 645 had one. I don't like I cant erase CABLE/SAT. I want just SAT. I don't like I can't directly access all inputs and that IPOD which as I have Apple TV I'll never use is front & center and only for teh bridge I'll never buy (especially seeing as it's not iPhone 5 compatible.

No component out? Nothing above 480 out of HDMI that goes in via component (if I can get it to show up on the screen)?

All in all not much of an upgrade from my AVR 645.

I just bought an open box 2650 at Fry's today after returning an Onkyo TX-NR616. Component out (and in--See the Denon E series) is going away on sub $1k AVR's just like pre-outs and multichannel analog in. HK does what all the other mass market (Onkyo, Denon, Marantz, Yamaha, Sony, Pioneer) do.