• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Better fixer-upper receiver: Harman Kardon TA5000X or Sherwood S-7700 III?

S

steelglam

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
I've recently come into a free Harman Kardon TA5000X receiver. A local shop also has a $220 Sherwood S-7700 III. The HK has all of its parts--except for the bottom of the chassis--but does not power on, so it's not clear to what extent it is damaged. The Sherwood is missing some power tubes and has a hum in the phono section.

Which of these two units do you think would be a better fixer-upper in the end, both quality-wise and value-wise? I myself am not a DIYer, so it would involve taking it to a tech. If both were up to spec, which unit do you think would sound better, in general but also the phono stage in particular?
 
Register to hide this ad
seems to me 220 is a little steep for a set with no power tubes that most likely needs a full overhaul. No experience with either tho, so thats just my inner tightwad talking.
 
gadget73 said:
seems to me 220 is a little steep for a set with no power tubes that most likely needs a full overhaul. No experience with either tho, so thats just my inner tightwad talking.
Click to expand...

Yeah, not sure if it needs a full overhaul or not. Sounded OK otherwise, though thin and kind of bright. But I assume that's because it only had half of its power tubes??
 
free vs. $220?

both will most likely require similar fix and recap.

go for the free one! use half the money you'd spend on buying the sherwood to fix the HK. give it a good listen. sell it for $450. buy the sherwood for $150 (by now no one would have bought it with that price and missing output tube), fix the sherwood with money you made off of HK. in the end you still make $100 - $150 and have a plug and play sherwood. kick-ass! :thmbsp: there's the plan laid out for ya!
 
Last edited:
gogofast said:
free vs. $220?

both will most likely require similar fix and recap.

go for the free one! use half the money you'd spend on buying the sherwood to fix the HK. give it a good listen. sell it for $450. buy the sherwood for $150 (by now no one would have bought it with that price and missing output tube), fix the sherwood with money you made off of HK. in the end you still make $100 - $150 and have a plug and play sherwood. kick-ass! :thmbsp: there's the plan laid out for ya!
Click to expand...

Oh, the guy won't budge on the Sherwood price, that's a moot point.

I ultimately just want to know if the HK can compete with the Sherwood, were they both up to spec. Seems like two folks now say "no" (you and mhardy6647).
 
Last edited:
Alright, I guess I'm going to stick with the HK since it was free and maybe try and bring it up to spec. Even if I decide to sell it after doing so, it's probably a better investment in the long run.

Though if I like the sound, I'll keep it.

On that note...does anyone have any insight into what the HK TA5000X sounds like, and its quality? There is not much info. about this unit on the web, at least not describing its good/bad qualities nor its tonal quality and characteristics, which is what I'm looking for. Can it drive inefficient speakers?

How does it compare to similar units from other manufacturers?

Is it even worth servicing/bringing up to spec?
 
the h/k won't compete with the Sherwood, but for free and some sweat equity, it will make a nice little vacuum tube receiver
The h/k is a push-pull 7408 amp, isn't it? If so, probably good for about 10 watts per channel.
 
Push-pull 7355s for about 25W per channel. No the easiest tube to find, but Sovtek 7591XYZ is a sub that will work if you don't have to fit a cover on it... pinout is slightly different and SOME units may need a wire or few moved.

Schematic can be googled up (or just email me...)
 
Hk ta5000x

The amp section of the HK TA5000X is essentially the A500 amp, which is rated at 25 watts/channel IHFM, uses 7355 output tubes. The 7355's are somewhat rare, but likely those in the HK will be good, as HK doesn't stress them (rated 500V plate, HK operates at about 375V), so they seem to last a long time. Recapping is a chore, as there are about 26 electrolytic and coupling caps that 'should' be replaced, and tight quarters, probably not cost effective to have a tech do it if your plan is to sell it when complete. (If you have the tech 'get it running' would cost much less). Tuner probably would benefit from an alignment too. I've recapped and sold two and found that a receiver does not sell for as much as a equivalent A500 amp. That said, the folks who bought the ones i've sold have been happy with them. Not familiar with the Sherwood, so I can't comment on which is 'best'.
 
Hk ta5000x

As Tom Bavis posted the Sovtek 7591XYZ is a drop in replacement for the 7355, but in the HK TA5000X, the connections to pin 4 on the four output sockets must be relocated to a terminal strip.
 
OK, it is a step up from what I thought. Should be pretty respectable.
I looked through a bunch of old Allied catalogs last night and found the 3000 and 7000, but no 5000. Sorry for my misinformation/disinformation :-(
 
IME, the HK A500 is about the only amp of that size, from that era, that I would reasonably think could go head-to-head with the Sherwood 5500-II/7700-III/8000/8000-IV and such.

So, by extrapolation... it'd be a hard pick between those choices. They have a lot of the same virtues. I'd guess the Sherwood may have slightly more sheer power, but the HK may be a little more 'neutral'. I'd take either. :thmbsp:

Regards,
Gordon.
 
Alright...I think that per your recommendations, I'll get this one looked at. At the very least, I'll have a tech get it up and running, fix any basic problems in the amp and preamp sections, and give it a good clean. That way, I'll be able to see if all the tubes work and assess whether or not I like the general sound. Then I'll make a decision about what to do: do a full recap and keep it for myself, or fix any basic problems in the tuner section and sell it.

I'm actually only interested in the amp/pre sections at this point, as I don't really use a tuner too often. Though if I were to keep it and like it, I might consider bringing the tuner section up to spec sometime down the road.

Thanks to Tom Bavis and buickguy62 for the info. on the tubes, replacements, and connections. I found a two-part schematic somewhere on the web and was planning on giving it to the tech.

So, I notice GordonW's comment about this HK likely being more neutral than the Sherwood. Does that mean it doesn't have much of a classic warm/lush "tube" sound? Or does it still have that, just not as much relative to other comparable tube units?

The only tubes I've heard so far are EL84's. How do the 7355's compare tonally? I know the other electronics in the amp affect the tone too, but I was wondering if there was some kind of general characteristics that the 7355 (or its replacement, the Sovtek 7591XYZ) exhibited.

Thanks for the great set of comments and assistance from everyone!
 
I have the Sherwood S-7700II and the H/K TA-260, which is a Tuner/Amplifier with I believe essentially the same amp as the A-500. I am a big fan of the Sherwood products but I have to say that the HK product is no slouch. I very much like the sound of the HK with the 7355 tubes and wouldn't hesitate to get that A-500 back up to spec and enjoy the heck out of it.
 
I just blew the dust off of my old Harmon Kardon TA3000X, hooked it up and aside from the infrequent scratchy sounds am quite amazed by the depth and imaging I am getting...this is a 50 year old piece of equipment that still challenges the newer stuff.
Normally I have my my Marantz 2325 hooked in, but I am not in any hurry to unplug the HK. I may yet become a tube addict.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom