Home > Consumer Reviews > Harman Kardon HK 3490 2 x 120W Stereo Receiver

I formally owned a Rotel RX-1050 and decided to give the 3490 a try. I really prefer a nice 2 channel amp to drive my B&H 603's and the HK does the job well. What I liked that you won't find in other 2 channel amps is two digital in's, xm ready, ipod integration and 2x sub out. For the price you really can't beat it. The size is about 33% larger than my Rotel. The power about 25% more.
The controls of course are very limited, source+balance+tone. No EQ.
The phono amp provided hum free sound from my Tech. 1200.
I will mention that the Bridge I device has some problems with this new amp. HK told me that the manual has a typo when they said the Bridge I would work with this device and I have to wait until the Bridge II is released in September.
My only other small complaint is the device has composite out for video. Why bother? This would have been a home run with component/DVI or HDMI out. Doesn't seem like it would have added that much to the price to add a HD capable switch to the device.
I'm sure a 3495 will come out in a year and fix this. :-)

I used the HK 3480 (the precursor to this model) for five years and loved it. The 3490 is even better. The sound is more robust and full, not different, but just more refined. It easily powers my Klipsch Synergy speakers and would pair well with any mid-level speakers. With 120w even inefficient speakers will have more than a enough power to move air.

Further, the 3490 has an important new feature: digital inputs. This is a very nice option for those who have made the jump to an all digital music library and use a digital jukeboxes like the Roku Soundbridge or the Squeezebox. Both players have digital outs and pair up nicely with the 3490.

The difference in quality from digital inputs or analog is debatable, but to my ear, going from the 3480 with analog cables, to the 3490 with optical TOSLINK, there was an immediately improvement in clarity. Songs with delicate sound work came alive. Soft details were more apparent. It's been a great upgrade for me.

It's important to note that the 3490 doesn't leave analog fans in the cold either. It has a very nice tape loop and a wonderful gold plated stereo pickup. In short, whether you're library consists of vinyl or mp3s this amp will do it all.

I have always been a fan of Harmon Kardon, and I bought the older 3480 because I'm a strict fan of stereo music listening. The 3490 is a very smart update to the 3480, bringing it into the 21st century with a host of digital options. For those who rely on an iPod for music, there is specific iPod cradle for this amp that allows you to play your iPod's music effortless over the stereo while controlling it with the HK remote. This amp is also XM Radio ready, just plug in your XM receiver and the HK will allow you to control it.

It's very hard to find a subtle, high powered stereo receiver with these features. The market has sadly moved away to the home theater, multi-channel world, but I'm glad Harmon Kardon is still loyal to their stereo listeners.

Build quality is very nice. It's not a flashy amp, it doesn't light up the room with needless LEDs. It's very understated, and handsome. HK even includes two little inserts that hide the front inputs and bass, treble, and balance controls (nice if you don't want people messing with your settings, or you appreciate a clean look.)

Other than the digital options, the tape loop and the phono pickup, the amp does allow video switching and pass through should you want to integrate into your home theater. The other notable detail are the speaker posts. They allow the use of banana clips or allow you to secure naked wire in two different ways to the posts. This is nice if you don't have a lot of clearance behind the amp.

At this price point, there is simply nothing out there that can compete with this amp in terms of quality, performance, or features.

I was in search of a good old-fashioned amp, a replacement for a previous Harman Kardon, so I was a bit biased...but this is an incredibly powered amp, with FM tuner, video inputs, much more, and at a price that causes one to stop dead in your tracks and order it. I did, and I have no idea how they put together such sound quality at such a low price.

I've had this receiver for a little over a week now, and I am incredibly impressed. I'm a college student working on creating my first high-end stereo system, and this receiver fit the bill precisely. I'm powering a set of Cambridge Soundworks T205 speakers, and they sound unbelievable with this receiver. The towers are bi-wireable, so I wired the high end to the A speaker-set and the low end to the B speaker-set, which allows for terrific separation of the of the high's and low's.
bottom line: for the money, this receiver is a no-brainer. incredible sound (not noticing any color or distortion), its varying inputs are a plus (few stereo receivers in this price-range have digital input, which are great for hooking up computers), and it can really crank up the volume when needed (no distortion at high or low volume).

There are higher-end stereo receivers with more features and the like out there, but this is a no-compromise solution if it has all the features you want.

I purchased the HK 3490 from Amazon to replace a 13 year old Sony receiver. The Sony had served me well, but it had a lot of confusing buttons and features, many of which were related to the surround sound Pro-Logic and video switching functions, which I never used.

I wanted to replace the Sony with something that was easier to use. I also wanted to stay at about the same level of RMS per-channel power (the Sony had 110 watts per channel RMS in two-channel mode, the HK 3490 has 120 watts per channel RMS).

The HK 3490 sounds very clean (low distortion) and has ample power to drive my Jamo 660 tower speakers and an older passive (non amplified) Jamo subwoofer. I especially like how the volume control allows very easy and precise control of the volume for low to moderate listening levels.

The HK 3490's tape monitor loop permitted me to hook up a small graphic equalizer (Behringer FBQ800 - also purchased from Amazon) to make more specific tone adjustments than possible by using the receiver's built-in bass and treble controls. A tape monitor loop is becomming increasingly difficult to find and many receivers no longer have them.

I still have an older TV that works very well. I hooked up various connections between the TV, DVD recorder/player and the HK 3490 with no problems. The 3490 uses only composite video connections, but for my uses, they are fine. I don't watch a lot of DVD videos, and usually don't listen to TV sound through the stereo. To me, the video signal looks just fine when processed through the HK 3490's video inputs and outputs.

It would have been nice if the HK 3490 had been equipped with a "tone defeat" bypass switch and a "loudness" button. Also, I would have liked to be able to pre-program "mono" and "stereo" FM modes for each FM preset. For future compatibility purposes, it would also have been good to have one or two HDMI plug-ins for the newer TV's. But these are minor shortfalls.

The optical and coaxial digital inputs (both located on the back panel) are a nice touch. I have the CD input button of the HK 3490 programmed to the "coaxial" input and one of the video input buttons programmed to the "optical" input. Both work well, although it appears that the tape monitor loop is bypased when either digital input is used. This is no problem, because by switching back to the analog inputs, the tape monitor can be used, if desired. (this will require additional RCA cables for the corresponding analog inputs.)

The built-in FM tuner works very well, and has XM capability, but no HD radio feature. I purcahsed a Sangean HDT-1X tuner to pick up HD stations. However, it would have been nice if the HD capibility was built in to the HK 3490.

Overall, I am very satisfied with my purchase. The HK 3490 sounds clean and natural, and does not contain complicated surround sound features which are typically of little importance to those who aren't glued to the TV set. The HK 3490 is also modestly priced, costing far less than some surround sound receivers with comperable power.