Harman Kardon HK3480 Stereo Receiver

Rating:
Summary: My CD collection doubled!!!
Review: A couple of months ago my old and very simple Sony equipment started to give up on me after years of use. So I started to look for a good replacement for it.
Since this was meant to be a replacement to be located at my bedroom and mostly for music playing, my first idea was to look for one of those popular mini-systems with everything integrated on them. I found some interesting products from Onkyo and Denon but, although their sound was quite nice (especially Denon's), I found that their power was somehow limited.
Then, I decided to look for some of those "Home Theater in a box" systems that are so popular nowadays, even if I would use it primarily for music reproduction! I tried Sony, Kenwood and Denon. I found an interesting Denon system, but before buying it I decided to bring along a couple of my own CDs in order to try it out with my own music!
The next day I took a couple of my favourite CDs with me to try them with the Denon. I chose Mahler's Symphony #3 (with Boulez), Andreas Scholl's "Ombra mai fu", some Dead Can Dance and Air's "Moon Safari". It really sounded nice but since I had those CDs with me I decided to make a last visit to the department store where I had seen the Denon and Onkyo mini-systems before making a final decission.
An hour later I visited this department store and went to their audio department. Instead of looking for the mini-systems I went directly to the high-end audio area. Among the various Onkyos, Marantz, Denons and Yamahas I noticed Harman Kardon's new HK-3480, and I immediately liked the looks of it's new design! Then, I contacted a salesman and after telling him that I mostly listen to classical music (although my other musical tastes are quite varied), he suggested me to give the Harman Kardon a try!
I was able to compare the Harman Kardon with the Denons (both the mini-system and the Home Theater options). After some listening I was convinced that a nice stereo system was more than enough for me. The power and sheer clarity of sound of Harman Kardon's HK-3480 was immediately noticeable!
We first tried it with a couple of Yamaha speakers, then with Cerwin-Vega, Infinity and finally with Polk. Boy oh boy, what a beautiful sound the Polk's have, cristal clear and absolutely gorgeous!!! Besides, they look so sharp! We finally added an Infinity subwoofer and there it was, the perfect setup for me! I was really ready to make a final decission! I bought Harman Kardon's HK-3480 reciever along with H-K's FL-8385 CD player, a pair of Polk's RTi8 speakers and Infinity's PS10 subwoofer. What a difference from my old and humble Sony setup! By the way, if you choose Polk speakers like I did, get the black ones, they look great along Harman Kardon's silver and black design!
The HK-3480 receiver works great! There are more than enough connections inputs on it, including several for audio/video and a phono input too (now I'm also thinking about replacing my old Technics for a brand new turntable). The HK-3480 is surely a great receiver for those who want top quality stereo sound, but it should me mentioned that with the VMAx feature on this receiver you can have simulated surround sound too when you need it!
I now feel that all of a sudden my CD collection doubled in size since every single CD in my collection sounds so much better now! I'm rediscovering music that I bought 10 or 15 years ago! What a joy!!!

Rating:
Summary: download the manual & read before you get this
Review: I expect a few things of a receiver: sound, ease of use, with style a low 3rd. the sound is ok. not much difference from my 20 year old low end receiver which I got for about the same price (20 years ago); This is not a high end receiver. Its solid in the middle/low-middle. It comes with VMX which makes music sound either like you are in a tin can or in a bad music hall. Its nightmarish for punk, techno, rock. Merely annoying for Mahler. The system is not easy to use. There is a manual - you will need to memorize it unless all you do is listen to CDs. You also get a large remote control device that you must use for every thing you want to do. Want to listen to FM go get the remote. Changing from CD to VideoAudio to Phono to FM get the remote or put post-its on the hard to read buttons. You can;t scan for FM AM stations w/o the remote. My box had a horrible plastic smell took about 1 week to disipate. Another issue is the power outlets are both Switched off when the unit is powered down. My 20 year old receiver works much better but it is only worth $25.00 ; I don;t think this is worth much more than that.

Rating:
Summary: Clear Sound
Review: I had picked up an older HK AV 5-channel receiver for video use a couple of years ago, and have always been impressed by how clean and clear the sound was, even when temporarily hooking it up to my better stereo system. After recently moving, I found myself wanting that HK in two rooms, so I retired my old NAD stereo amp and bought the HK 3480 for my main music listening setup. I have a Denon 2900 to play CDs, SACDs, and DVD-As, and the HK is driving a pair of Vandersteen 2ci speakers. To say it sounds great is an understatement! The detail and depth of the soundstage are remarkable, and it is possible to shake the house without any apparent effort. The only disappointment was the remote, which is not programmable, although for the price of this unit, I'm not really complaining.

If you're looking for a high quality, great sounding stereo receiver for a reasonable price, I can't recommend this product enough.

Rating:
Summary: just good old plain stereo
Review: yes two channel stereo still lives if you want to build a plain stereo system this would be a place to start. I have one I like very much. The heart of the systems would be your ears you pick out the speakers sound your ears like I did this in the 80's I picked up a pair of Polk SDA speakers, the sound that came out of them there is still nothing like them today to bad polk stopped making the SDA series but they are not small 70 lbs a speaker and what was driving them in the show room was a yamaha R-9 receiver I was doing fine until the middle of may we where going to be moving the next day the movers where coming and the R-9 up and died in the middle of wacthing a dvd could not be revieved but at a cost so I saved it until after the move and when I was hooked up to the internet again I went looking for a 2 channel reciver to replace the old one this HK has the same specs as the R-9 plus 2 more viedo hook ups and a subwoofer out if you need one at this price cheaper than having the R-9 repaired and yes the speakers sound as good as before solid sound stage which gets bigger with more power you apply like the old days pick out single instrutments where they are when you close your eyes this is what these speakers where about before surround sound became the norm like I said 2 channel stereo nothing wrong with it when you find your speakers you have to find the power source for them and this HK filled the bill here like the old yahmaha never went away but came back with a few extras I have been listenig to music today as it just came now to hook up the dvd and vcr the old system is whole again

Rating:
Summary: Great for music
Review: You would be hard pressed to find another receiver in this price category that can out-performed the HK3480. I have one of these powering two large PolkAudio speakers and I'm thrilled with the quality of the sound.