Is Harman Kardon still good

 

John H
Several sources (Crutchfield, J&R, others) tell me that while HK used to be very good, in recent years their quality has dropped precipitously. Any truth to this?
 

Michael
Crutchfield told me the exact same thing. Said I should buy either Denon or Onkyo
 

Joacim Carlsson
That is something I have heard too. Buy for example Denon or Nad instead.

Joacim Carlsson Sweden
 

elitefan
What a load of cra... Do not believe Crutchfield. They sell Denon and Onkyo so what do you think they are going to say. H/K receivers IMO are much better than both and have much larger and more powerful power supplies and a warmer, richer sound. Use your own judgement and don't believe what someone who is selling a particular brand is trying to push.
 

Don
I have read more posts on last years line of HK problems then I ever saw before. So I for one do believe that HK had serious problems over the last couple of years. However, I have not heard the same of their 2004 line. But since they are all very new, it remains to be seen.

How does the old saying go: One or two say it's fact...it's likely false or rumor. A dozen or so...speculation. But dozens upon dozens; now that's a problem with merit.

That's how I view LAST years HK line. Although I never purchased one myself so am going strictly off of heresay.
 

Hawk
One of the sad truths about this business is that salespeople are going to push the product they have the greatest incentive to sell. I think it is why I tend to habitate the high end stores as most will try to "match" a system to fit your needs. That is, they will suggest this receiver/amp with a particular set of speakers as those components match better to provide the best sound. I do try to impart some of the same knowledge on this board as too often the bigger stores simply try to push what gives them the greatest margins.

I reject the advice that H/K quality has dropped. What has happened is that H/K is available from One Call at a good price and the other internet dealers have turned to other brands to sell as they get a higher margin by selling other brands--never mind whether that receiver is a good match for your speakers or not.

I will tell you that I have opened up a recent vintage H/K and frankly, they have among the best power supplies of any receiver out there. I did not see anything that would cause me concern in terms of the design and connections.

As for reported problems, I have not seen any more reported problems on this board or any other board than I do for any other brands.
 

Chris
Most posts I see about HK are about being able to get great deals on them. To me it seems that any problems were with the x10 & x20 lines. I haven't seen too many post about problems with the x25 line. If you want posts about problems, search for NAD (no offense Hawk).
 

alain
receivers manufacturers all have their share of defects. i myself used to own 2 HK receivers before (AVR 20mkII and AVR 4000) and i would say that these were 2 of the best sounding receivers i've owned. there were a couple of defects with the avr 4000 but tech support was fast dealing with those. imho, i'd still buy an HK anytime. it unfortunately is too expensive here in canada (nearly twice as much than in the philippines).
 

Chris
Yeah, the retail price of the 325 was $1500! What's up with that? The Denon 2803 goes for $1050. I got the 325 for $900, but even then it might have been pricey.
 

Smitty
I don't know why H/K is so expensive here in Canada, I'm guessing it must have something to do with a single H/K distributor controlling the prices. Seems like everyone sells them at MSRP or very close to it. Typically you can order a H/K receiver from the States incl. shipping, taxes, duties etc. for close to 1/2 Canadian retail at least for the x25 line, once the x30 line has been out for a while I suspect it'll be true there as well (the H/K AVR130 currently can be had for US$275 which amounts to < C$500 shipped to Canada but retails here for C$750+tax).

I like H/K but ended up buying a NAD T742 for C$650 locally, I don't think I could have done any better for that price.
 

Wayne
You can buy a H/K 230 for US$350 on the web. Convert to Cdn$ and add shipping and you are looking at Cdn$550. FutureShop (a large Canadian retailer) sells this amp for C$950!!! What's the deal with that?
 

Dan
Wayne, where can you buy it on the web for $350?
 

Wayne
The AVR 230 sells for $348 at etronics, $347 at go pc plus, $359 at Hype audio.

http://att.dealtime.com/xPO-Harman_Kardon_AVR_230

or go to Google and type in "Harman 230"
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