Which harman/kardon amp(s) would you choose?
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silvernutsaq
Visiting Martian
Some very nice units to choose from on the list. I have owned the HK 725/770, PM655, HK775 monoblocks, Citation Eleven, and Citation A. After lusting for a Citation Sixteen for several years, I finally found one locally and have it running in my main system driving a set of Dahlquist DQM-9 as secondary speakers. The Sixteen is connected to a McIntosh C46, though it would pair nicely with either the Citation Eleven or Citation A. The 775s really lacked nothing, but the Sixteen brings even more.
The Sixteen is a robust power amp, and I had it on my radar over the Nineteen because a)more powerful b)protection circuitry for the outputs c)looks much better to me (black /silver with heavy duty handles and unique angled meters). Both the Eleven and Seventeen preamps are similar in design and sound great, but the true performer is the Citation A, which was developed by Stuart Hegeman and his team of engineers as a SS alternativeto the Citation 1. They are much rarer however; along with the associated unfamiliarity of the circuitry, compared to the Citation tube pres, the 1&4.
So which system? I'd go for a Citation Sixteen paired with the Eleven or Seventeen, but if you want to go with a more modest system, a 655/665 integrated amp is plenty sufficient in quality, plus it has MC input and adjustable phono capacitance. You just have to deal with those sometimes noisy push-button switches.
The Sixteen is a robust power amp, and I had it on my radar over the Nineteen because a)more powerful b)protection circuitry for the outputs c)looks much better to me (black /silver with heavy duty handles and unique angled meters). Both the Eleven and Seventeen preamps are similar in design and sound great, but the true performer is the Citation A, which was developed by Stuart Hegeman and his team of engineers as a SS alternativeto the Citation 1. They are much rarer however; along with the associated unfamiliarity of the circuitry, compared to the Citation tube pres, the 1&4.
So which system? I'd go for a Citation Sixteen paired with the Eleven or Seventeen, but if you want to go with a more modest system, a 655/665 integrated amp is plenty sufficient in quality, plus it has MC input and adjustable phono capacitance. You just have to deal with those sometimes noisy push-button switches.
divergentcrl
New Member
Here is a Harman/Kardon Citation 16as inside and out. This unit is a monster: dual mono, 10 power transistors per side, 150 Watts per channel (at least). I have a Parasound Zpre2 preamp controlling everything. The amp is pushing a pair of Polk Audio RTA 8t speakers rated at 250 Watts that someone gave me (clearing out the garage, he said). They really like the power. Headroom is ridiculous for the listening area. As you can see, this is a no frills amp. It has a power switch and two pilot lights on the front. A friend of mine insisted that I buy it from him and I'm not sorry. This guy says it better than I.
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mfaz28
Active Member
All great choices. Every company ran the good to great (& occasionally mediocre) roller coaster. A long time ago I remember reading something about a HK representative stating that in the late 70’s that the Hk505 was technically superior to other components that were next in line for engineering updates. During that era, HK was trying, quite successfully (eg: citation 20) to complete with the best period components available. There were a few succeeding years that the effort was still viable. The search is half the fun. Enjoy.