Sound is nice and clean with plenty of over head. The unit is very attractive.

It doesn't have a radio receiver strength meter. It doesn't have a power meter. I don't like the funcionality of the tiny bass, treble, and balance knobs. The Bass is weak. I'm not a bass freak, but I am a bassist and I do like to hear the bass notes when I'm listing to music. The unit is a bit large. HK makes a CD changer FL 8385 with digital output, yet this receiver does not have digital input. If it had the digital input I'd buy their CD player. Poor Marketing design.

I bought the re manufactured HK 3480-Z unit for $172 plus $22 shipping from Harman Kardon direct. With that said even though I bash it pretty good below it is definitely worth what I paid for it. For being re manufactured the only visible flaw I could see was a 1 inch scratch on the side of the unit.

My LXI receiver in my garage died. I moved my Yamaha 530 from my living room to the garage so I was hoping to put this receiver in my living room to replace the Yamaha. I put this in my living room and was disappointed in the bass output and with the size of this unit. So now this unit is in the family room with only the VCR and DVD audio outputs feeding it. My Fisher RS-625 is in my living room and the Yamaha 530 is in the garage. The HK is feeding a pair of Pioneer CS-R7100 speakers an A-Neutronics sub woofer. It sounds great with this set up with music or movies. I think if you weren't running a Sub you could move the jumpers from the pre amp and move them to the Sub output to the power amp. I did this before I got my sub and it seemed to increase the bass. Because the sub output is hotter than the preamp out this does cause the amp to clip and distort at lower volume settings. Using a sub woofer with a built in cross over, the amp retains its ultra clean sound.

I don't use any of the video input or outputs or VMAx (These are a waste) I'd much rather had a loudness switch or Bass Boost. I read complaints about the remote. I agree the design is terrible. I don't like the sliding cover. However the remote does function well and functions better than my Fisher or Yamaha remotes, but not as good as my Bose Wave Radio remote. The receiver sensitivity is good, a little better than my Fisher not as good as my Yamaha.

I give it high numbers inspite of it's short comings, because for the price paid I don't think anything out there can beat it.

Customer Service

NA

Similar Products Used:

NA

THE GOOD:

I've had this HK 3480-"Z" (factory refurb) for about 8 months now, since my vintage Marantz 2250B's power switch finally died, (haven't repaired the 2250B yet). So, I'll compare the 3480 to the Marantz receiver. Speaker cables used on both were the 8' XLO Ultra 6, shotgunned.

The FM tuner is actually not bad, with fairly decent sensitivity and quieting. About equal to the 2250B's in real-world use, which is not a common thing with receivers nowadays.

The Phono Input is nice to have if you've got a turntable w. a MM cartridge, which I'd expect at this price level would be the case rather than a MC cart. I have not listened to the Phono section yet because I have MC.

It looks great - I've always liked H/K's aesthetic and this one is no exception. The sleep timer & display dimmer are nice to have, as are the Sub Outs w. 80Hz Low Pass, and the Pre Out/Line In option. I have not used the Sub Outs yet.

I'm not sure if the +/- 45A current spec that H/K gives is real or not, (maybe true when sustained into easy loads, or millisecond bursts into lower-impedance loads?). The unit is rated at 120W/ch 8 ohm, but only 150W/ch 4 ohm. That means into 4 ohm "nominal" speakers the 3480 only puts out the equivalent current of 75W/ch 8 ohm. Running 2 speaker pairs - JBL 4412 rated 8 ohms & KLH Pro 12B rated 6 ohm - has caused shut-down a few times. However, into either pair alone it doesn't have a problem with shutting down or with sustained bass notes on the 4412's within the 3480's 120W/ch power range. (The 4412's actually dip to around 5 ohm at their lowest point. I don't know the KLH's low impedance point, but it has to be less than its nominal of 6 ohm).

Good thing I have the 4412's to use with the 3480, because its amp would never have driven my previous Apogee Stage's, B&W Nautilus 803's, KEF C-80's, Magnepan Tympani IV's or 2.6R's, Martin-Logan CLS-IIa's....but I wouldn't have expected it to! Might have been OK with my old ADS L990's, the Quad 21L's or 11L's though. (All models are given merely as reference points in case some of you may own them or plan to buy any of them.)

