Harman Kardon 3490

rpalme1
rpalme1 Posts: 34
edited July 2012 in 2 Channel Audio
Got a new 3490 yesterday from J&R. Swapped out a Pioneer VSX 1120 and a Acurus 200 X3 for it. Running Monitor 70's and 2 PSW 505's and couldn't be happier. Can not imagine what you guys rigs with real equipment sounds like.
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  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,590
    edited July 2012
    rpalme1 wrote: »
    Got a new 3490 yesterday from J&R. Swapped out a Pioneer VSX 1120 and a Acurus 200 X3 for it. Running Monitor 70's and 2 PSW 505's and couldn't be happier. Can not imagine what you guys rigs with real equipment sounds like.

    That Acurus is no slouch either. With that said the HK is a very good integrated if your doing music only. I sold mine recently ONLY because I dont need 3 recievers in the house :biggrin:.
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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  • cnh
    cnh Posts: 13,284
    edited July 2012
    EndersShadow wrote: »
    That Acurus is no slouch either. With that said the HK is a very good integrated if your doing music only. I sold mine recently ONLY because I dont need 3 recievers in the house :biggrin:.

    You don't? Let me see. I have an AVR in the TV room. Another secondary HT in the basement. An Onkyo 604 as my bedroom system. A Denon in my office. And about a half dozen vintage receivers from Pioneer, Marantz, HK, Technics, Realistic, Yamaha, Sansui, Kenwood, JVC (have I missed a silver face there?). Yeah, my wife thinks I'm bonkers!

    Appropriate comment should have been, "I 'only' had 3 receivers in the house, sigh!"

    HK 3490? Yeah, I have one of those too and now you're making me think I should hook it up to my M-70s just to see what that sounds like!

    cnh
    Currently orbiting Bowie's Blackstar.!

    Polk Lsi-7s, Def Tech 8" sub, HK 3490, HK HD 990 (CDP/DAC), AKG Q701s
    [sig. changed on a monthly basis as I rotate in and out of my stash]
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  • TNHNDYMAN
    TNHNDYMAN Posts: 2,145
    edited July 2012
    EndersShadow wrote: »
    That Acurus is no slouch either. With that said the HK is a very good integrated if your doing music only. I sold mine recently ONLY because I dont need 3 recievers in the house :biggrin:.

    only 3- you must not even like music ... slacker
    2-ch System: Parasound P/LD 2000 pre, Parasound HCA-1000 amp, Parasound T/DQ Tuner, Phase Technology PC-100 Tower speakers, Technics SL-1600 Turntable, Denon 2910 SACD/CD player, Peachtree DAC iT and X1asynchorus USB converter, HSU VTF-3 subwoofer.

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  • TNHNDYMAN
    TNHNDYMAN Posts: 2,145
    edited July 2012
    Actually just counted, and I can see 14 in my den/dining combo.:eek: If anyone calls hoarders tv show, I'll send them to your house next.

    I'd actually like to hear the HK 3490 heard alot of good reports about it.
    2-ch System: Parasound P/LD 2000 pre, Parasound HCA-1000 amp, Parasound T/DQ Tuner, Phase Technology PC-100 Tower speakers, Technics SL-1600 Turntable, Denon 2910 SACD/CD player, Peachtree DAC iT and X1asynchorus USB converter, HSU VTF-3 subwoofer.

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  • rpalme1
    rpalme1 Posts: 34
    edited July 2012
    EndersShadow wrote: »
    That Acurus is no slouch either. With that said the HK is a very good integrated if your doing music only. I sold mine recently ONLY because I dont need 3 recievers in the house :biggrin:.

    I think there is something wrong with my Acurus, music was real bright/harsh when I used it almost hurts at higher volume. I guess it might need checked out.
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  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,590
    edited July 2012
    TNHNDYMAN wrote: »
    only 3- you must not even like music ... slacker

    LOL.... I like music, but not having to switch in and out gear. :biggrin:
    TNHNDYMAN wrote: »
    Actually just counted, and I can see 14 in my den/dining combo.:eek: If anyone calls hoarders tv show, I'll send them to your house next.

