Harman Kardon Signature 1.5

Pycroft

I am eyeing up a Harman Kardon Signature 1.5 amp to power my Sony SS-M9's. It seems like it may work well, and I love my Harman Kardon AVR (Of course I know it's a differnt ballgame with the amp and avr, but it's a start). I couldn't find MUCH info online about hte map. I'm hoping someone here may have comments on it's build quality, sound quality, reliabilty, and how it may work paired with my Sony SS-M9's. Thanks,

James

billbillw

There is a bit of talk over at Audioasylum. At least one user was very happy with his. Some talk at AK as well. Like all internet talk, take it with a grain of salt. One thing to note, apparently HK was selling refurb versions of this amp for under $500 back in the early 2000's.

On a plus note, these were made in America, supposedly at Madrigal Labs (which is owned by Harman), the company behind Proceed and Mark Levinson.

http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=911&q=harman+%22signature+1.5%22+site:audioasylum.com&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=911&q=harman+%22signature+1.5%22+site:audiokarma.org&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

Of interest might be the gut shots here:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=209825

EDIT: I still think the price is too high. One sold on Ebay a few weeks ago for $350. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rt=nc&nma=true&item=180583228927&si=6VKTJ1xhK6dRvXObotQbwiS2h9w%253D&viewitem=#ht_500wt_1156

Pycroft

Regarding the 'refurb' versions, is there something bad about that? Is there somethign I should look for if they are refurb's or not? When I think refurb, I think there was something wrong with it, it was sent back to the company, and fixed with a warranty.

James

billbillw

Pycroft wrote: »

Regarding the 'refurb' versions, is there something bad about that? Is there somethign I should look for if they are refurb's or not? When I think refurb, I think there was something wrong with it, it was sent back to the company, and fixed with a warranty.

James

Nothing bad about refurbs IMHO. I buy them whenever the price is right. Point is, if they were selling for $500, you shouldn't be paying $700 for one 8 years later.

BTW, that one on Ebay for $350 was BRAND NEW in sealed box.

The only way I see that HK Signature being worth the $700 the Audiogon seller wants, is if you KNEW (from listening experience) that it was the last amp you were going to buy. Since you are unsure, and the true value seems to be unknown (or most likely lower), I would not buy it for anything more than $500. Of course, the seller probably won't budge for a week or more.

billbillw

OK, you know what, I found another completed Ebay auction for $312.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260669365948&nma=true&rt=nc&si=6VKTJ1xhK6dRvXObotQbwiS2h9w%253D#ht_500wt_1156

Maybe you can forward some of these to the seller and get him to rethink his price.

Honestly, truly great amps don't sell for this cheap, no matter how obscure they are. I'd keep looking.