The 3480's clarity and openness is better than the 2250B's, but the Marantz sounded more controlled, fuller, and somewhat more dynamic/punchy. Even though the 2250B is rated at "merely" 50W/ch 8 ohms, judging from the performance of both I DO think the 2250B has at least equal if not more power supply capacitance than the 3480, but I haven't yet removed the covers to determine their actual values.

Otherwise, the H/K sounds good! All functions work well, except for those in "Weaknesses".

THE BAD:

1) My biggest problem with this unit is the remote. It is a sh!tty design that is badly implemented. You can't read the tiny bluish font against the grey background unless you hold it under bright light. In "normal" room lighting you might as well be blind, so be ready to memorize the functions/positions. WTH was H/K thinking here??

The sliding panel to access the tuner programming is cheesy and somewhat difficult to open.

Worst is this R/C's moody behavior. I can confirm as others have said that it randomly won't respond to input commands, so you must either hit the "AM" button (or other input button) to continue. When THAT doesn't work, you must remove/re-insert a battery to kill the glitch and get it responding again. This usually happens just when you need to change input or gain level quickly, and it can be QUITE frustrating.

2) It is true that the "Video 1" output is goofy as someone below has said, so really you have only Video 2 & 3 as useful thruputs if used as a total A/V switcher. Doesn't matter to me, since I use the 3480 for audio only, not for viewing video going through the receiver. Instead, I connect vid source "Video Outs" directly to the TV monitor, then their "Audio Outs" to the 3480's "Audio Ins". This way, a set of unneccesary cables is avoided, and a cleaner vid signal is delivered to the TV. FWIW.

3) The "Vmax" circuit is pretty much crap to listen to - just an annoying phasey blob that makes decent speakers sound like broken Bose 901's. Leave it off - unless you're a masochist or an idyut.

-- Considering these faults and the inability to drive lowish impedances well, I have to deduct 2 Stars from "Overall", and 2 Stars from "Value" for the scratched faceplate, "missing" Video 1 Input, and troublesome remote control.

Since the HK 3480 seems to be a popular unit here on audioreview.com lately, I thought I'd jump in with my take on it. :^ )

In summary, I would first say that I would NOT recommend this unit for driving speakers at HIGHER LEVELS with either: a single pair running, and rated less than 6 ohms "Nominal" OR 2 pair running together, with either rated less than 8 ohms "Nominal". Remember: Z (Total Resistance) = (Z1 x Z2) / (Z1 + Z2), so if you have say an 8 ohm pair on Spkr A + a 6 ohm pair on Spkr B...(8 x 6) / (8 + 6) = 48/14 = 3.43 ohm impedance that the amp will see. Not good for this unit unless you like your music shutting off in the middle of things. (see "Strengths")

Overall, not a bad deal for around $200 for the refurb model HK 3480-"Z", but there is really no excuse for the lousy R/C design or the Vid 1 wackiness. (see "Weaknesses")

Customer Service

The unit was delivered in a reasonable time from harmanaudio.com with no issues on arrival.

THE GOOD:

I've had this HK 3480-"Z" (factory refurb) for about 8 months now, since my vintage Marantz 2250B's power switch finally died, (haven't repaired the 2250B yet). So, I'll compare the 3480 to the Marantz receiver. Speaker cables used on both were the 8' XLO Ultra 6, shotgunned.

The FM tuner is actually not bad, with fairly decent sensitivity and quieting. About equal to the 2250B's in real-world use, which is not a common thing with receivers nowadays.

The Phono Input is nice to have if you've got a turntable w. a MM cartridge, which I'd expect at this price level would be the case rather than a MC cart. I have not listened to the Phono section yet because I have MC.

It looks great - I've always liked H/K's aesthetic and this one is no exception. The sleep timer & display dimmer are nice to have, as are the Sub Outs w. 80Hz Low Pass, and the Pre Out/Line In option. I have not used the Sub Outs yet.