    LOL.... Nice. Once I start with my 2 channel rig I hope to acquire a nice Marantz, SS and a tubed amp or two.... but I'm a youngin so I got time.....
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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  • NewHTguy
    NewHTguy Posts: 584
    edited July 2012
    rpalme1 wrote: »
    Got a new 3490 yesterday from J&R. Swapped out a Pioneer VSX 1120 and a Acurus 200 X3 for it. Running Monitor 70's and 2 PSW 505's and couldn't be happier. Can not imagine what you guys rigs with real equipment sounds like.

    That's a lot of bass! Don't underestimate the HK3490. IMHO, it is a really good value buy for a 2-channel rig. There aren't too many speakers it can't drive fairly well at moderate levels. It drove my Lsi7s quite well. Congrats and glad you're having fun with it!
    MAIN: Polk Lsi9s; Polk PSW505; Lsic (in box); Onkyo SR-875; Parasound 2250; Cambridge Audio 740C; LG BD370
    OFFICE: Polk Lsi7; REL T3; HK 3490; CA 840W; Onkyo C-S5VL
    BENCHED: CS20; OWM3s
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  • lanchile
    lanchile Posts: 560
    edited July 2012
    rpalme1 wrote: »
    I think there is something wrong with my Acurus, music was real bright/harsh when I used it almost hurts at higher volume. I guess it might need checked out.
    The Acurus is really good, I would check the bias on the Acurus, they are set too low, bring them up to 15 millivolt at least and it will sound way better. These Acurus amps with a few changes will outperform most of today amps. they are very well build too.
    Make it simple...Make it better!
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  • hertz9753
    hertz9753 Posts: 310
    edited July 2012
    rpalme1 wrote: »
    Got a new 3490 yesterday from J&R. Swapped out a Pioneer VSX 1120 and a Acurus 200 X3 for it. Running Monitor 70's and 2 PSW 505's and couldn't be happier. Can not imagine what you guys rigs with real equipment sounds like.

    I also own a H/K 3490. The watts claimed by that receiver are actually what you get. :cool:
    cnh wrote: »
    You don't? Let me see. I have an AVR in the TV room. Another secondary HT in the basement. An Onkyo 604 as my bedroom system. A Denon in my office. And about a half dozen vintage receivers from Pioneer, Marantz, HK, Technics, Realistic, Yamaha, Sansui, Kenwood, JVC (have I missed a silver face there?). Yeah, my wife thinks I'm bonkers!

    Appropriate comment should have been, "I 'only' had 3 receivers in the house, sigh!"

    HK 3490? Yeah, I have one of those too and now you're making me think I should hook it up to my M-70s just to see what that sounds like!

    cnh

    You teased me with the same thing when I asked about the H/K 3490 and my M70's. :razz:

    I tried it myself and the combo sounded really good. Since I had all the wires and cables right there, I decided to add my Adcom GFA-555, using the 3490 as the pre amp...

    :wink:
    AVR-Onkyo TX-NR808
    Front amp-Adcom GFA 555>Polk Audio LSi9's(Vr3 Castle Mods)
    Center amp-Adcom GFA 5400>Polk Audio LSi9 bi-wired(Vr3 Castle Mod)
    Surrounds-Polk Audio F/X500's<Onkyo TX-NR808
    Sub-Velodyne SPL-1000R
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  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,590
    edited July 2012
    cnh wrote: »
    You don't? Let me see. I have an AVR in the TV room. Another secondary HT in the basement. An Onkyo 604 as my bedroom system. A Denon in my office. And about a half dozen vintage receivers from Pioneer, Marantz, HK, Technics, Realistic, Yamaha, Sansui, Kenwood, JVC (have I missed a silver face there?). Yeah, my wife thinks I'm bonkers!

    Appropriate comment should have been, "I 'only' had 3 receivers in the house, sigh!"

    LOL... I spend very little to no time in the bedroom listening to music or watching TV so the TV speakers are fine. The wife watches mostly her Housewives and Lifetime movies in there so I REALLY dont want to be able to crank it lol...

