- 150W x 2 into 8 ohms, 20Hz ? 20kHz, at <0.07% THD, with all channels driven simultaneously
- High-current (±200 amps), ultrawide-bandwidth (10Hz ? 100kHz) amplifier design
- High-current capability provides the instantaneous current necessary to precisely drive and control nearly any loudspeaker system
- Dual-line dot-matrix display
About a year ago I upgraded my speakers from a set of so-so Infinity speakers (which were nicer than your typical person's speakers but certainly not audiophile stuff). I invested about $3800 in a set of Paradigm Studio 100s and a Paradigm DSP 3100 subwoofer. Amazing, unbelievable speakers that still leave me awestruck a year later. If you can afford it (which you probably can if you're looking at this) and you're in the market for speakers DON'T OVERLOOK PARADIGM. They really are jaw-dropping.
My problem was that these are large speakers 5 drivers each. So my Harman Kardon AVR40 just wasn't doing the job. It's a good sounding amp but nowhere near the class of my speakers. So I have been waiting until I had some cash to upgrade my amp. My plan had been to purchase a power amp and just run from the preamp outs of the AVR40 to the new power amp. I had set my sights on the Emotiva XPA-2. Read nothing but great things about it and the price was right. But through a family member who works for Harman Int'l I discovered I was able to get HK at a discount. So I decided to go with this, based primarily on the existing reviews and the bang for my buck.
Here are my initial impressions:
PRO
High frequency. The improvement in top end is dramatic. Especially given the capability of my speakers, the airy, open, bright, crystal clear top end is stunning. The kids and I were watching "Young Justice" last night on Cartoon Network. The voices and sound effects just sounded unbelievable. I've never ever on any stereo anywhere heard the clarity I'm now getting. Even my wife NOT an audiophile said "Wow that really sounds good."
PLENTY of power.
Flexible set up options. Lots of inputs including digital and XLR, which can be routed to any of the sources.
A plethora of EQ options, which can be individually set on each input source. So you can run one source to bypass EQ, one to use an automatic EQ setting, one to a set of manually chosen options.
Room correction. It has a mic which you use in four different places to run an a set of auto EQ parameters. Never had an amp with that before.
Awesome looks.
CON
Documentation is inadequate. Given the massive variety of options, the instructions are pretty scant. For example it explains that you can manually set EQ but doesn't explain how to do that. It doesn't explain how to route inputs. There really should be a flowchart that explains the menu system and where to go for each function.
The high frequency can actually be a little overwhelming. Not let me hasten to add that my ears are getting used to it, I haven't spent a whole lot of time with it. And there's always an adjustment period. But some people might consider it a little overly bright I think.
Midrange. Again let me add the caveat that perhaps my previous, cheaper amp OVERemphasized middle frequencies. But I feel like voices, electric guitars, snare drums, and toms are maybe lacking a little punch that I like in the 1-2 khz range. This is extremely subjective, so this may not be a good criticism. It's just different. If I was describing the mid-range I wouldn't call it "muscular."
Manual EQ options. As far as I can tell (and it's hard to tell because the documentation is not very detailed and the menu interface is not super intuitive) the manual EQ options are limited to bass, treble, subwoofer level, and subwoofer crossover frequency. When you pay $2000+ for an amp you expect the EQ options to be a little more specific than bass and treble.
Tuner. There isn't one. This is really not a criticism so much as just pointing out something that I didn't notice before ordering. I have my previous amp with tuner, I can just run that into the "processor" input on the HK990. But if you want to use a tuner you'll need to plan extra room for it in addition to the amp.
CONCLUSION
I'm not going to give you a "bottom line" cuz it's too subjective. It might be the perfect amp for you. Or maybe not. I will set myself a calendar reminder to update my review on Jan 1st. At that point I will have had time to do some extensive listening and for my ears to adjust.
1/8/12 UPDATE...
