Harman/kardon HK 3385 Receiver

I bought a reconditioned H/K 3385 receiver over 6 weeks ago for my business. Upon receiving, the stereo worked fine for 1 day, then after that would cut out the sound after an hour of use. Spent days trying to figure out why. Even had an audio tech come in, but could find no reason. Took it down to an authorized H/K service center. They told me even though they could fix the problem and the unit was still under warranty, H/K would not authorize them to work on it. I was told the only thing I could do was to send the unit back to H/K for a replacement. So I did, and I'm still waiting. In its defense, it did sound OK when it worked, but the FM reception was horrible - be prepared to hook it up to cable or an antenna. I've since bought a 30 year old Pioneer SX950 sold as-is, and it works great. If and when I ever do get my H/K back, I'm going to sell it immediately AS-IS, and warn the poor sap to keep the box!

They perform perfectly, have many features not found in other receivers, and are priced competitively. The only receiver I have gotten great pleasure from since my first tube type H.K. in 1964. Buy one ,,, you will love it.

Richard, Seattle WA

Although my 30 year old Pioneer SX-850 still works great, I bought this HK for the convenience of remote control and digital tuning. I have to say that this receiver doesn't perform as well as my analog Pioneer but is still very good at producing high quality stereo sound from multiple sources.

Pros: One reason I chose the HK is that I was able to connect all of my audio equipment to it. It has more audio inputs than any other brand stereo receiver I've found. I'm running CD, tape, turntable, EQ, TV, DVD all through the HK3385 with a couple of audio inputs to spare. Nice remote for basic functions. Digital tuning. Crisp, clean sound.

Cons: No loudness button

I purchased this product to push a pair of pioneer floor speakers. It sounds pretty good. Way better than the denon reciever before it. Harman makes a great product.

I liked the attractive price for a renowned brand such as Harmon Kardon. The unit lives up to my expectations.

I love this receiver. Has a great sound and was what I've wanted for a long time. Tou get a like new item at a good price.

Surround sound this. 7.1 that. Dual center channels. Sound that kicks the back of your head.
The modern enhancements that liven up our favorite TV shows and college football Saturdays (not to forget all those Blu-Ray action flixs) can be an absolute 'Wow!" for our senses. New music releases along with satellite radio sound utterly fantastic, too.
But when listening to your precious collection of music from decades past there does seem to be something, almost intangible, missing. The tunes that shaped generations of 'rockers' and lovers of jazz seem to come up short when one compares them to any of the newer recordings.
Or so I thought.
A couple of weeks ago, I purchased a 2-channel stereo rom Harmon Kardon. That's right...2 CHANNEL! In all our rooms with sound systems, somehow we no longer had any true stereos operating. And our music didn't feel...didn't make our skin tingle the way it used to.
Beatles recorded in 4-track just didn't sound so fresh and innovative.
Pink Floyd sounded the same wheather listening to the CD or Sirius.
Ella, Billie, Bugs, and B.B. lost a bit of their heat.
My wife and I have sought, collected, and relished music every day we've been together. In recent years we found that we were actually getting bored with the music we loved.
The answer, we both thought, was the obvious. We were getting OLD.
And so was our music.
During the most recent spring cleaning, as we were rummaging through old momentos, boxes of toys, and old christmas decorations, we came upon the crate holding the last pair of old fangled "stereo" speakers we had purchased and enjoyed together. I guess those old floor thompers would be considered 'Vintage" by most of you today. We carefully unpacked them, very curious to see what kind of shape they were in, and were absolutely amazed at how beautiful they still looked. When was the last time you saw real wood speakers with a flawless deep, rich, glossy finish on them? When we took the grills off and we were greated with the best surprise of all...all the cones and surrounds were still perfect!
We just had to listen to them.
After hooking them up to the nearest amp, we put on our favorite Beatles album and were very pleased that the speakers still worked so perfectly.
But the reason they were in storage hadn't gone away. What had happened to the music? Was digital surround so much superior that we would never enjoy listening to old fashioned stereo again??
It was a good thing that the speakers were still so impressive because we decided to keep them out and use them. The only problem was...we no longer had an 'old fashioned' stereo amp to run them.
Which is why, as we stated previously, we purchased a Harman Kardon 3385 Stereo Receiver from their warehouse through E-Bay. It arrived a couple of weeks ago and it has been driving our old 'floor thompers' ever since.
Our other sound systems are literally collecting DUST!!
Harman Kardon still knows how to make stereo. Our old music, that seemed so bland, so lacking the sparkle and luster that made it what it was so many years ago, IS BACK!!!!
FOUR TRACK SOUNDS like FOUR TRACK again!
B.B.'s guitar is still just as hot as it was thirty years ago.
And the center of the 'soundstage' is as sharply defined as ever...no center channel needed. Thank You Harman Kardon!
Do you sell turntables?

I have the receiver plugged into 2 Pro Dynamics MDZ 2900's and 2 Polk Audio 8100's and an Infinity Entra Sub, sounds totally awesome!!!!!! Killer receiver for home use, hell I could open a club with this system.

The hk 3385 revceiver is ok,thats all.It has very limited bass and treble control and no bass boost or super bass control.Also the balance control only works left and right and has no fade for speakers A and B. It sounds a little tinny even with high quality speakers.RCA plugs are a must for speakers because the speaker hook ups are very close together and almost impossible to screw in by hand. The remote is awkward and only functional for HK products.It actually has an off button and an on button, why I don't know.However even with all it's short-comings it is not a bad receiver for the den or guest room and the price is resonable.

With all the efforts I have put in over many years of constant upgrading my stereos, I find that this unit has a substantially better sound quality then I had even hoped for, is sharp to look at, has a smoother sound than other amps I have owned, and is easily one of the best sounding systems I have heard. I use it with my Sennheiser headphones and it reveals such subtleties that it would be hard to imagine any improvement available at any price. It is connected to a pair of Bose 901’s that I had gathering dust and really gets them to the best of their ability as well. I am looking forward to connecting my turntable when time allows, and feel that it will now be worth it to get in an album from time to time; which I am sure will be great fun. If you want an “old school” stereo without surround concerns, and yet want a high quality tuner and sweet pre-amp and amp, you should grab one of these.

HK is once again showing versatility. I have their 7.1 Home Theater System powering Klipsch speakers, and it is absolutely breathtaking.

This unit is exactly the same, but tremendously different! This system reminds me of the old AM/FM Receivers that I played my vinyl on, but the sound rivals any system on the market. Bass, treble and balance controls that actually allow you to shape the sound unlike the old receivers, but very simple to operate!

I bought this to use with my old Technics turntable, and boy is it great! It is pushing a pair of Klipsch Cornwalls, and it just doesn't get any better! If you want a 2-channel receiver...better look at this HK3385. You'll be glad you did!