new hk integrated 980

jimmytwos

jimmytwos

New Member
it's been a while since i posted here, just got a new harmon kardon hk980 amp!
my arcam A65plus refused to work properly, so i bought a cambridge 640A which was fine but it just didnt sound right in my system, which is arcam cd 73 and t51 tuner and project tt through rega EL8 speakers.

so i decided to take it back and ended up with a harmon kardon hk980.
i got it at a discount as it was open box, i did some web searching before i bought it and the few reveiws i found were positive, so i thought i would just buy it until i could afford something better(after christmas)!

anyway i have to say that its a very very good sounding amp! im quite suprised how good it is, i've been missing out! its also made quite well, with a large transformer and apparently discrete component circuitry-to quote the manual
it sounds great and also looks great which scores points with the girlfriend:thmbsp:, she's always listening to "her" music on the system but always been critical of my stacks and racks of "ugly" boxes!

here's some crappy phone camera pictures
 

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thanks for the comments, i think it may be euro only which is a bit odd as i thought harmon was a US brand? the only negative i can say is that the remote is horrible! it reminds me of a cheap supermarket dvd remote, and the layout is almost random, the amp controls are at the top, cd controls in the middle and tuner at the bottom, but the amp muting button is in the bottom corner????

its weird as the amp looks good, the remote it seems is an afterthought.

MM phono- 80 WATTS per channel *both channels driven*
 
In the US, I think the 3390 receiver has pretty much the same specs as the integrated amp. I have given a 3480 (previous version of 3490 120w/ch) to my youngest son and it gives a typical great HK performance on vinyl and CD.
 
just hooked the HK up to some redundant missions and they pretty much gave up at -12db,(woofers blown- farting) although according to the volume knob, you can go to 0-db and then +10db????!!!!
i dont think my rega's will handle this amp, im thinking i need some speakers that can take more power, the HK manual says 80wpc, but i honestly think that the volume readout has no actual accuracy, it sounded much more than 80wpc through those little missions. i think this thing is pushing alot more current than quoted?
the missions (were) m71i 25-75 wpc into 8 ohms, i quite liked them, lesson learned!
any speaker recomendations ????
 
jimmytwos said:
just hooked the HK up to some redundant missions and they pretty much gave up at -12db,(woofers blown- farting) although according to the volume knob, you can go to 0-db and then +10db????!!!!
i dont think my rega's will handle this amp, im thinking i need some speakers that can take more power, the HK manual says 80wpc, but i honestly think that the volume readout has no actual accuracy, it sounded much more than 80wpc through those little missions. i think this thing is pushing alot more current than quoted?
the missions (were) m71i 25-75 wpc into 8 ohms, i quite liked them, lesson learned!
any speaker recomendations ????
Click to expand...

The volume control reference/calibration will be only somewhat close to representing rated power with a very specific input level and speaker impedance.

In other words, 0dB represents 80W with 270mV signal input and 8 ohm load. But, if the input signal was 1V instead of 270mV, 80W would be represented by roughly -11dB on the volume control. It's not uncommon for CD players to have around 2V of output. In that case, 80W would be roughly -17dB on the volume control.

By the same token, say the input signal was lower, like 100mV, then 80W would be represented by about +9dB on the volume control.

Oh, yeah...amps don't push current. They "push" voltage and current flows based on the voltage and speaker impedance.

EDIT: Updated with what appears to be the actual numbers for the 980.
 
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Hi. I was basically looking for something very much like this integrated HK.

If anyone finds out where to get one in the US...please PM me if I'm not violating an Audiokarma policy by saying that.

I've never seen this integrated unit anywhere.

The 3390 has the same specs?

LouLoomis
 
You can find the 980 in the H/K support section, but it appears to be an overseas model so you probably can't get it here unless you purchased it gray market or something like that. I didn't double check, but I thought it said 230V operation on the 980.
 
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Clmrt said:
Who says you have to crank it?

Wasn't it louder than hell when you did that?
Click to expand...

i don't normally play music very loud, but loud enough so as not to annoy the neighbours, as i live in a flat. i suppose i just wanted to test the amp. it was really loud but not ear splitting.

but the little missions seemed ok when i played them, i think what i thought was the cones farting was actually the bass port "chuffing" . the reason i used the missions was i got them off flebay, the seller said they were "mint". they were not, someone had covered them in rosewood effect vinyl to hide the fact that at some point they had fallen from a height and had the front baffles re-attached:sigh: i would never abuse my rega's like that though as they seem pretty fragile.
 
Sorry for bumping an old thread, but i have an issue with my newly bought HK980 - it clicks(well speakers do) each time I change input, and when you change volume (up or down) a very low level buzz is coming out of the speakers as well. I assume I got a bad unit, right? At leas the Clicking when the Input is changed is a fail for sure, what I am more interested, is the noise when turning the volume up and down - is it a sloppy design or it is my crappy unit?:scratch2:
 
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