Hi AllaninOshawa,
I've been using the Harman Kardon AVR525 for a few weeks now, and I love it. Its sound quality is as good as anything I've heard and the versatility of the processing modes, which include adjustable versions of Logic 7 (originally developed for the Lexicon processors) seems to be unmatched. I don't really care that it will decode MP3, but that might be a factor for some. I'm still astonished at how well Dolby Pro Logic II decodes some stereo and older surround material. You'd almost believe it was a discrete 5-channel mix, depending on the source material. Logic 7 is, sometimes, an advantage over DPL II and dts Neo:6, but I wouldn't base a buying decision on that factor.
The backlit learning remote is quite versatile and picks up the codes of your other remotes with a very neat system that doesn't require you to mate the two remotes, although you can use that technique if you want.
It does run rather warm but if the fan cycles on, I don't hear it. I've only got 1 inch clearance above the 525, which isn't really enough, but that's the height of the stand, alas. I haven't yet tried driving the 4-ohm M80s with it to see what happens. I'll report on that when I get a chance to wire up the switcher.
Regards,