So I've been listening like crazy over the last 3-4 weeks. Here are my additional thoughts:
Clarity it's just unreal. I brought a friend over to hear it. He's a musician hi/fi guy. After a few minutes listening the first thing he said was "wow the clarity is really surprising." I remind you that this amp is paired with a set of world class (IMO) speakers but again if you're considering this piece of gear you probably have nice stuff, too. I think I have reached the point of diminishing returns. I could try more amps, replace cables, etc., but it's hard to imagine the clarity of sound getting much better. I can only imagine what it would sound like if I hadn't abused my ears so much in my youth and permanently damaged them. (Let that be a warning to all you young'uns!)
High frequency I think the honest truth is I was just getting to used to hearing what was really supposed to be there all along.
The midrange thing I still say there are times when I feel like the midrange is a little too ... underemphasized maybe? I just wish I had a little more precision with the EQ. As I mentioned above, the manual EQ options are more or less blunt force objects: "bass" and "treble."
The EQ and room correction modes so basically you have a couple options. (1) You can bypass the EQ for "direct path." (2) You can manually set the EQ (which is just high, low, sub-woofer crossover and level. And (3) you can use one of several EZset EQ options that involve hi/mid/lo settings based on the room correction reading. Personally I don't care for the choices the EZset EQ makes any of them. And it's hard for me to explain what it is I don't like about the direct path mode. Direct path just feels a little too raw and unrefined. Maybe that's the idea. I have found with my particular speaker/room set up that I prefer the manual mode with bass boosted +2, treble flat, and sub crossover at 90 kHz.
BLU-RAY! So as much as I'm a music enthusiast and that's primarily what my system is for, we also have our main TV/cable/blu-ray set up on it. The boys and I were watching "Super 8" on blu-ray. There's a big train wreck scene early on in the movie. We had it turned up pretty loud and HOLY MOTHER there are all these pieces of metal and stuff that go flying all over in the movie. I swear it sounded like they were landing on the floor in my living room. And with my Paradigm subwoofer boy you could really feel it. It was the most glorious movie sound I've ever heard! We had to rewind it and watch it again cuz it was so amazing. Explosion sounds can really test the limitations of a sound system. I have never heard such super clear, uncompressed explosions. Just rich sound that blossomed and trailed off so clearly. Ok, enough about that ... It was awesome!
It's a Keeper. When I bought it, because of my discount I figured if I didn't like it I could turn around and sell it without losing anything because it's a new model and all. No way man! I'm keeping it.
Buy Harman Kardon HK990 2x150 Watt 2.2-Channel Stereo Integrated Amplifier (Black) Now
I purchased this item in October 2011 and connected it to my Pioneer multi-CD player and Phillips 4 ohm speakers via a digital cable. The sound is excellent. Also, I had to contact the manufacturer for help setting it up and found that HK customer service was superior.First time owning Harman Kardon product and i love it.The HK990 is amazing with its 150 watts of power but
seems to be more on hand what was specified.The bass
is incredible and midrange is sweet also the treble
is better than my M15hd.I hook my ATC SCM19 to this
amp and it is delicious despite my speakers screaming
for 300 watts the HK990 is more than capable of delivering
the power.
Great amp with a beautiful,almost neutral sound that
has captivated me and has made me a Harman Kardon fan.
Just remove the cheesy aluminum veneer on the bottom
section and replace it with real aluminum.It would be
fitting for a product of this quality sound to have
the aesthetics to match.
Want Harman Kardon HK990 2x150 Watt 2.2-Channel Stereo Integrated Amplifier (Black) Discount?
I dont write many reviews, but im compelled to do this one since im so impressed with the HK990.I recently got into Hifi about 6 months ago. Like anything i do, i get a little obsessed. I went and bought an NAD 375bee amp for about 1300 dollars. It was ok but I It wasn't really satisfied. Sound was colored with warmth and crisp extended highs were missing. I was wanting something more so i went and bought a Roksan M2 amp (rated #1 amp for 2011 in the 2000 dollar range from whathifi reviews in England) It was very cold and didnt get any emotion out of the music at all. I hated it .