I'm not sure if the +/- 45A current spec that H/K gives is real or not, (maybe true when sustained into easy loads, or millisecond bursts into lower-impedance loads?). The unit is rated at 120W/ch 8 ohm, but only 150W/ch 4 ohm. That means into 4 ohm "nominal" speakers the 3480 only puts out the equivalent current of 75W/ch 8 ohm. Running 2 speaker pairs - JBL 4412 rated 8 ohms & KLH Pro 12B rated 6 ohm - has caused shut-down a few times. However, into either pair alone it doesn't have a problem with shutting down or with sustained bass notes on the 4412's within the 3480's 120W/ch power range. (The 4412's actually dip to around 5 ohm at their lowest point. I don't know the KLH's low impedance point, but it has to be less than its nominal of 6 ohm).

Good thing I have the 4412's to use with the 3480, because its amp would never have driven my previous Apogee Stage's, B&W Nautilus 803's, KEF C-80's, Magnepan Tympani IV's or 2.6R's, Martin-Logan CLS-IIa's....but I wouldn't have expected it to! Might have been OK with my old ADS L990's, the Quad 21L's or 11L's though. (All models are given merely as reference points in case some of you may own them or plan to buy any of them.)

The 3480's clarity and openness is better than the 2250B's, but the Marantz sounded more controlled, fuller, and somewhat more dynamic/punchy. Even though the 2250B is rated at "merely" 50W/ch 8 ohms, judging from the performance of both I DO think the 2250B has at least equal if not more power supply capacitance than the 3480, but I haven't yet removed the covers to determine their actual values.

Otherwise, the H/K sounds good! All functions work well, except for those in "Weaknesses".

THE BAD:

1) My biggest problem with this unit is the remote. It is a sh!tty design that is badly implemented. You can't read the tiny bluish font against the grey background unless you hold it under bright light. In "normal" room lighting you might as well be blind, so be ready to memorize the functions/positions. WTH was H/K thinking here??

The sliding panel to access the tuner programming is cheesy and somewhat difficult to open.

Worst is this R/C's moody behavior. I can confirm as others have said that it randomly won't respond to input commands, so you must either hit the "AM" button (or other input button) to continue. When THAT doesn't work, you must remove/re-insert a battery to kill the glitch and get it responding again. This usually happens just when you need to change input or gain level quickly, and it can be QUITE frustrating.

2) It is true that the "Video 1" output is goofy as someone below has said, so really you have only Video 2 & 3 as useful thruputs if used as a total A/V switcher. Doesn't matter to me, since I use the 3480 for audio only, not for viewing video going through the receiver. Instead, I connect vid source "Video Outs" directly to the TV monitor, then their "Audio Outs" to the 3480's "Audio Ins". This way, a set of unneccesary cables is avoided, and a cleaner vid signal is delivered to the TV. FWIW.

3) The "Vmax" circuit is pretty much crap to listen to - just an annoying phasey blob that makes decent speakers sound like broken Bose 901's. Leave it off - unless you're a masochist or an idyut.

-- Considering these faults and the inability to drive lowish impedances well, I have to deduct 2 Stars from "Overall", and deduct 2 Stars from "Value" for the scratched faceplate, "missing" Video 1 Input, and troublesome remote control.

Since the HK 3480 seems to be a popular unit here on audioreview.com lately, I thought I'd jump in with my take on it. :^ )

In summary, I would first say that I would NOT recommend this unit for driving speakers at HIGHER LEVELS with either: a single pair running, and rated less than 6 ohms "Nominal" OR 2 pair running together, with either rated less than 8 ohms "Nominal". Remember: Z (Total Resistance) = (Z1 x Z2) / (Z1 + Z2), so if you have say an 8 ohm pair on Spkr A + a 6 ohm pair on Spkr B...(8 x 6) / (8 + 6) = 48/14 = 3.43 ohm impedance that the amp will see. Not good for this unit unless you like your music shutting off in the middle of things. (see "Strengths")

Overall, not a bad deal for around $200 for the refurb model HK 3480-"Z", but there is really no excuse for the lousy R/C design or the Vid 1 wackiness. (see "Weaknesses")

Customer Service

The unit was delivered in a reasonable time from harmanaudio.com with no issues on arrival.

Power, 4 speaker capability, PHONO, clean simple lines. Best bang for buck amp available. Brings music back to the living room, put the TV in the basement.

Cheap feeling remote.

