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Harman Kardon 630. I did a thing.

sunvalleylaw

sunvalleylaw

Addicted Member
Bought a "for repair or parts only" one for $75 bucks from fleabay. It has a slightly damaged wood case that can maybe be repaired well enough to work. Looks relatively clean. No idea why it is not working so a total impulse project buy.

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I caught the HK bug as a kid when my family had a Harman Kardon HK 570i, and I picked up one of those, and also a 590i that I am using currently in my house. Decided I wanted to try one of the slightly older twins.
 
Can't tell you much about the electronic repair without more information, but to repair the cabinet you might try this stuff: https://www.abatron.com/product/woodepox/
I had some on hand from wood repairs around the house, and tried it on some particleboard speaker cabinets. It worked very well for that. The stuff isn't cheap, and it takes a little effort to work with, but it's magnitudes better than any other wood repair product I've used.
 
When it's time to look at the electronics, open it up, check for signs of stress, ie, discoloured resistors... Check fuses
are ok and correct rating (found a 20A fuse where a 2A should have been). Build a Dim Bulb Tester, a current limiting device,
numerous plans on AK and power up on DBT. A variac would be nice... Then basic health check of power supply voltages
and bias, dc offset...
 
Sometimes fix and repairs are easy, others can be a grind. Good luck with it. My fix and repair 330C sold as "no output" just needed its controls cleaned and a few new bulbs (tuning meter, power button, and stereo light). Someone put LED fuse lamps for the tuning dial not sure why they did not do the one for the tuning meter.
 
mbz said:
Check fuses correct rating (found a 20A fuse where a 2A should have been)
Click to expand...

This is too common with the gear I get in. I worry about the transformer when I see this.

dly66 said:
Sometimes fix and repairs are easy. My fix and repair 330C sold as "no output" just needed its controls cleaned and a few new bulbs (tuning meter, power button, and stereo light).
Click to expand...

I just fixed a Denon with no Left Channel. I had to clean the speaker switch a couple times before both channels were back. Turns out the owner found it on the curb free so he didn't mind paying to get it fixed.
 
rickl said:
This is too common with the gear I get in. I worry about the transformer when I see this.



I just fixed a Denon with no Left Channel. I had to clean the speaker switch a couple times before both channels were back. Turns out the owner found it on the curb free so he didn't mind paying to get it fixed.
Click to expand...
Will do all those checks when I get it. As for the cleaning of switches, I have a HK 570i, that has some scratchiness/distortion occasionally in one of the channels that goes away after I thoroughly clean the pots with deoxit. But it seems to require this every couple months. So that is interesting.

Will be interesting to see what is up with this one when I get it. I have a tech who is very reasonable and likes to work on HK’s, so if it is beyond me, and the unit otherwise seems worth it, I will have him fix it for me.
 
I would pop the cover and verify the fuses are correct and nothing is burned per @mbz. Then I would power up on DBT and see if you have a short. If the bulb dims, you might be good and only need a good cleaning.

If not, we can get you to the next step.

Either way, please post your findings. Everyone will be learning from your project.
 
Ok, I am a bit newbie on this stuff, so first step will be to go look up how to build and use a DBT. Found some YouTube vids easily enough.
 
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mbz said:
When it's time to look at the electronics, open it up, check for signs of stress, ie, discoloured resistors... Check fuses
are ok and correct rating (found a 20A fuse where a 2A should have been). Build a Dim Bulb Tester, a current limiting device,
numerous plans on AK and power up on DBT. A variac would be nice... Then basic health check of power supply voltages
and bias, dc offset...
Click to expand...
I need to find a thread, that goes through a step by step going through of an old receiver when you get one. Building a DBT looks easy enough, and I may have nearly all the parts already out in the garage. I also have a digital multimeter, but really have never used one. Clues about what a variac, is. I do know about DC offset. But have never tested for it yet. Thinking this little unit might be a good project to see what I can learn about doing all that. Anyone know of a thread discussing the process you describe above? Otherwise, maybe I can piece it together via search engine for a threads on the various tasks.
 
Yes the twin amp Harman Kardon gets a lot of talk and elevated to top shelf position. I don't see mine as worlds better than the rest of my receivers but I would sooner have it fixed than most of the others if it failed. Don't know exactly why. Not primarily because of the very nice smooth sound, but for many reasons in general.
 
Update. So this little HK 630 I got for seventy five bucks arrived, and seems on initial go through to be pretty nice! I replaced a speaker fuse and every thing sounded just fine on both channels on a quick test. Plenty of power for its intended use as background music in a bedroom (or I may swap it out with the 80’s HK I have in the living room as I like the wood look of this one). Powered my little Dahlquist m903’s with plenty of volume with the volume knob up not much at all, when I tested it. This is one of those Twin models and it seems like it punches harder than its rating.

I took it apart, and fixed the separated side of the wood box (one side was no longer glued together, and had a chip in the back corner) with wood glue and a couple tiny finish nails that I predrilled then tapped in to help the glue hold. The wood otherwise looks really nice and cleaned up very well with just a little love and lemon oil.

Cleaned up all the pots and buttons with contact cleaner then applied faderlube. Everything works way better now. Cleaned up the faceplate. That is super clean too. Will look really nice all buttoned up and put together, likely out in the living room, or bedroom. Will probably drive Minimus 7’s and some really efficient ADS speakers I have hanging on the deck.

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sunvalleylaw said:
I caught the HK bug as a kid
Click to expand...
My first 'Audiophile' HiFi receiver too

sunvalleylaw said:
This is one of those Twin models and it seems like it punches harder than its rating
Click to expand...
These 20 to 30 Watt HK units were quality watts too.


The HK twin power Amp Receivers always reminded me of the BMW 2002 sports sedan,
which I could only dream of owning.

I would often set friend up with used HK twin power receivers that I bought at the GW
Mine would often blow a fuse (every 6 mo) this was kind of a blessing as it preserved the integrity of the unit

I traded mine in for a NAD 3020 stereo integrated amplifier, which was the toast of the town at the time.
It was definitely a sideways move,
The NAD had none of the clean lines or glowing good looks

Thanks for your wonderful story

Michael
 
Back together! now for a bike ride! Still listening to KSKI alternative radio on my other HK 570i and my main system in the other room as I finish up putting this guy back together and now getting ready to go bicycle.

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@MudSlideSlim, I get what you’re saying about the nice classic looks versus an NAD. Though it was starting to act a little wonky, I have long had my mother-in-law’s old NAD receiver in-service in and upstairs extra system. It sounded nice, but just a little sterile to me. It was not one of their higher grade units but was still well regarded. When it started acting up, I decided I didn’t want to put money into it but to do something a little different. so now there is a HK 590i in that spot. LOL! I guess I am full up on Harman Kardon at this point.

My main system is powered by a Hafler Amp with PS Audio preamp so at least I can deny any HK fetish. :D Though I think he Hafler shares some similarity in sound in some respects. ;)
 
quiet said:
Yes the twin amp Harman Kardon gets a lot of talk and elevated to top shelf position. I don't see mine as worlds better than the rest of my receivers but I would sooner have it fixed than most of the others if it failed. Don't know exactly why. Not primarily because of the very nice smooth sound, but for many reasons in general.
Click to expand...
They do have a magical "fat" and warm sound. Very appealing.
 
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