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HK 330b

bevador

bevador

Active Member
I am running my HK 330b as the power amp with a sansui c 2101 as the pre, driving Tannoy golds. I am blown away!! I have had this receiver for a while but never tried it as the power amp until recently. I have run it with the Tannoys as a receiver but it is way to bright for my taste so it sat idle for months. I have a McIntosh 250 and a sansui b2101 and neither one sounds as good as this little beauty with the same pre! I love this 330b! that is all...
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I have owned the H/K 330c, 430, and now the 330b. I keep buying them based on other people's reviews and the beautiful design but I just don't get it. Maybe I need to restore it. Mine have always sounded so veiled.
 
I have been using a 330B as a pre with a Precision Fidelity tube amp and a pair of Forte II's and really like the sound.:dunno:
 
The 330b is capable of some very nice sound.

Glad it is making nice music for you as a power amplifier.
 
Bucky Badger said:
I have been using a 330B as a pre with a Precision Fidelity tube amp and a pair of Forte II's and really like the sound.:dunno:
Click to expand...

That's such a cool combination. Are your Fortes in walnut (unrelated question)?

I am not going to give up on the H/K receivers yet. I'd love to find a nice 430 in great shape and recap it. The 330b I have is not in good enough cosmetic shape to work on.
 
I found when I run it as a power amp it really comes alive. It is a DRASTIC improvement over my other options. I have run the 330b as the pre with both the Mc250 and the sansui b2101. In comparison with the C2101 it is too bright. The 330b with the c2101 is magical. I am sure I stumbled into some sort of synergistic luck here with this weird combo.
 
Sometimes that's how it happens. As JBL GUY said, glad it's making some nice music for ya. If you have found something that really works then thanks for sharing.
Yes they are in Walnut.
 
+1 for the 330b. Simple inexpensive receiver with the depth and sound of a high priced Yamaha, IMO. Don't let the 19WPC rating fool you, they rate around 35+ when measured.
 
b-with peramp out and power amp in
c-without this nice feature
I'm stuck using my c as a receiver, still like it.
 
I need to test my 330b down at work, there is a very soft pop/thunk when I power it on. I have a multimeter on the way so I can check for direct current leakage at the speaker terminals. Does anyone know if the 330b has a protection circuit? Are there offset adjustments that I can have my tech make if there is a problem?

It's a good unit otherwise, I am hearing no distortion at low or high volumes. I do get a very slight amount of low hiss, which I understand is probably due to some aging resistors.
 
I had a 330B for a while and was very impressed with the pverall sound.

Real smooth in the midrange, and I mean very smooth.

I sometimes regret selling it, but I had too many pieces and needed to thin the herd.

Cheers
 
J English said:
I need to test my 330b down at work, there is a very soft pop/thunk when I power it on. I have a multimeter on the way so I can check for direct current leakage at the speaker terminals. Does anyone know if the 330b has a protection circuit? Are there offset adjustments that I can have my tech make if there is a problem?

It's a good unit otherwise, I am hearing no distortion at low or high volumes. I do get a very slight amount of low hiss, which I understand is probably due to some aging resistors.
Click to expand...

If the 330b is like my 330, its capacitor coupled, and that is normal.

I haven't heard the 330b, but I really like my little Three Thirty. It does a great job.
 
Finally measured the HK 330B with a multimeter yesterday...got some high readings, but I don't really understand "capacitor coupled output". Could someone explain to me?

With the receiver powered up for a time, I get readings of .47 - .51 on the 2v scale.

Is that cause for concern? Should I get an 8 ohm resistor across the terminals and retest?

I have two of these, and got very similar readings. Yet I hear no distortion at all when the units are playing. One of them has a higher hiss level in stereo than in mono, which I understand may be transistor aging issues?

Thanks for any advice so I can have a more informed conversation with my local tech...
 
Bump for this. Anyone know if these readings are normal for the 330b? I want to be sure I am not putting speakers and other elements at risk. Or, do I need to put a sample 8 ohm load across each channel and re-test?
 
A capacitor coupled amp works in a way that it is not possible for it to swing to the negative half of an audio signal. So, in order to get the negative half, it is run at a voltage halfway between the max voltage and 0v, and then a capacitor is used to remove that DC voltage, allowing it to swing into the negative half of the signal. When you turn it on, the capacitor has to charge up to that voltage before it works, and so you get a thump. The voltage you measured on the output isn't going to work quite the same way as with a direct coupled amp, as the capacitor filters out the DC voltage. You should be fine.


That is, of course, assuming the 330b is a capacitor coupled amp...
 
This thread has legs because the 330B was an outstanding performer...beating stuff costing 3-5 times more money. i would be very careful recapping that thing. It cannot be improved by pseudo technicians that think they can improve on the original design with some exotics or high end capacitors and condensors etc. I would not send one out for restoration unless I got the tech to sign in blood that he would stick with the original schematics and type of electronics........ replacement parts are important. What is amazing is how many are still around in original condition, working like new...after all these years of oxidation. I never would have known about the 330B (I do not think the 330 and 330C sound anything like it...and the 330c does not have pre- amp ..amp...loop pin connectors.) except I had a amp failure once and the used audio outlet mgr went looking for anything with loop pins he could pawn on to me to temporarily meet my needs....and there...the 330B ...where you can seperate the amp from the pre-amp externally. Later, I had a Luxman R-361 with a great line level pre out, I charged four cat5 wire going to four rooms with. Then I had 330B in each of the four rooms picking up the signal from the central Luxman. The sound was outstanding. Oh, i got lucky and got four pairs of Pinncale PN5+ to put into each of those rooms. Did you ever hear those things ? Tiny little two ways that went 45-20000hz +_3....FLAT!! LOTSSA BASS! SUBWOOFER NOT NECESSARY. OVER PRODUCED, UNDER MARKETED...FINAL PRICE $99 PR NEW!! USED BY SOME RECORDING STUDIOS AS MONITORS!! There is no SMALL speaker made since that is almost full range and accurate regardless of price.
 
J English said:
Finally measured the HK 330B with a multimeter yesterday...got some high readings, but I don't really understand "capacitor coupled output". Could someone explain to me?

With the receiver powered up for a time, I get readings of .47 - .51 on the 2v scale.

Is that cause for concern? Should I get an 8 ohm resistor across the terminals and retest?

I have two of these, and got very similar readings. Yet I hear no distortion at all when the units are playing. One of them has a higher hiss level in stereo than in mono, which I understand may be transistor aging issues?

Thanks for any advice so I can have a more informed conversation with my local tech...
Click to expand...

Yep. Half a volt of offset is too much.
 
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