Harman Kardon AVR-7550HD 7.2 Channel A/V Receiver

The Harman Kardon AVR-7550HD 7.2 Channel A/V Receiver can fill your house with music in more ways than one. Match it up with the speakers of your choice and it will pump out more than 700 Watts or surround sound audio. It will be more than 700 because HK recommends powered subwoofers and their output will vary according to their own specifications. But you can figure you top out between 900 and 1000 Watts.

With three HDMI 1.3 Inputs and 1 output you'll have the jacks to plug in a Blu-ray player, a console game and more. In September HK is scheduled to start shipping 7550HDs with 3-D ready HDMI 1.4a ports. But don't worry. You'll be eligible for a free upgrade, courtesy of HK. You'll just download the upgrade to your computer, copy it to a USB flash drive, insert the drive in your 7550HD's front USB port and you're set. By the way, that USB port will enable you to play music and pictures from a USB drive too.

Whether you've gone Blu-ray yet or not, we'll bet you've got a sizable DVD collection that you'll still be playing for years to come. You can plug in your current DVD player and the Faroudja Labs DCDi Cinema upconverting circuitry will generate a 1080p picture. It will upgrade your entire library of DVDs to look nearly as good as Blu-ray.

And of course both your DVDs and your Blu-ray discs will benefit from the more than a dozen Dolby and DTS sound codecs (processors). Your 7550HD even comes with Dolby Headphone Version 2 so you can enjoy a surround-like effect when wearing headphones.

No matter how good an amplifier is it's going to sound different in different rooms. That's because sound is absorbed and reflected in by carpets, floors, lamps, curtains, plants and everything else in the room in a unique pattern. With the EzSet/EQ II Auto Speaker Calibration speaker you just place the included microphone at your main listening position, push a button or two and the calibration program "fingerprints" the audio characteristics of your room to optimize your 7550HD's output.

When we said the 7550HD will fill your house with sound, we didn't mean from volume alone. It has complete Zone 2 (second room) capabilities. You can control Zone 2 programming from the main room remote or you can plug a wired IR receiver (not included) into your 7550HD and place it in the Zone 2 room. A separate remote control for Zone 2 is included.

Your 7550HD works and plays well with others. Its included Bridge II docking port is compatible with most recent iPods and in addition to enjoying your portable music you can display pictures and movies from your iPod on your TV.

If you're considering the 7550HD music is probably a big part of your life. Perhaps you already have a subscription to XM radio. If you do or you decide to purchase one, all you need is an optional tuner to plug into your 7550HD and you can enjoy the rich variety of XM satellite radio on your 7500HD.