I then grew frustrated and decided to get a more expensive music fidelity M6i at 3000 dollars! ( had great reviews) It was amazing because it was my 1st dual mono amp. It was very punchy, smooth and eerily quiet, but still the sound was slightly dry and missing a little life. Highs weren't as extended as i hoped.
"I was now very upset! I had to sell all these amps and start again."
Now, After doing tons of research and reading a dozen rave! reviews , i went and bought a 6000 dollar NAD M2 digital amp. I immediately noticed that it had very weak bass and its highes were flat. Music had no body. Weird, since reviews were outstanding. This amp sucked. It was not musical in any way.! It was not even as good as the cheaper Nad 375bee.
I saw a couple of reviews on the HK990 that said the music was very CRISP and bass was tight and well extended. So after reading all the reviews and looking the amazing specs i once again convinced myseld the this Amp was the HOLY GRAIL. The first surprise was that when i get this amp delivered i can barely lift it. The package was over 60 lbs! This amp is a beast! Its larger than any of the amps ive previously owned. I guess bigger is better! I was having thoughts as i was lugging this thing that it will probably sound like the crap the peddle at best buy. like a pioneer or yamaha or denon, or marantz.
So i turn it on and run the amp for 12 hours to break it in ( as all class a/b amps sound very harsh out of he box ) After 12 hours i sat down and i was awestruck! The sound emanating was glorious and outclassed everything ive owned to date, Just to make sure i re-hooked up my NAD m2 and confirmed it was crap. My nephew agreed with me.
(on a side note i was told my someone else who has this
amp that it keeps getting better after 3 weeks of constant use. Mine is only 2 days old so far. I cant imagine it getting better )
So how do i describe the sound of this amp. ?
Super Silky mid range ( voices ) , Crisp and extended highs. Super tight bass. I found myself going through my CD collection and listening to songs i rarely listen to. Audio NIRVANA!
My source is an OPPO BD-95 CD player, and an ONKYO ND-1 ipod transport using my iphone 4s with lossless music files (best transport ive heard by far). The onkyo transport hooks up to HK with a toslink or coaxial to straight the back of the amp. Make sure you use good cables and wires. They do make a difference. Audioquest makes good speaker cables and interconnects. I would uses nothing less than Audioquest type 4 speaker cable and a transparent brand toslink cable. The stock cheap RCA's this amp comes with are a joke and really dont let the HK990 perform in any way. (DO NOT USE THESE CHEAP CABLES).
I hope this review saves new and upcoming audiophiles lots of money and time. ;-)
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Bought this amp for about a year now. This amp is used to play CD (and SACD) by a Sony SACD player (scd-xa5400es), driving a pair of Gallo Ref 3.5.Typical of a dual-mono amp, which has two transformers (one for channel), the sound is very smooth. The power is more than adequate, and the details are also great. This amp helps elminating the hardware from the sound, so you can concentrate on the material (usually music, but sometimes video also) being played, rather than thinking about if how good or bad the sound is.
This is what I mean by disappearing in the music.
Pro:
1 Smooth and clean sound.
2 More adequate power.
3 Crystal clear, transparent sound.
4 Very cool and designer look.
Con:
1 Lacking the sense of 'Air' compared with playback from vacuum-tube gear.
2 Forget about the built-in auto equalisation function, the software marginal.
3 Not the quietest amp. Harmon should have shielded the transformers.
4 The US price is much higher than that in the UK.
5 The sound could have been better (and better pricing, too) if some of the extra functiionality (but useless) is omitted, eg the auto equalisation.
6 Owner's handbook useless.
Not the ultimate audiophile amp, or the cheapest. But if you are a music lover and just want your stereo to play your music faithfully and stay out of the way of the music, this is the amp to get.
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