Lots of amps. Warm, open sound. Lots of value for the money if you can find one for sale. Made in USA!

Havn''t found one yet.

The rest of my system: Harman Kardon AVR 500 (Now used as preamp) Harman Kardon 670 (Used as phono pre-amp and to power two speakers as a subwoofer) Harman Kardon ST8 turntable with Ortofon MM15E cartridge Nakamichi RX505 cassette deck Tascam 202 Mk III dual well cassette deck Magnavox CDB650 CD player Pioneer DV-333 DVD player (soon to be replaced) 1 pair Koss CM/1030 (main speakers) 6 Koss CM/1020s (one for center, two as surrounds, two as subwoofer, and one as a computer printer stand) Thank you ebay - money is an object! The problem: The Koss CM/1020s and CM/1030s are 25 year old speakers the size of small coffins with low impeadances. They love current. Even with 45 amps of current, my HK AVR500 would shut off under heavy loads. And although the 500 is one of the best sounding AV receivers on the market, it does not sound as good for music as my 25 year old HK670 receiver. SO, I decided to purchase a Sig 2.0 preamp (which are being blown out on ebay) I convinced the HK outlet in Oxnard to sell me one for $499. (Didn''t want to budge from $688) I drove 100 miles to Oxnard to pick it up. IMPRESSIONS: I plugged the preamp outs on my AVR500 to the Sig 2.1 using some midgrade RCA cables. I thought I would get a bit of improvement. 100 watts is not a big difference over 70 watts. Wrong! This thing is better than the 670. Fast (Freq resp. 1Hz to 170kHz), detailed, articulate, controlled and powerful. One reviewer below hit it dead on -- ?"The soundstage is very, very good. ?The balance is excellent, with a slight low midbass prominence." My speakers found bass I thought they lost to room accoustics or maybe never had. I put on the Fleetwood Mack DVD "The Dance." The grit at the edge Stevie Nicks'' voice showed up along with the air over the mike. I put on Guennevere from the Crosby Stills and Nash 4 CD compilation. You could hear the flutter of the bass string and the string. I always though my speakers were a bit analytical, but they found a warmth in the vocal harmonies I didn''t think they had. Yes! (Keys to Ascention DVD) - Emerson, Lake and Palmer (Royal Albert Hall DVD) -- George Benson (DVD Audio) - The Doors (LA Woman DVD Audio) - Horowitz in Moscow (CD) - Cheryl Crow (CD). They all sounded better. I can''t wait to get out the vinyl or for the 2.0 to arrive! Life is good.

Similar Products Used:

Harman Kardon AVR500, Parasound HCA-2205

Lots of amps. Warm, open sound. Lots of value for the money if you can find one for sale. Made in USA!

Havn''t found one yet.

The rest of my system: Harman Kardon AVR 500 (Now used as preamp) Harman Kardon 670 (Used as phono pre-amp and to power two speakers as a subwoofer) Harman Kardon ST8 turntable with Ortofon MM15E cartridge Nakamichi RX505 cassette deck Tascam 202 Mk III dual well cassette deck Magnavox CDB650 CD player Pioneer DV-333 DVD player (soon to be replaced) 1 pair Koss CM/1030 (main speakers) 6 Koss CM/1020s (one for center, two as surrounds, two as subwoofer, and one as a computer printer stand) Thank you ebay - money is an object! The problem: The Koss CM/1020s and CM/1030s are 25 year old speakers the size of small coffins with low impeadances. They love current. Even with 45 amps of current, my HK AVR500 would shut off under heavy loads. And although the 500 is one of the best sounding AV receivers on the market, it does not sound as good for music as my 25 year old HK670 receiver. SO, I decided to purchase a Sig 2.0 preamp (which are being blown out on ebay) I convinced the HK outlet in Oxnard to sell me one for $499. (Didn''t want to budge from $688) I drove 100 miles to Oxnard to pick it up. IMPRESSIONS: I plugged the preamp outs on my AVR500 to the Sig 2.1 using some midgrade RCA cables. I thought I would get a bit of improvement. 100 watts is not a big difference over 70 watts. Wrong! This thing is better than the 670. Fast (Freq resp. 1Hz to 170kHz), detailed, articulate, controlled and powerful. One reviewer below hit it dead on -- ?"The soundstage is very, very good. ?The balance is excellent, with a slight low midbass prominence." My speakers found bass I thought they lost to room accoustics or maybe never had. I put on the Fleetwood Mack DVD "The Dance." The grit at the edge Stevie Nicks'' voice showed up along with the air over the mike. I put on Guennevere from the Crosby Stills and Nash 4 CD compilation. You could hear the flutter of the bass string and the string. I always though my speakers were a bit analytical, but they found a warmth in the vocal harmonies I didn''t think they had. Yes! (Keys to Ascention DVD) - Emerson, Lake and Palmer (Royal Albert Hall DVD) -- George Benson (DVD Audio) - The Doors (LA Woman DVD Audio) - Horowitz in Moscow (CD) - Cheryl Crow (CD). They all sounded better. I can''t wait to get out the vinyl or for the 2.0 to arrive! Life is good.

