Harman Kardon HK-3390 Stereo Receiver

Comments about Harman Kardon HK-3390 Stereo Receiver:

I have very few quibbles about this product. The sound is terrific and I like using the remote ( didn't have one on my old stereo). On the minor quibbles side the controls on the front pannel are hard to read. I live in a rural area in Washington state and the receiver does not pull in stereo stations from afar.

Comments about Harman Kardon HK-3390 Stereo Receiver:

This was just purchased to replace an AV Sony reciever. This receiver is intro audiofile level. It produces relatively flat sound and brings out detail not heard in non audiofile equipment. At the sale price of [$] it was a steal. The only negative is the remote is huge.

Comments about Harman Kardon HK-3390 Stereo Receiver:

We bought this receiver to update the music scene in our smallish house. We hooked it up to a pair of decent bookshelf speakers.
We were all blown away by the quality of the sound coming from this straight ahead and simple system. We thought we might need a sub-woofer to add some bass, but it really isn't necessary. I don't think we could have gotten a better sound for the money spent. Great FM reception, also.

Comments about Harman Kardon HK-3390 Stereo Receiver:

Had it for about a week- great so far.

Comments about Harman Kardon HK-3390 Stereo Receiver:

NO GIMMICKS, GOOD SOUND.

Comments about Harman Kardon HK-3390 Stereo Receiver:

This receiver was to replace an aging Kenwood receiver on my sister's stereo. The new HK receiver sounds very nice through the Bose speakers. Looks very elegant and overall seem to perform well. I like the enclosed ipod cable. My only beef would be the lack of a loudness option.

Comments about Harman Kardon HK-3390 Stereo Receiver:

This unit receiver is easy to use and set up. It looks great with any decoration and the must importan fact is the sound wich is exellent. Really happy with this receiver. The control remote is big but it's well set up and it feel well in your hand.

Comments about Harman Kardon HK-3390 Stereo Receiver:

Using this recever at my bedroom with 2 B-20 Klipsch. The recever sound and look great.

Comments about Harman Kardon HK-3390 Stereo Receiver:

This is a good solid sonically true stereo receiver. Build quality is very good. The power supply volume control takes some getting used to as it is calibrated in terms of a negative decibel (dB) number and takes a sufficiently high number (less of a negative number)for appreciable sound. The subwoofer output is great for connecting to a powered sub. Overall pleased with the HK 3390 [...]

Comments about Harman Kardon HK-3390 Stereo Receiver:

For the price, this amplifier is an excellent entry level for quality sound system

Comments about Harman Kardon HK-3390 Stereo Receiver:

With SACD source the sound is open and detailed. I'm especially impressed with the high range lack of harshness. I don't hear the mid-range warmth that other reviews mention - the HK sounds uncolored and honest to me. The 80 watts is enough to produce painful sound levels on my inefficient Advent towers. If you own speakers that need more power than this, than you're probably not looking in this price range for a receiver.

The FM radio is very quiet and easily pulls in a station 100 miles away with the funky little wire antenna that is provided.

Large chassis and lots of ventilation should mean long component life.

The minimalist HK styling hasn't changed in decades. It's gone from dated to retro which is probably the reason for the "dot-matrix" display. If you like to see lots of knobs and switches, this receiver is not for you.

My only complaint is the remote control which is ridiculously large. I'm considering a small universal remote to replace it.

Comments about Harman Kardon HK-3390 Stereo Receiver:

I have been pleasantly surprised by this amp by Harman-Kardon. At this price it's almost a steal. I compared it with more expensive amps and it won over them by far. The bass is deep and powerful and the treble is well-defined. Being extremely picky about sound, I was happy to find the amp's sound quality close to natural. It does the trick for classical music but it lacks a bit of nuance there, that would be the only minus to me, but it still does a very good job! I would highly recommend this amp for listeners of jazz, pop and rock. Oh, and I loved the amp's sober and elegant design, the standby and volume controls are lit with a nice and discreet white light when the amp is turned on. Overall, you can't go wrong with this model, especially at this price!

Comments about Harman Kardon HK-3390 Stereo Receiver:

If what you want is a receiver to drive some big speakers with phono, cd player, and ipod hook-up
this is it. I work out in my garage and this stereo star keeps me company. Any flavor of music you like jazz, rock, country, classical, raegae, and blues its all yummy with this HK dishin' it out!
Seriously, I wasn't sure about the 80 watts being enough, but I heard that HK knows how to get alot of sound out every watt and took a chance. No regrets here I have it hooked up to 2 towers and a powered sub and it sounds great!

Comments about Harman Kardon HK-3390 Stereo Receiver:

Sound quality is above reproach. More than enough power to fill the house with sound. I love it!

Comments about Harman Kardon HK-3390 Stereo Receiver:

Good basic 2 channel receiver. Few "bells & whistles" which is great. Straight forward setup. Two 15v trigger outputs and 2 sub outs!

Comments about Harman Kardon HK-3390 Stereo Receiver:

Great sound. Sound quality like no other analog amp I have ever heard in its price range. Top of its class !
Can be played for several hours without over heating.

Comments about Harman Kardon HK-3390 Stereo Receiver:

Looks great - even my wife likes it. The sound is ideal for basic listening with efficient speakers. I am running seperate power amp for my 2nd set of speakers and a third power amp for my bass speaker. Its nice to have a reciver that can accomidate all my needs while delivering clean sound. Highly recommend for the price.

