Harman Kardon stereo receiver - HK 3490
The first thing that catches the eye after taking it out the receiver of cardboard is its size and appearance. A large, massive, over 10-kilo block, with an interesting modern design, which may be liked by some, but not by others. The appearance and modern, interesting design of the product will definitely stand out from the competition. The front is divided into two halves, one is a black display element, the other is an imitation of brushed aluminum.
Characteristic here are the digital volume potentiometer with milky white backlight, the text on the display is also illuminated in the same color, and the device on / off button (power on / off). There are two plug-in plugs on the front panel with Video and Video 3 outputs, low and high frequency potentiometers and speaker balance settings. HK 3490 is a modernized design of the older brother HK 3380 enriched with a number of technological innovations. Returning to the digital volume control potentiometer, it should be added that the manufacturer did not take care of erasing the last volume setting from the device's memory, which is dangerous when changing the loudspeakers, and can scare and surprise when, for example, during the day we are tempted to listen to loud listening from which we can quit by pressing the on / off button. Restarting the device, e.g. at night, where we finished listening to the radio loudly, starts the device with the saved memory. The radio with the last volume level may surprise us unpleasantly in the evening, and changing the loudspeakers with lower power may damage the speakers. The volume control is quite slow and prevents you from immediately muting the device by turning the volume knob in no time. The display has the function of a 3-stage brightness setting, normal daylight clear backlight, dimmed, and complete display off with a volume control. The rear panel has screw terminals for connecting speakers, allowing for convenient connection of banana plugs. The color coding of plastic terminals that are next to each other may be confusing .
They are marked with three colors, black, red and white. The black and red plugs are positioned one above the other, and the black and white terminals are also positioned. This may suggest that the first pair for connecting cables from the loudspeakers is marked with the same color. This is not the case, unfortunately, the A loudspeaker output is marked with white (+) and black (-) for one loudspeaker and red (+) and black (-) for the other loudspeaker. The American Harman Kardon produced in Korea and China has a built-in digital-to-analog converter, the so-called DAC (Digital to Analog Converter). Equipped with optical digital output and digital coaxial output. The AKM4589VQ and CS48560 by Cirrus Logic are responsible for the digital-to-analog conversion. A big plus is the rear The Bridge socket for connecting an iPhone / iPod. An additional, rare feature is having two mono outputs for active subwoofers, which have the ability to cut the signal (LINK S / W) using small switches located next to the outputs. HK 3490 has a fairly large reserve of high current, as much as 45 A. and a large rated power of 120 W per channel at 8 Ohm and 150 W at 4 Ohm. The built-in radio tuner can be programmed quite easily automatically. The downside is that it does not have a preview of the radio signal strength. Harman also has an output for XM satellite radio connection. An important element is the separation of the power amplifier from the preamplifier by means of jumpers placed on the rear panel. This makes it possible to use the receiver as an ordinary stereo power amplifier or the preamplifier itself. The surround sound option is also interesting for a stereo product.
Sound
The American manufacturer has a typical American sound. You can feel the dynamics, the power and speed of the message, and the sound stage is built reliably. The power of 120 W per channel is able to easily drive large floorstanders. Harman gives a lively and agile sound transmission, the bass is fast and bouncy with a fairly good speed, and the individual ranges of the frequency range are very good with interconnected. HK 3490 is an interesting product, worthy of attention, characterized by high power with high reserve of high current. An additional analog-to-digital converter increases its use and distinguishes it from the competition in stereo receivers, and the use of The Bridge socket and the functions of the surround sound mode, as well as the possibility of connecting two active subwoofers may make you consider buying it in exchange for a multi-channel receiver.
Technical Specifications
Power - 2x 120W into 8 Ohm, 2x 150W into 4 Ohm
Input sensitivity - 200mV
Impedance - 47k Ohm
Signal to noise ratio - 95dB
Frequency response at 1W - (+ 0dB, -3dB) from 10Hz to 110kHz
THD distortion - At 120W into 8 Ohm: <0.07% At 150W into 4 Ohm: <0.2%
Power Consumption - <1W in Standby mode, 310W maximum
Tuner frequency range - from 87.5 to 108MHz
Signal to noise ratio - Mono 73dBStereo 72dB
Distortion - Mono 0.3% Stereo 0.4%
Output level -1kHz, +/- 100kHz
Weight - 10.4 kg
Weight with packaging - 12.4 kg
Dimensions - 442 x 163 x 382 mm
Prepared by: Łabędź Przemysław
