AV Receiver Reviews

Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 70.4 watts
1% distortion at 85.8 watts

Seven channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 43.6 watts
1% distortion at 50.8 watts

Analog frequency response in Stereo mode:
–0.23 dB at 10 Hz
–0.08 dB at 20 Hz
+0.04 dB at 20 kHz
–2.51 dB at 50 kHz

Analog frequency response with stereo signal processing:
–1.59 dB at 10 Hz
–0.48 dB at 20 Hz
–0.28 dB at 20 kHz
–35.02 dB at 50 kHz

This graph shows that the AVR 3650’s left channel, from CD input to speaker output with two channels driving 8-ohm loads, reaches 0.1 percent distortion at 109.2 watts and 1 percent distortion at 124.6 watts. Into 4 ohms, the amplifier reaches 0.1 percent distortion at 134.0 watts and 1 percent distortion at 170.0 watts.

There was no multichannel analog input to measure. THD+N from the CD input to the speaker output was less than 0.012 percent at 1 kilohertz when driving 2.83 volts into an 8-ohm load. Crosstalk at 1 kHz driving 2.83 volts into an 8-ohm load was –72.82 decibels left to right and –72.11 dB right to left. The signal-to-noise ratio with an 8-ohm load from 10 Hz to 24 kHz with “A” weighting was –103.05 dBrA.

From the Dolby Digital input to the loudspeaker output, the left channel measures –0.07 dB at 20 hertz and –0.18 dB at 20 kHz. The center channel measures –0.07 dB at 20 Hz and –0.09 dB at 20 kHz, and the left surround channel measures –0.07 dB at 20 Hz and –0.12 dB at 20 kHz. From the Dolby Digital input to the line-level output, the LFE channel is +0.23 dB at 20 Hz when referenced to the level at 40 Hz and reaches the upper 3-dB down point at 81 Hz and the upper 6-dB down point at 100 Hz.—MJP

Video Test Bench
The Harman Kardon performed poorly when called upon to perform deinterlacing on 1080i or 480i content, and of the six tests that involve such processing (the first six in the VTB chart shown here), it only marginally passed our 3:2 standard-definition test. But it performed well when passing through a native 1080p source (Video Clipping and Luma and Chroma resolution) or in upconverting a 480p signal to 1080p. If you have an external way to deinterlace a source (such as respectable video processing in a Blu-ray player, DVD player, or set-top satellite or cable box), you should check to determine if it can do a better deinterlacing job than the AVR 3650.

Note that from here forward, we have deleted the analog tests, which tested for component in to HDMI out cross-conversion. Component-capable sources are becoming scarcer as manufacturers seek to plug the analog hole that content providers have long complained about, while HDMI is becoming not only more reliable than in its teething period but also ubiquitous in both source components, AVRs and displays.—TJN