Harman Kardon HK3385 High Current Stereo Receiver Review

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(More customer reviews)I recently replaced a 25-year-old Marantz with an Onkyo 8222 and had ordered another Onkyo to replace a 30-year-old Technics. But the Harman Kardon suddenly struck me as worth going to the trouble of an exchange of one of the Onkyo's. It's the only comparably priced stereo receiver carried by Amazon that's in the running (it's hard to take Sony seriously when they omit a phono jack, and Teac is little more than a purchased brand name like Sherwood, Sylvania, Westinghouse, and some others that have little to no connection with past product).
The Onkyo performs admirably, but the all-black face can make hitting the right control a minor challenge. Moreover, with the arrival of grandchildren, the presence of input jacks on the face front of the HK recommended itself to me all the more (handy for plugging in a camcorder or digital camera, for example). As a kind of clincher, I had assumed Onkyo was still manufactured in Japan (my older Onkyo equipment is), but I find the receiver is made in Malaysia (same with G.E., RCA, and numerous other electronics products). So the fact that this HK is made in China can hardly be used to its discredit.
As for wattage (HK 3385 vs. 3485, Onkyo 8222 vs. 8522), anyone who thinks they need more than 40-50 RMS per channel is kidding themselves or still insisting on 8-cylinder engines (come to think of it, that's me). But occasionally I'm seeing a better deal on the higher power models, so price may be the ultimate determiner. (As for the dedicated sub-woofer output that Amazon's description mentions in reference only to the HK 3485, not to worry: it's present on the 3385 as well.)
Finally, if Harmon Kardon is selected by Apple computer to make its speakers, they must still be considered a high-end, quality company.

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