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HK 330A & Rotel 400A. Separated at birth?

lildoug

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
I have a 330a that is on loan. recently found a nice 400a for sale locally and started to dig in to the model a little more. Noticed that the back is nearly identical to the 330a. Similar specs as well so I'm wondering what the connection is.

Exhibits A & B:
 

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Good catch!

I know that in the 70s Rotel built a lot of receivers that were sold under different names, so H/K 330A could be actually built by Rotel.

H/K 330a and Rotel RX-400A are definitely the same receiver with a different face. Look at the fronts, the functions are exactly the same, layout is only slightly different:


hk-330a-rotel-rx-400a-fr.jpg




And after looking under the hood I rest my case:


15926477.jpg



(I borrowed the H/K nudie from this thread: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=495420
That H/K was recapped, originally it had grey Elnas, like the Rotel)
 
It's pretty cool. It was actually the similar color of the dial lamps that first piqued my interest.

I always liked that 330A. Digged it out of a dump upstate and it fired right up. I need to go through it eventually as I'd like to use it as a backup pre.
 
Found another Rotel/Kardon

I think I've found another Rotel/Kardon. I have a Rotel RX-154A quad receiver, which is from the same line as the RX-400A stereo above (actually it's a quad version of a lower model, RX-200A). So I looked at H/K quad receivers, and guess what? Looks like it's a Harman/Kardon 50+. On the outside, the only difference is that the H/K has a mono switch and only "FM stereo" setting of the source selector, the Rotel has no mono switch but separate "FM" and "FM stereo" settings of the source selector. The rear panel looks the same, power consumption is the same, other specs are very similar. I couldn't find a photo of the Rotel's inside, but judging by a pic from the service manual it looks the same. I will have a look inside my RX-154A later to confirm.

Here is the comparison, H/K 50+ on top:

15940905.jpg



15940906.jpg



hk-50-rotel-rx-154a-ba.jpg
 
To add to this old thread, Rotel RX-154A was also sold as Noresco, actually 3 different models with slight differences: NRQ-234, NRQ-235 (cosmetic differences only) and Noresco 2360 (added loudness and high filters).

Rotel also built receivers for other brands, another one I know of is Wharfedale - Denton, Linton, Triton receivers were all made by Rotel
 
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