Harman Kardon BDS800

Harman/Kardon BDS800 review

The Harman group cuts quite a dash. With such brands as Infinity, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson on the books, it knows its way around the higher end of the home entertainment market. But equally, it's not a brand that's synonymous with innovation. Solid, well-engineered products are the name of its game. In fact, if Harman/Kardon was a meal, it would be a plump Porterhouse steak, to which peppercorn sauce would be added as an optional extra. Appropriate then that the BDS800 all-in-one system is nothing if not tasty looking, and comprises a combi Blu-ray player/receiver (the BDS550) coupled with a stylish sub/ sat 5.1 speaker system. The package sits atop a range of new BDS all-in-one HTIBs sold by the brand. H/K rates the BDS5's digital amp at 65W per channel with all channels driven into 6?, which matches the stereo measurement recorded by our Tech Labs. The player/receiver is a sizable, weighty beast. With a metal top plate and rounded corners it's clearly a statement product. Instead of a tray, there's a slot-loading Blu-ray drive, while on the lower lip of the fascia is a USB input. The volume knob increments in satisfying clicks and is framed by a circular backlight.