Similar Products Used:

Harman Kardon AVR500, Parasound HCA-2205

high current design, wide bandwidth, runs cool

non-bridgeable

I never thought amps could make a difference in a system...then I went to take a listen for myself. It was a big mistake because I found out that a good amp can make a huge difference. Certainly better than any receiver can offer. Do yourself a favor and go demo some amps.

I listened to the Rotel RB985 and the HK Signature 2.1 at the A/V store. The Rotel really rocked on 2 channel but it ran really hot during brief movie demos. The HK Signature 2.1 however was much more dynamic on music and movies and always ran cool, like it was not even close to its limits. The HK seemed to drive the speakers better too. It really brought them to life, most likely because of the high current design.

I wanted the HK but it was too much, so I was ready to shell out the cash for the Rotel ($925 out the door is all I could negotiate). I am glad I held off a few days and searched the web. I found the HK Signature 2.1 at onecall.com for $667. To find an amp like this at such a low price is amazing!

I am now using my Yamaha RXV795 as a pre-amp/tuner and the HK 2.1 to drive my NHTs (super2s and super1s) and I could not be happier.

Value is a 5 at this price. Overall is another 5.

Similar Products Used:

Rotel RB985

Very Powerful extremely clean looks beautiful, awesome awesome awesome

unless you have very good ac and grounding this amp will pop when appliances are turned on

I bought this amp mainly for the low low price I got it for, but this is by no means a cheaply made or sounding amp. This was at the top of my list (next to rotel). This is an extreme power house that delivers extreme power and very good clarity and detail. I am using this amp in a rather unorthodox way, instead of using it for surround I'm using it to bi-amp my speakers (acoustic energy's aegis threes) and just leaving the fifth channel as a "spare" incase one of the other channels go bad (doubtful but always possible), you thought this thing sounded awesome in surround try running two hundred watts per channel into 8ohms or appro. 300 watts into 4 ohms all with less than .003% thd! incredible the control it has over my speakers and me!!!! Sure using it to bi-amp seems a little odd but trust me if your not into home theater and mainly just in it for music like me this amp won't let you down, and judging by the other reviews it sound great in surround sound. The only review that was even the least bit bad was the guy that only talked about the construction of this amp like the heatsink (which to me is oversized it takes up most of the interior of this amp), I don't even think he mentioned how it sounded and to me thats the most important thing. oh yeah sorry for my ignorance but what did he mean by DIY enthusiasts?

Similar Products Used:

rotel, yamaha, marantz

Powerful,tight bass,powerful mids, cool blue Signature light on front panel

.....

POWER, and Stabity, use this puppy to power Big PAs at partys. Played 2 dual 15 MTX and some other speaker pair. We run that amp at aleast 8 hours straiht at earth shattering volumes. Never clipping, or going in the red(on preamp/mixers). Was very impressed, amp ran semi hot. 8 hours, that an't bad.

I usally run it threw pair of JBL ND310, the dual 10", and a APEX preamp, the bass is tight and i never need to use all the power, given big resvors of power for the peaks.

