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sherwood s7000 vs Harmon Kardon festival (II)

jeffhamman

Active Member
Looking at buying a vintage early 60s tube receiver,Ive narrowed the choices to a Harmon Kardon TA 230-260 Festival or a Sherwood s7000-8000. They seem to pop up on ebay frequently. These should be close in specs, anyone have any thoughts. I think this would be a good starter receiver. Ive been into tube amps for several years,just never had a receiver. Any advice would be appreciated, 30-35 wpc is what Im looking for.
 
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The TA-230 has 6V6 tubes as the outputs; so, while 6V6s are a great sounding tube, it won't deliver 30 watts/channel. The TA-260 has 7355 tubes and the S-7000, S-7700 and S-8000 receivers use 7868 or 7591 tubes and all these should be more in line with your power requirements.

The H/K is a bigger unit vs. the relatively compact Sherwoods and so is perhaps a little easier to work on. I like the 7355 tube sound but it is not in current manufacture and old stock are not exactly plentiful. However, there is a 7591xyz (not a regular 7591) that can be used in place of the 7355 and is available relatively inexpensively. It is a larger tube than the 7355 but will fit in the TA-260. The receiver could also be modified for 6L6 tubes.

The Sherwood receivers are more compact and getting the output tubes in an out can be a bit awkward but they are definitely good sounding when restored to spec. The painted front panel of the Sherwood is sometimes an issue if you are concerned with cosmetics. Many have areas of the paint worn through, usually around the volume and source select knobs.

IMO, these are all very nice sounding and worth restoring and they do seem to be a good value in comparison to the generally more costly Fisher, Scott, Pilot etc. brands.

Good luck with your search.
 
Leaning towards the HK 260

Larger and easier to work on. I like the looks of the ta260 a little better anyway. thanks for the tips on the 7355xyz tube. or converting to 6l6. Ive got several of those laying around. I guess these receivers use solid state rectifiers? Is there any advantages from the Sherwood 8000 from the 7000 series?
 
The S-8000 is FM only whereas the S-7700 is AM & FM. So, the S-7700 has the extra feature but additional complexity/components.
 
Hiya,

Sherwood all the way for reasons stated in this thread. I also think they look better as well assuming cosmetics are good. HK stuff just looks a little too industrial for my taste.

Frannie
 
If you go the Sherwood route, I can e-mail you docs on both the 8000 and 7700.

Buzz
 
After hearing the HK A500 (later integrated amp, also 7355), and the Sherwood 8000-IV, both restored (by me)... I don't know which one I'd rationally pick. They're both incredible sounding amps. Great bass, great dynamics.

If pressed, I'd probably take the Sherwood, I guess...

Regards,
Gordon.
 
Good advice Gordon

Thanks for your honest opinion,glad to hear from you, you know your stuff,i will continue to look for either one. I was glad to find out that one only had fm. thats fine with me.
 
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