Customer Reviews

Harman Kardon HK3385 High Current Stereo Receiver

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I recently replaced a 25-year-old Marantz with an Onkyo 8222 and had ordered another Onkyo to replace a 30-year-old Technics. But the Harman Kardon suddenly struck me as worth going to the trouble of an exchange of one of the Onkyo's. It's the only comparably priced stereo receiver carried by Amazon that's in the running (it's hard to take Sony seriously when they omit a phono jack, and Teac is little more than a purchased brand name like Sherwood, Sylvania, Westinghouse, and some others that have little to no connection with past product).

The Onkyo performs admirably, but the all-black face can make hitting the right control a minor challenge. Moreover, with the arrival of grandchildren, the presence of input jacks on the face front of the HK recommended itself to me all the more (handy for plugging in a camcorder or digital camera, for example). As a kind of clincher, I had assumed Onkyo was still manufactured in Japan (my older Onkyo equipment is), but I find the receiver is made in Malaysia (same with G.E., RCA, and numerous other electronics products). So the fact that this HK is made in China can hardly be used to its discredit.

As for wattage (HK 3385 vs. 3485, Onkyo 8222 vs. 8522), anyone who thinks they need more than 40-50 RMS per channel is kidding themselves or still insisting on 8-cylinder engines (come to think of it, that's me). But occasionally I'm seeing a better deal on the higher power models, so price may be the ultimate determiner. (As for the dedicated sub-woofer output that Amazon's description mentions in reference only to the HK 3485, not to worry: it's present on the 3385 as well.)

Finally, if Harmon Kardon is selected by Apple computer to make its speakers, they must still be considered a high-end, quality company.

I bought this to replace a 20 year old HK amp. I'll make a few comparisons for people that are considering it as a replacement for older equipment. I've had this for about 6 months now and use it almost every day. It has quite a bit different sound than my old amp, so it has taken some time for me to get used to it. The HK3385 has more "separation" than my old amp and sometimes it seems to be detrimental to the music. It "trims" some of the music too much to create separation. My old amp had a smoother, warmer feeling to the sound. This amp has noticeably less distortion and is much clearer than my old amp. I've found that newer recordings and DVD movies sound much better on the HK3385 than my old amp. It's built for digital recordings and they sound very good through this amp. The HK3385 has plenty of power to drive my 35 year old Altec studio monitors, but the amp fits the sound my newer B&W speakers better. I like the features of the HK3385, it's nice to have a remote which I didn't have with the old amp. Although, I agree with other reviews who think the remote could of been designed much better. All in all, this is a fine product, you get a lot for your money. It's nice to see that Harman Kardon has kept their quality standards so high. This receiver would no doubt outperform any other manufacturer's comparably priced product.

This unit does everything I need it to do. I listen mostly to classical music and still listen to records. I live in an apartment. So I've never even come close to listening at full volume (-20db is as loud as I've gotten. Records are fainter and therefore need higher volume). Nevertheless, it's plenty loud and very clear and full.

I love the blue circle of light on the volume control. I mostly use the remote to operate the controls. The remote is a little sensitive and tricky to program. Sometimes you inadvertenly hit a button and then it's back to the manual to figure out why it's not playing. The buttons on it are rather small and the labels are hard to see (at my age). These are the only drawbacks. Also the unit is a little larger and heavier than other receivers (29 lbs.) so make sure you check out the dimensions to see if it fits your space. All in all this unit is well worth the price.

SC, Erie, PA

This is an excellent, old-fashioned, non-surround-sound receiver, far superior to any I've had in the past, with one very strange caveat: the volume control is totally counter-intuitive: the higher the number shown on the set, the lower the volume. Takes some getting used to, but I strongly recommend the machine.

I'm very please with this receiver. A plus is that it has a phono connection for your LP's. However, I found it very difficult to hook up.
I made several trips to Radio Shack for the necessary connections. I wouldnt want to hook it up again, ever!

I purchased this receiver last week at J&R, through Amazon for $199 free shipping!!! I came back to write this review and now the price is up to 399 plus shipping. Imagine my surprise!
The receiver was shipped to me very quickly within 3 days. The set-up was simple, since this is a STEREO unit. Very satisfied with the crisp and clean sound. I have it connected to a set of 15 year old Triad speakers (3 pc, with subwoofer). The subwoofer with this set of speakers is wired with the left and right speaker terminals, thus requiring power from the amp. The subwoofer outputs of the receiver require a powered subwoofer, so I am unable to use this feature. The sound is well balanced thougout the frequency range, however.
What surprised me is the size of this unit. It's quite large and takes up more space in the cabinet than my old Denon 5.1 surround reciever did. Unfortunately, lightening damaged the old Denon.
This receiver sounds good for $199, but I'd do some shopping before plunking down $399 plus for it.

i recently purchased the HK-3385 and am impressed with the sound quality, the ease of use, and general design :) big plus, it includes a phono input! the only con is the volume control uses -DB, instead of the usual 1-10, however, u can get used to it
Harman Kardon HK3385 High Current Stereo Receiver
AND - you cannot beat the price for such a quality stereo reciver

I've got our PC providing input to the HK3385 which is in turn driving polk home theater speakers that I hung on the wall. The provision of a sub-out was a big selling point for me (though I'm not using it yet), and tipped the balance over the Onkyo TX-8222. A nice feature of the HK3385 is that it displays volume as db below max rather than a meaningless 1-10 or 1-100 or 1-40 or whatever. The sound is clear and clean and I haven't driven it louder than -18 dB or so. The video switching is useless to me and if the price were closer to the TX-8222 I'd be giving it 5 stars.

For someone who wants to make use of two good speakers and not get into surround sound, this is an outstanding receiver. I run mine through a pair of floor type AR speakers. Also, it is one of the few remaining products that includes a phono jack for M/M cartridges.

This is a basic stereo receiver I purchased for getting back into vinyl. It is simple, straightforward and does a nice job. My only complaint is that it is advertised as Ipod compatable and I found that the Harmon dock does not work with this receiver. So you have to connect using audio/video jacks on the front. Other than that, I am quite happy with this item.