This is a great amp. It is my third HK over the last 15 years. I bought it for a music only setup with a phono (the main reason I bought this, phono is rare now). It has a very clean and "quite" sound, hearing only the music even when cranked up. I'm using Klipsch RB-35's with a RW-10 Sub, so there is PLENTY of power to listen at unhealthy volumes. Very tempting to turn up because of lack of distortion, especially with Klipsch Reference speakers. I did notice the AMP is warmer than my older HK, maybe because of the extra power, which is a great compliment to the brightness of the Klipsch. The Marantz 5001 is also the PERFECT compliment for this 2 channel amp. Obviously if you want a HT amp, this is a poor choice. The 3480 is for music, not movies. Also, having outputs for 2 sets of speakers is great, and switching the 2nd set on does not change the volume or sound like it did with my old(1st) HK amp. Can you say 120 watts!

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

HK's older amps, Pioneer, NAD, Nakamici, ONKYO

Power, 4 speaker capability, PHONO, clean simple lines. Best bang for buck amp available. Brings music back to the living room, put the TV in the basement.

Cheap feeling remote.

This is a great amp. It is my third HK over the last 15 years. I bought it for a music only setup with a phono (the main reason I bought this, phono is rare now). It has a very clean and "quite" sound, hearing only the music even when cranked up. I'm using Klipsch RB-35's with a RW-10 Sub, so there is PLENTY of power to listen at unhealthy volumes. Very tempting to turn up because of lack of distortion, especially with Klipsch Reference speakers. I did notice the AMP is warmer than my older HK, maybe because of the extra power, which is a great compliment to the brightness of the Klipsch. The Marantz 5001 is also the PERFECT compliment for this 2 channel amp. Obviously if you want a HT amp, this is a poor choice. The 3480 is for music, not movies. Also, having outputs for 2 sets of speakers is great, and switching the 2nd set on does not change the volume or sound like it did with my old(1st) HK amp. Can you say 120 watts!

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

HK's older amps, Pioneer, NAD, Nakamici, ONKYO

Sharp Clear Sound
Great Speration of Instruments
Excellent bit on percussion
Not Cold sounding

Big

I am so very impressed with this amp. A few years ago when I went to visit my parents, I could not stand the sound of their old Kenwood stereo system so we started to upgrade components. We started with a pair of B&W 303's but the sound was still aweful. We then headed down to Future Shop (Canada) and picked up a 70W Harman Kardon reciever. They suddenly had wonderful sound! In fact, this year when I went to visit them, I realized that their system sounded better then my supposed 'higher end' system. I had and Arcam Alpha 5 (40W /Channel) integrated amp that I suspected was part of the problem. When I saw the HK was selling the refurbished units on ebay for a very good price (list at $450 BTW) I placed my bid and won one.

The sound from my HK3480 was much sharper and clearer then my Arcam (to be fair, the Arcam is a 15 year old peace of electorics with low power). When I turned up the volume, the instrumests did not all blend together but stayed very distinct abd seperate. The drums, percussion and piano all had attack I had not heard before. The sound is very pleasing and not cold or mussy either. You might call it a warm amp but that 'warm' dones not translate into soft or less detailed sound. It has a very clean and sharp sound. The tuner works great as well. I am not using this for any video and have never tried the vmax and probably never will. I am convinced that this could be packaged as an audiophile amp and sold for much more.

Now to upgrade the rest of my system. I am looking at a Marantz CD5001 player (possibly Rotel RCD-1072 if it really sounds $400 better) and a pair of Paradigm Studio 20 V3. Thank you for all those that posted to this forum to help me with my choices. Last time I bought stereo equipment, there was no such thing as internet.

Similar Products Used:

Arcam, Rotel

Great Audio with clean neutral sound and plenty of power

Forget the video, it's worthless

I’ve had this HK receiver for a couple of months now and I really am enjoying the clean natural sound of the audio. I was looking for a reasonably priced receiver with a phono input. Tuner works well and the remote is easy to use.

Unfortunately, the video portion leaves a lot to be desired. I use this unit in my mostly listening room, but I also wanted to hook it up to my second TV. I have two problems with the video setup, the first is just a design flaw and the second is just a dumb design decision.

