Harman Kardon has officially announced the introduction of their 7.1-channel AVR 354 and AVR 254 and its 5.1-channel AVR 154 audio/video receivers. All models will release in US in late spring.

AVR 354 - 7.1 channel, 75 Watts per channel, HDMI v1.3a, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding, 1080p video upscaling, EzSet/EQ equalization, multiroom capability and it comes with The bridge II docking station for iPod. Price: $899.

AVR 254 - 7.1 channel, 50 Watts per channel, HDMI v1.3a, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding, 1080p video upscaling, EzSet/EQ equalization and multiroom capability. Price: $649.

AVR 254 - 5.1 channel, 30 Watts per channel, HDMI (video switching), Dolby Digital, DTS and Logic 7 processing. Price: $399.

Harman Kardon has officially announced its new iPod/iPhone dock for its line of A/V receivers. Called "The Bridge II", this docking station enables expanded iPod capabilities including audio/video playback through a home entertainment system, on-screen iPod menu display, remote control operation, and charging.

The Bridge II will be available in early summer 2008 at $129 suggested retail. It will also be packed with the AVR 354 receiver.

New 2008 HK 990 and HK 980 stereo integrated amplifier from Harman Kardon are expected to retail in April at £1000 and £350.

The HK 980 is a traditional integrated amplifier with 80W per channel while the flagship HK 990 (pictured) has 2x 150W amplifier, balanced XLR inputs and outputs, coaxial and optical digital inputs, MM and MC phono inputs, USB connectivity, Real-Time Linear Smoothing Technology (RLS IV), dual subwoofer outputs, 2.2-channel EzSet/EQ room optimisation and a High-resolution Synchronisation Link.

Due out in April for £275, the Harman Kardon TU 980 dual-band DAB/FM/AM radio tuner combines the distortion-free, CD-like sound of Digital Audio Broadcasting (THD 0.005%) with information-rich RDS FM, and features a bright, legible two-line display. You can control it with its own remote, or with the remote from most Harman Kardon amplifiers.

New Harman Kardon's HD 990 and HD 980 CD players are expected to start in April at a price of £350 and £250, respectively.

The HD 980 features 32-bit DSP for the highest possible jitter rejection and Multibit Sigma-Delta modulator D/A converters while the HD 990 employs two high-performance stereo digital-to-analog converters to deliver third-generation Real-Time Linear Smoothing (RLS III). Also, the HD 990 includes additional balanced XLR outputs, coaxial and optical digital inputs.

Harman Kardon recently introduced an upgraded version of its DMC 250 media center, the new DMC 1000 adds a 250GB internal hard drive and multiroom capability up to four music streams as well as video and digital images simultaneously to four different locations in your home. It also features a progressive-scan DVD Video/Audio player, front-panel USB jack and memory card slots (CF, Memory Stick, SD, MMC) and the DMC 1000 will even let you transfer your music for use in portable players, and card-equipped cars and cell phones to the HDD. The Harman Kardon's media center comes for about 2800€.

The AVR 155 (£450), AVR 255 (£600) and the AVR 355 (£750) are the new entry-level receivers from Harman-Kardon. The AVR 155 is a 5.1-channel receiver with 5x 40W while other models are 7.1-channel with 7x 50W and 7x 55W, respectively.

Harman Kardon's AVR 155 features three HDMI inputs, component and S-video inputs, an audio processor limited to basic audio decoding including Dolby Digital, DTS and Logic 7.

The AVR 255 adds HD-audio support such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD, Faroudja DCDi Cinema video processing to 1080p and an RS-232 port for future firmware upgrades.

And the AVR 355 is equipped with Zone II and A-BUS multiroom capability and offers iPod dock compatibility for "The Bridge II".

The AVR 755 & AVR 655 will be the new high-end receivers from Harman-Kardon. Unfortunately you have to wait until this fall to buy them, prices are £1600 for the AVR 655 while the AVR 755 is £1800.

According to Harman Kardon the AVR 755 is the most-powerful and most-capable A/V receiver the company has ever made. It Delivers 7x 85W into 8ohm @ 0.07% THD and includes dual subwoofer outputs and EzSet/EQ II function to precisely tune the system’s performance parameters to the acoustic requirements of your space automatically. The AVR 755 has built-in Faroudja DCDi CinemaTM video processing with upscaling to 1080p and 32-bit DSP processors compatible with the latest audio standards like Dolby True HD and DTS-HD, Faroudja DCDi CinemaTM video processing. Of course the receiver is equipped with HDMI 1.3a, analog component or S-video sources, USB or iPod using "The Bridge II" Docking Station.

The AVR 655 features the same specifications but the amplifier delivers 7x 75W and it has a single subwoofer output.

Harman-Kardon expands its line of home theater products with the HS 350, a 5.1-channel integrated home theater and music system. It features pixel-by-pixel video processing and upscaling to 720p or 1080i through an HDMI output, a 5x 35W power amplifier featuring Logic 7 and EzSet/EQ technology through five 2-way bookshelf speakers and a 200W powered subwoofer.

The HS 350 supports the playback of DVD-Audio, CD and DVD recorded discs, USB drives, even AAC or MP3 files from your iPod via optional "The Bridge II" docking station. It should be launched in April with a price of £900.

Harman-Kardon unveiled previously its new DVC 300 and DVC 600 Blu-ray disc player at the IFA show in Berlin last year, now Harman announced the release of these two Blu-ray players during the IFA this September. Both models will include media center capability like HDD recording function with 1TB of storage capacity for the DVC 600 instead of 500GB for the DVC 300, twin built-in digital TV tuners can record up to eight channels of standard or high-definition TV programs simultaneously.

The DVC series also plays back DVDs and CDs, while DVD and Blu-ray disc writers are optional. The system can upscale video to 720p, and has a wide range of connections such as digital DVI and HDMI inputs/outputs, USB and audio sockets.

Final prices for both models should be around $1,000.