Harman/Kardon HK 980 amplifier test

Harman/Kardon HK-980 is the least expensive loudspeaker in the test, but it has a pleasant sound without any particular genre preferences, except that orchestral compositions are not played with the highest realism.

Harman/Kardon HK 980 Integrated Amplifier

FEATURES

Most amplifiers on the market are designed in a conservative style, but HARMAN/KARDON units stand out with their modern design, the new HK 980 integrated amplifier is no exception. The amplifier has a trademark two-color front, by which from afar you can identify its family identity. Narrow buttons lined up are camouflaged on the bottom edge of the black front panel field, with only the volume knob with a silver bezel disturbing the smooth surface relief. All information about the setup is displayed on the high-contrast LED display with white text on a dark background.

HK 980 circuit is built with time-tested HARMAN/KARDON technologies, including extended bandwidth, use of weak negative feedback. HCC technology High Current Capability gives the amplifier very high instantaneous current capability up to 80 Amps.

Buttons on the front panel let you adjust HPF and LF levels, change channel balance, mute tone-block, select playback and recording sources. All of these functions can also be adjusted with the included remote.

On the amplifier’s rear panel there are 6 line inputs augmented with phono stage input for MM type cartridge, 2 line outputs for recording and a separate output

from the preamp. There is an input for the service signals of the external IR sensor and the same output for connection of the amplifier with other HARMAN/KARDON equipment. You can connect 8 ohm speakers simultaneously to two sets of speaker terminals, 4 ohm speakers are recommended to connect only to one of the outputs, otherwise the protection can be tripped.

SOUND

The amp has a smooth sound with natural reproduction of the main tones. The dynamics of sound is stable practically throughout the working range, decreasing slightly only at the far end of the spectrum. The bass of the HK 980 is subjectively deep and well controlled, though it begins to lose speed in the lower frequencies. Bass imaging is enlarged but not bloated beyond recognition. According to the tradition of Harman/Kardon devices, the middle part is comfortably warm and has no annoying harsh notes even at increased volume. The musical scene is drawn sweepingly and slightly presses the listener. Long-range plans are not without schematicity, but the spatial resolution is enough for a clear placement of small groups of performers. For big ensembles the HK 980 is already too cramped on the stage.

Price

: 16 490 Dollars.

As input source Yamaha CD-S2000 CD player was used. The amplifier practically does not distort the turntable’s response. The amplifier’s ACF decay in the bass starts from 60-70 Hz -0.3 dB at 20 Hz , in the tweeter from 10 kHz -0.1 dB at 20 kHz . The THD of the amplifier at 1kHz is less than 0.013%, THD of source 0.008% . The amplifier increases the level of the 5th and 7th harmonics, swaps the second and third harmonics, and practically does not affect the higher harmonics. In addition, there is almost no change in the uniformity of all THD components.