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H/K 330B-Ugly box,outstanding sound!

Kosh

Kosh

Active Member
Hello to everyone,this is my first post here,(I have a few posts at the Sansui&Marantz forums) and vintage audio is one of my main interests..recently I bought at the local vintage audio store(yes,I have a heaven like this not far from my home) a little receiver-H/K 330B.whoa,it looks
like a metal trash can with cook buttons,and the green backlight of the radio
dial..yak!.but,I fired it up at my home,tried it with my speakers (Morel,soon to be replaced with Focal) and my beloved AKG K340 headphones,and whoooaaa..the sound of that ugly box is something that one word can describe-spectacular! the bass,the imaging,the mids and highs are so detailed and rich! all this in 15 watts..I also have a modern HT H/K receiver,AVR130,and the 330B wipes the floor with it.it also sound better than my other vintage Marantz's,Sansui's and Pioneer's amps and recievers.the only vintage
gear that on par with this H/K is my integrated Rotel amp RA820,which is my main one.have anyone here tried/have other vintage H/K receivers that seems underated but sound awesome? (and I sorry for my not so good English)
 

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You'll find alot of owners here, principally the x30 series. However, there is a good number who have a love for all versions of the 330. H-K made a quality line of receivers.
 
How only 15 watts sound so good? and without big capacitors and behemoth
PSU that other receievers have? I also have marantz 2216,it 15 watts also(the "baby" marantz's) but much larger and heavier than the H/K 330B.what
is the "magic" the H/K put in such little box?
 
You are cheating yourself out of 3 more watts per channel. HK on their site lists the specs as 18 wpc. Get the specs and the Owner's manual on their site. Nice unit. I cleaned up my HK 330c today and put it in service after listening to a Technics SA-200 and was happy to make the change. Sounds much better. The unique look of the HK is one I accept for the sound quality.
 
Darn it! The x30 line looks amazing! All industrial in their appearence, and green dials rule!

Constructive? No!
Congrats on a great purchase though, hopefully you will learn to appriciate the wonders of the green dials and maybe you'll get a more powerful x30 and find yourself hooked on the wonders of HK! If you see one, buy it and save it for the ones who will come after us.
 
It's not ugly :-) ... although the 330C is a bit more 1970s-"modern" looking (and a very nice receiver too).

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I like those vintage ads..

:thmbsp:But,again,agree with me that the Sansui's and Marantz's looks much better (cosmetic only) than the 330x series..and the green light-it looks like a pee color.but ofcourse I can forget that for the great sound.:thmbsp:
 
My current short stack with a 330c

I have three small receivers, the Technics SA-200, the Sansui 331 (not bottom of the line, the 221 holds that honor) and the Harmon Kardon 330c shown from from bottom up in the pic. I agree none of these are as pretty as the blue glow of a Marantz, but cleaned up I don't dislike the looks of the HK.

The HK has a nice lights-behind-glass look like a McIntosh, the Sansui just looks like an early receiver with a silk screened dial lit from behind, nothing special and the Technics has the look of newer silver which is a cold look, in my opinion.

Since the HK so easily sounded better than the Technics, I need to try the 330c vs. the 331 to declare a winner, but here we are looking at 20 vs. 12 wpc. This might make a difference.
 

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Kosh said:
:thmbsp:But,again,agree with me that the Sansui's and Marantz's looks much better (cosmetic only) than the 330x series..and the green light-it looks like a pee color.but ofcourse I can forget that for the great sound.:thmbsp:
Click to expand...

Like comparing a Toyota Supra to a Porsche 911.
 
I have the H-K 330A, B, & C receivers at home.
I'd have to say the H-K 330C sounds better than the earlier A and B series.
The H-K 330C is warmer and more "tubey" IMO.

Steve
 
Wait till you get your hands on an HK 730 or 930 with Twin Power. You'll see what they could do with BIG power supplies too!! They are impressive sounding receivers and they have a first rate feature set :)
 
I've been enjoying my 330A in my basement setup now for a couple of weeks and agree, it is a very nice unit, the FM section in particular puts out a full, rich sound. A few tips are in order, be careful cleaning the metal front, the lettering comes off very easily and avoid blasting the pots with Deoxit (only if absolutely necessary) or the pots end up with a very cheap, loose feeling to them.
 
Kosh said:
:thmbsp:But,again,agree with me that the Sansui's and Marantz's looks much better (cosmetic only) than the 330x series..and the green light-it looks like a pee color.but ofcourse I can forget that for the great sound.:thmbsp:
Click to expand...

Kosh - see your doctor!!! (Eyes, liver/ kidneys). :yes: :lmao:

Finally, a thread for me to offer a little! I have owned the HK 930 (below) for one (1) week. I am 'thrilled' (which is amazing for someone as ugly as me!) with what I'm now getting, in terms of sound and looks. Perhaps you could lower your room lighting to suit the 'reflectiveness' of the 330.

Regards to all, og. :thmbsp:
 
I have had several HK 330B in the past and one of the twin power receivers which I liked quite a bit, although I gave them to a friend that was in need of a good receiver since they had been replaced by my vintage Pioneer SX-950 in one room and a Sansui 7070 in the other. I would have kept them, but I rather see them being used by someone instead of just collecting dust. My friend still has them and I enjoy listening to them when ever I am at his house.
 
I have an HK 430 which I will probably never sell because a) it sounds fantastic, and b) nobody wants to pay much for them. Sure some cleaning of the controls is necessary (At YOUR age, you could probably use a good cleaning yourself!). It is the unit I use to test other equipment when I am selling some. I LOVE the knurled antennae screws. BUT THOSE STUPID SPEAKER CONNECTORS!!! WHAT WERE THEY THINKING!!! I plan to replace those "stupid connectors" with 5-ways at some point. Nobody should produce equipment without banana plug standards, IMO.

Take a look at "Serpico," the movie. He has a 330b on his shelf in his apartment in the scene where his (hot) neighbor comes over for a visit. I think he is listening to classical, if I remember correctly. Then HK sold out, hit the skids. In Lafayette stores, I saw these fugly HKs of the later 70s. :nono: Downhill from there.
 
pmsummer said:
Like comparing a Toyota Supra to a Porsche 911.
Click to expand...



I've owned both.

Both are GREAT cars but take a guess which car I like better... :)







BTW... I just bought a near mint condition HK 430 twin powered.

I think the 430 has excellent bass and very smooth tube like sound.
 
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