Harman / Kardon 330A receiver

Vintage Harman / Kardon products are hard to find on this side of the Atlantic. Reading about their good reputation for a while, we decided to chase the model that was praised by Kevin of the famous Skylabs Audio YouTube channel, the 330A. Our search ended when picking up a good maintained example, and we were not disappointed.

The 330A is a seventies receiver that is extremely well built, with a super clean setup, lots of space to work on the separate, dedicated PCB boards. The sound is great, comparable to the Sansui of the period: warm, comfy, full of bass and detail. Refinement extends to embark pre out/main in connectors capability, a rare feature for a receiver. Also specific to the A version are the separate right and left tone controls for bass and treble.

One major point of this model is the looks: the smoked perspex glass covering the large frequency band display combines with delicate brushed aluminium. The frequency band is lit in deep green, while the power on lamp is unmissable as the warm red "finger of E.T." when on. The rotary buttons are cast aluminium ridged, which are really gorgeous to look and operate (but not to sanitize… what a challenge to deep clean each rig). The presentation completes with heavy black sloped switches, an immediate vintage marker.

Even if you don't intent to use the radio, the overall look and the great sound of this device should encourage you to go West and pick this rare all-american vintage piece of Hi-Fi.