As for the first problem it seems that the unit is just incompatible with my DVD player. When I hookup my DVD player to any of the inputs the brightness and contrast are horribly out of whack, though the picture is fine when the DVD player is connected directly to the TV. What's puzzling about this is that my dish satellite receiver output works fine on any of the HK 3480 inputs. The DVD unit is actually a recorder with the brand name of Balance. This was purchased a little more than a year ago. I tried swapping cables and get the same result. I've also tried connecting the DVD directly to a total of three TVs as a test with the video working just fine. I'm sure it's probably a capability issue, probably an impedance mismatch on the RF front end of the receiver...very disappointing performance.

As for the second problem, there is an A/V output labeled video 1 output. I would expect that the video1 output would pass whatever is on the video 1 input regardless of the source selected. In other words it should act as an active splitter to pass the video 1 input source such as a satellite receiver to a recording device to avoid having an external A/V splitter box. However, it doesn’t work this way. If you wish to use the Video 1 Outputs, you cannot have Video 1 selected as the source. Since the unit does not work as a Tape Monitor, you can only send out a signal when not using that specific source. The Video 1 output should pass any video signal being sent into the receiver, but, will NOT pass the Video 1 output when this source is selected. For example, when video 2 is selected, that source that will be present on the video 1 output. The same is true for the video 3 source. I find that the video 1 output is basically useless since you can't view through the recording device to make sure it's recording properly. I find it extremely odd that an output would be labeled video 1 when there is no way you could ever view the video 1 source through the video 1 output...very strange. The manual also don't come close to explaining this operational abnormality. By the way, the unit operates correctly otherwise; each source when selected is properly displayed on the video monitor output and the correct audio present at the speaker outputs.

HK technical support concurs and sympathizes with the above issues, but say that this is how the unit was designed and there is nothing wrong with the unit I have. So for what it’s worth, you basically have a good audio receiver.

Great Sound Quality, Amazing price to performace ratio. LOUD. Stylish unit. Tuner built in.

No bass management, but it is a stereo amp so that is expected (and worked around easily).

If you are looking for an integrated stereo solution, look no further than this amp. 120 watts x 2, this thing delivers a rich warm sound to my Ascend 340's (awesome speakers as well). This thing is well built, and solid as a rock. Not to mention how good it looks. Pair this up with a pair of decent speakers, and you will easily be able to fill a large room with sound. However, I would recommend a sub with most setups. The HK 3480 has pre/pro out and amplifier in, so you can add more devices (subwoofer) if needed. I used the crossover on the sub and sent the signal back to the amp, so it only sends out 80 Hz and above to the speakers! There is a jumper installed by default. Or you can just use this unit to power your front stage if you decide to go the home theater route later on.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer Elite A-35R

Excellent Sound field. Depth and quality.

VMax - Plays good only for Jazz and Blues. Please keep it turned off for everything else.

HK3480 fits perfecly to my requirements of Stereo Receiver. I am a very satidfied customer of this product. 120 Watts out put on crystal clear music on each channel was exactly what I was looking for. In my setup I have paired it with Klipsch SB2 Book shelf speakers, which are gems of its own genre. I am yet to use the Phono part of the product. The tuner, rocks. The only eye sore is VMax. Better leave it off for all music and movies except for Jazz and Blues. For Jazz and Blues VMax adds a lot of depth to the sound field. One more thing I would like to add is, My setup is perfect without a subwoofer. Klipsch handle down to 55Hz very easily. Practially I can feel the Cello as deeply as it should be felt in my living room. The receiver does not heat up much after extended use. I play my MP3's through an external sound card (Wave terminal U24), which is an excellent piece of equipment. When paired with HK3480, I am getting amazing sound quality. This product I would recommend to any audio enthusiast looking for a reasonably priced Stereo receiver.

powerful,bright,simple to operate. sounds very clean.phono section.

can´t find one

have owned this amp for 2 months and like better every day.had an old Kenwood amp that was powerful but the sound was getting dirtier on the channels every year.checked out many multi cannels amps but this one had the options i was looking for. it has a phono input,the reason i bought along with fair price and and a lots of power,still like that old analog sound. it works great with the dvd movies and the tuner is excellent and the remote is nice. it has sub woofer section and also pre-out and main-in.it is also very simple in operation no filters or loudness buttons as my old amp had. works great with my Warfedale waldus 400 speakers. thank you Harman Kardon.

Similar Products Used:

kenwood,sony.denon