Comments about Harman Kardon HK-3390 Stereo Receiver:

I run two sets of speakers off this excellent receiver, 3-ways in my studio, and 2-ways in my living room.When I discovered that the volume control was not continuous but in 80 steps, I worried it would not be fine enough in the zone I would be using,but it is indeed fine enough for my ears.Those who like bells and whistle and green or blue lights, all large enough to read in the dark, may dislike the small unlit control buttons on the receiver. However, if you are going to watch a screen, you should not be in a dark room, and you can use the large and easy to use remote control.NOTE: I am an audiophile who hates to spend more than $300 for a receiver, after having bad experiences with repairs on high end receivers, so I like the price and I LIKE the two year warrenty, [...]I use this strictly for MUSIC. I could be tempted to use this receiver with a sub-woofer and 2 front speakers for "virtual surround sound" while playing DVD's. Don't ask me about surround sound.There is a subwoofer port for each of the two speakers set channels. You can play either speaker set channel, or both simultaneously. My inputs: 1) Broadcast FM, using only the supplied coaxial mounting wire antennae. It picks up clearly 22 stereo FM stations, all of which I have set to memory. This is a big deal where I am living. This receiver replaced a low end 50 watt per channel 25 year old Technics Receiver. That receiver picked up 12 FM channels from the same location. I did not attach the supplied AM antennae to the new receiver. 2) An analogue CD carousel player, not high end, about 15 years old.Note: no phonograph used. I attached the supplied accessory cable to run my iPod through the Tape channel, and it works, but I doubt I will ever use this, instead of playing higher quality AIFF's, and listening to MPEG's on my computer with quality headphones.When operating, the volume dial lights up like a soft white crescent moon. No colours, very urbane, not distracting, all excellent.I do not know enough about video, and I am not using this with any video. I do not even have cable television. The receiver does have 3 Video ports, for stereo sound and what appears to be pass-though video channels.After good low distortion power, I really am into style and design, and this one is excellent design and style.At first I disliked that setting the FM presets must be done through the remote control, HOWEVER, the settings are permanent until you change them. From power outages, unplugging and putting it on a shelf for a year...it will not lose the settings, so it is not a bother for me to rarely use the remote to change the radio presets. I like you can dim the quiet and sufficient display, and you can shut off the display and lights completely, except for the soft white bar indicator light the unit is on. When not on the same light changes to a soft amber color. Shutting off the display, along with as many lights as possible, is always wise so as to lessen possible distortion.Two AC pass though switched power outlets and main power off/on butterfly switch, are on the rear panel.It has a front video channel access, and also on the front there are the standard bass, treble, and balance controls, (these 3 should not be used when possible to avoid raised distortion). Supplied are two nice small matching covers, which fit in easily to cover all of these switches and inputs, resulting in a nice clean face, with a bottom of brushed metal, and a top of dark plastic. With a crescent moon, (lit up volume dial), floating in a dark sky, (plastic top), above a silver terrain, (brushed mental bottom, the face of the receiver could be perceived as a winter moonlit landscape, if one really stretches their imagination, but it does reflect refined design.I like the liberal amount of ventilation openings in the metal housing, especially in the top, and would respect it's function when placing the receiver. I have a small fan for better circulation which is positioned to cross over right above the receiver. This is especially beneficial for when I use it continuously over a long, long, period of day and night studio work. I ADORE the timer! Set it on 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, or, 90 minutes. The display shows the total number of minutes which remain before all power is cut off.You can listen without caring "what time is it" when using the timer.This is terrific for my studio work, telling me when it is time to stop, even if just for a brief break. Say you know you need to leave your condo 40 minutes from now, and want to listen to a 70 minute CD. Set the timer, relax, not care what time it is, and just enjoy the music. This can be used when watching a movie wired through the receiver. I use 14 gauge speaker wires, and had no trouble connecting my two pairs of speakers. I did dislike how close the terminals were to each other, yet I was able to connect easily, (but I am very good with wiring). Make sure 80 watts PER CHANNEL is enough power for the speakers and the final set ups you intend for this receiver. If it not enough, I would recommend the 120 watts PER CHANNEL Harman Kardon receiver. Music played everyday since set up, which was 14 days ago: FM broadcast was mostly classical and pop,and CD's.. say 30% Baroque and European Classical, 30% Rock, Pop, Reggae, Ska, 30% 1923 - 1965 Jazz, 10% for Indian Classical, Gamelan, New Wave, Opera, Broadway Music.A very happy shopper.

Comments about Harman Kardon HK-3390 Stereo Receiver:

Straightforward, clean, warm, high fidelity stereo. Is that passe´these days? I'm a former recording and touring professional musician and have owned some pretty nice audio gear. I was always interested in the music more than the equipment, I believe the equipment should be transparent. This receiver is just that.

The high current, discreet component design that made Harmon Kardon famous is noticeably more musical. 80 true rms watts per channel are more than enough for most listening environments. Plenty of headroom at average volumes.

It provides a pleasing and accurate balance throughout the audio spectrum. Higher pitched tones are sweet and natural. Bass is formidable without sounding exagerated. The control panel offers everything I need in a receiver and nothing I don't.

I use it in a 3000 foot house with very tall ceilings in a living room and a great room. It is driving 2 sets of loudspeakers; KEF Corelli's and Technics 2785 floor standing folded horns. Two radically different but equally accurate and unforgiving speaker designs. The 3390 sounds simply superb through both.

The remote is a bit large but functions well. I recommend it without reservation; especially at the current price.

Comments about Harman Kardon HK-3390 Stereo Receiver:

I am not capable of comparing this receiver with others on the market. However, the sound is great to my ears. I purchased this receiver primarily to enjoy over the air FM radio. Using an outdoor antenna to receive stations I prefer. It would have been great if all receivers had HD tuner. It appears only a few receivers with large prices do so.