I am very happy with my purshase, bought a demo at circut city.

Havn't used for home theather. WHat a waste!

Similar Products Used:

first home amp, impressed

good juice, nice soundstage, all five channels full power and four ohm stable. No fan.

still a bit of consumer type edge (just a we bit)

Nice weighty power supply. Good, stable soundstage. A little bit forward, but not uncomfortably hard or edgy. No glare. Its a nice balance. Good value. Stable into tough loads.Solid no frills, minimalist design. No ribbon cables or excess IC's. Thats why I like it. 24000uf per channel. 40lbs of solid no BS power. Mine is dead silent. Its an amp you can really feel good about. Not like that pro logic reciever you dont know what to do with. This will always be usefull, regardless of how worthless your new DTS Doody Digital integrated wonder box will be, next year.

Similar Products Used:

adcom,onkyo,yamaha,belles,N.E.W.

Excellent sound, Pure Value For Money

None

Excellent
Audition them and you will know what I am talking about.
Using it in combination with the HK Sinature 2.0 (software ver 2.10a).

This baby powers my AR 312 HO (see the speaker reviews too)

Similar Products Used:

Adcom, NAD

Great sound, Value For Money

None

Audition them and you will know what I am talking about.

Similar Products Used:

Adcom, NAD

Low price, great sound quality, face plate

Not powerful enough (need 150 or better per channel), non-bridgeable, slight 'pop' when amp turns on, cheap power cord.

This amp looks and sounds really, really nice. It is too bad H/K stopped making them (although you can still find a few places selling them new).

Even compared to the Sony TA-N9000ES running in BTL mode this H/K amp is much clearer and has much more low end. There is no comparision to the Adcom GFA-7500 I used to have as this H/K sounds soooooooooooooo much better.

Similar Products Used:

Sony TA-N9000ES, Adcom GFA-7500

An excellent value for the money (bought factory reconditioned). Delivers rated power just fine.

Runs hot, chassis build quality is distinctly superior to internal build quality.

First, my system:

H/K FL8350 CD changer, Pioneer DVL-909 LD/DVD player, Lexicon DC-1 v4.0 surround preamp, NHT SuperTwos (front), SuperOnes (sides), SuperCenter (center), Definitive Technology PF15TL subwoofer, Sony Wega 24" TV, various game consoles.

I recently bought this amp through Harman Audio, H/K's website for selling off reconditioned/used/discontinued audio equipment. The Signature 2.1 amp is available from them for $688 + tax/shipping (included in price above), and so my comments are in the context of the bargain price.

Contrary to what a reviewer below said, this amp is not "high class A biased". It runs hot, but that's due to the H/K receiver-quality heat sinking inside, not due to keeping the transistors on constantly. At $1600 (what the amp listed for originally), this build quality would be seriously inferior to any of the ATI AT1505, Acurus A125x5, B&K 5125, or other 5-channel amps from reputable electronics firms (in this price range). In fact, at that original price, I would have to give it 3 stars for value, not the 5 I've picked here.

Having said that, the H/K Signature 2.1 has otherwise made a very stronly positive impression on me. Since I live in an apartment, I try to keep my listening levels below 90 dB, and generally closer to 85. I will occasionally torture-test my equipment when I know the neighbors are out, however. Given that typical usage, in my first couple of weeks with the amp, it hasn't clipped, shut down from thermal overload, or otherwise done anything untoward. I haven't noticed any dropoff in sound quality from the Acurus A80 which had formerly been powering my main speakers (shortly to be relegated to rear-channel duty as the Lexicon allows for 7 channels, and the Signature 2.1 only covers 5). The amp has maintained consistent sound quality regardless of listening levels, and aside from running considerably warmer than the Acurus did under 2-channel listening at the same levels, it has otherwise performed identically. Amplifiers ought to be sonically neutral devices when run within their rated power, and with loudspeaker loads they're rated to drive -- I have yet to hear anything that makes me believe otherwise, tube amps excepted (and not positively) -- so I have to say that I view this amp as an excellent deal for a starter home theater.

Similar Products Used:

Acurus A80. (Numerous others auditioned, but not owned.)