    I am upgrading to a Onkyo 809 or 709 shortly downstairs and either moving the Integra upstairs into the office or selling it. I haven't hooked up the Monitor 60's I have in the office since we moved (April) so might even end up selling the speakers...

    At my work I have a vintage R-300 I am using to drive headphones and that will stay for a long time :)

    As I don't have a basement and haven't started building my really good 2 channel rig yet, I don't need the vintage stereo receivers.... plan on picking up one or two though.

    That Onkyo I lost was sure darned pretty :sad:

    So for me I am going all in to build a really nice HT setup that works decent for music till we get a bigger place that I can have a dedicated space in to hoard speakers and receivers at will :smile:

    But I will always remember my HK 3490. It seriously impressed me!
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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  • rpalme1
    rpalme1 Posts: 34
    edited July 2012
    lanchile wrote: »
    The Acurus is really good, I would check the bias on the Acurus, they are set too low, bring them up to 15 millivolt at least and it will sound way better. These Acurus amps with a few changes will outperform most of today amps. they are very well build too.
    After a quick Google search to figure out what you were even talking about I think that is over my head!
    I will try to find someone to repair it. Thanks
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  • styx
    styx Posts: 37
    edited July 2012
    Running Monitor 70's and 2 PSW 505's and couldn't be happier.


    Been running a similiar setup for a few years and have been completely happy with it. The HK 3490 is a great little receiver.
    Styx

    Condo: HK-3490, HK Bridge II, HK BTA-10 Polk TSx500T's
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  • kappclark
    kappclark Posts: 136
    edited July 2012
    rpalme1 wrote: »
    Got a new 3490 yesterday from J&R. Swapped out a Pioneer VSX 1120 and a Acurus 200 X3 for it. Running Monitor 70's and 2 PSW 505's and couldn't be happier. Can not imagine what you guys rigs with real equipment sounds like.

    I have a 3480, and use it as a pre-amd for a parasound power amp, driving monitor 70's..looks like we have some items in common :cheesygrin:

    The 70's are so easy to drive , I just love them, and the price was super low via polk direct/ebay
    *************************
    ** Bill Clark Windham, VT **
    *************************
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  • rpalme1
    rpalme1 Posts: 34
    edited July 2012
    I need to stay off this forum. Almost bought Monitor 10B's today but was scared of the upgrade costs, now the LSI 15's are yelling loudly at me from the Polk EBAY page. Wish I could just be happy with what I have.
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  • pyrocyborg
    pyrocyborg Posts: 524
    edited July 2012
    rpalme1 wrote: »
    Got a new 3490 yesterday from J&R. Swapped out a Pioneer VSX 1120 and a Acurus 200 X3 for it. Running Monitor 70's and 2 PSW 505's and couldn't be happier. Can not imagine what you guys rigs with real equipment sounds like.

    Well, the HK3490 is a great piece of equipment for it's price! I would qualify it as "real equipment" as, to quote someone else, it punches way higher than it's price might suggest... :wink:

    Try to stay happy with your system as long as you can... :smile:
    Speakers: Polk Audio LSiM 705, LSiM 703, LSiM 704c
    Receiver: Denon X3500H
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  • gmjungbluth
    gmjungbluth Posts: 232
    edited July 2012
    I have the 3380 - I find it a really classy rig - powerful, full sound and very versatile. It works great with vintage gear too - my Pioneer HPM-100s absolutely sang!
    HT System:
    Marantz NR-1403
    Front: Klipsch CF-4
    Rear: Paradigm Atom V3
    Center: Boston Acoustic VR12
    Sub: Bowers & Wilkins ASW600

    2Ch:
    Restored Fisher 500C
    Yamaha P-500 Turntable

    Living Room:
    Harman Kardon 3380
    Restored Polk Monitor 7B

    Bedroom:
    Harman Kardon VR-3750
    Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble
    Polk PSW10

    In and out of rotation:
    KLH Model 6,
    Polk LSI7
    NAD 7100
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