Harman Kardon Signature 2.1 5ch. amp??

[aaharvel]

does anyone have any experience with this one?

[dorokusai]

I thought you were the HK guru?

[sucks2beme]

I haven't listened to it. I saw one that a HT place was discounting heavily during a moving sale. The thing was about 60 lbs !
Any reviews I have seen give it a good rating.
Are you looking at the one on Audiogon?

[aaharvel]

I thought you were the HK guru?

no more than anyone else who owns their product. this model came before my time.

[aaharvel]

no suckstobeme. Just browsing on ebay and I saw one, but am not buying- so feel free.

[Mike682]

Amp gets good ratings from the folks at audioreview. I think this amp was one of the last HK amps that were made in the USA

http://www.audioreview.com/cat/ampli...6_1583crx.aspx


Here is a link to the manual:

http://media-server.amazon.com/exec/...E5MTUyLnBkZg==

[aaharvel]

well i've been following this amp for the past few days and at the last second I finally took the bait. Since selling my Adcoms a couple months ago, i've really missed the sound that only good separates can provide.

Anyway, the thing's a 9/10 on the audiogon scale, weighs right at 50lbs. and I ended up getting it for $450. 100x5, +/-100 amps o' current= me likey! :D

When I get it, I'll post some feedback.

[aaharvel]

here are some pics. I never knew H/K made stuff like this. I've always heard the "Citation" word being flung around these forums, but never really knew what it was.

[aaharvel]

does anyone know if upgrading the power cord would be a worthwhile investment over the stock one?

[aaharvel]

well I finally got this thing.

First off, it's ALOT bigger and heavier than I anticipated. at 17"deep, 17.5" wide and almost 8" tall, this thing is very imposing. I've never had a piece of audio gear that weighs this much. At right at 50lbs, I almost needed help in getting on the shelf.

Visually, this thing is beautiful. No marks whatsoever, and infinitely more attractive than the adcoms I had. When you power it on, the Signature insignia on the front lights up to a gorgeous blue, and stays that way until you turn it back to standby mode. It actually blends perfect with that funky blue volume knob on my receiver. Actually it blends perfect just sitting below my receiver. Inside my cabinet, it looks like an 80lb. square block of bad assness (not a word but who cares) :D

The torridal in this thing is massive, and each channel has 2 BIG blue capacitators (power supplies?) for a total of 10. This thing has an incredibly clean layout on the inside. It's really remarkable.

Sound wise, Wow. WAAAARRRRRM sound. I can't believe this is solid state. I'm actually surprised at how well my rti4's sound with a 15 year old pearl jam redbook... with speakers set to LARGE nonetheless. I'll be listening to some SACDs on this thing later on today, and possibly some scenes I'm familiar with in Raiders Of The Lost Ark and Dances W/Wolves to test the current capability of this thing. As far as the crossovers, well everything's going to 60hz now. This amp just laughs at the settings I originally had in the receiver.

With an all LSI setup, my receiver and now this amp- you would be approaching that tube sound all the vets keep describing... that warm, dry sound. With the rti setup, it sounds wonderful. On the warm sign of neutral- never thought I would ever say that, not with these speakers. And that's with simple redbook cds!

Overall, I am overwhelmed with this amp. This f--kin thing is a BRUTE! I can only imagine what the older Citation amps were like. I find it amusing at how so many people are powering nice speakers with inferior equipment. RTi's and Kenwoods, LSi's and mid-line receivers, etc. If anything, it really speaks volumes at how well designed the RTi speakers are. Matching them up with the proper gear makes all the difference in the world. Absolutely incredible sound. 2ch, 5ch, movies, music, whatever.

Thanks for reading.

[jdhdiggs]

Good on ya, when are you picking up the LSi's? ;)

[Demiurge]

Makes me hunger for that B & K I got even more. I'm thinking LSi9s or LSi15s by fall. Then...it'll be time for an SVS and a new DVD player.

[ohskigod]

nice snag AA, I heard good things about those amps, BEEEEFY!