Harman Kardon - Product Support

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Why are Harman Kardon amplifiers so much more powerful than amplifiers with the same power ratings that are made by other companies?

A Harman Kardon 50-watt amplifier will sound better, louder and cleaner than most 100-watt amplifiers from other companies. The reason is very simple. We give "true" wattage ratings, and our amplifiers utilize something called High-Current Capability (HCC). Please see the comparison below for further explanation. Other companies (100 watts):

Many companies have found new, convenient ways to get "big" wattage ratings on their amplifiers. They may take one frequency or tone (1kHz) and push it through one channel of amplification. This way the power supply only needs to supply power to one tone and one channel (no one listens to one tone through one speaker). This is not a difficult task for a power supply, so you get a nice, high rating like 100 watts. Now let's feed that one tone (1kHz) into 2 channels. Now the power supply has to supply power to 2 channels. The wattage rating is drastically reduced. Now let's take that one tone and make it ALL tones (pink noise). The power supply now has to supply power to all frequencies in both channels. Again, the wattage rating is drastically reduced. Now, your 100-watt amp is suddenly 50 watts (approximately).

Let's take it one step further. When you turn the amp up and begin to average the 50 watts of power, what happens to all of the dynamics/peaks in the sound? It can't get any louder, because the amp has hit its "ceiling," so the sound gets "clipped." The human ear typically can?t hear this clipping because peaks pass by so quickly but, nonetheless, the dynamics are gone.

Our amplifiers (50 watts):

We still rate our amplifiers the old-fashioned way - all frequencies with both channels driven. So "50 watts" is 50 watts. Twenty-five years ago, a 50-watt amp was very powerful. These days you can go to a store and hear a "300 watt" receiver and it won't impress; it lacks dynamic punch.

Now let's take it that extra step. When you turn the amp up and begin to average the 50 watts of power, the amp still needs to put out much more power every time a snare drum, triangle, or movie dynamic (e.g., hand slapping a face) hits. Our amps are able to instantaneously put out 20-100 amps (depending on the model) of high current to the speakers, allowing those dynamics to come through loud and clear, without any distortion. This brings the overall decibel average up, making it seem even louder that 50-watts.

What would be the best speakers for my receiver?

What do I do when I have product bought in the USA and I want to use it in Europe?

I keep blowing my speakers. What is going on?

There are two ways to blow speakers: The first is the one we all know and understand. If you pump 500 watts into a speaker that is only rated at 100 watts, it blows up. The second way is called "under powering." It's really a misleading term, but let's try to explain. Example: You have a 1000-watt speaker and a 100-watt amplifier but the way you like to listen to music requires 300 watts. So, you ask your amp to put out the 300 watts that you want to hear. The amp will do it, but it will "clip" and "distort." Unfortunately, the human ear can't hear distortion until it reaches almost 10%. By that time it's usually too late. The speaker keeps trying to reproduce this distortion that it''s not capable of reproducing and, eventually, it blows (usually the tweeter fails first). There is a very easy way to determine if you are asking too much of your amplifier. Follow these directions to perform this test: Set the Bass and Treble knobs in the middle (flat). Make sure all Equalization buttons are turned off (loudness, EQ, contour, etc.). Put on a CD. Turn the volume halfway up (electronic volume controls/ display would read 0dB). If you normally listen louder than this, chances are you are pushing your amp too far, causing it to clip and blow the speakers. Generally speaking, when listening to CD, DVD, BD, you are at maximum clean listening volume when you reach the halfway point on your volume control. The reason is very simple. These sources have a very hot output. In the old days when we were all using turntables, you would hit maximum volume at the 3/4 mark. This is because the output of a turntable is considerably lower than any of the newer sources. The reason this standard has not changed is because of versatility. Please keep in mind that if you normally listen with your Bass and Treble knobs boosted and/or the loudness button pushed in, it is possible to push the amp too far with your volume knob as low as 1/3 volume. If you are pushing your receiver too hard, we recommend that you get a more powerful amplifier. Please realize that if you buy speakers that will handle more power but don't buy a more powerful amplifier, you won't solve the problem. The speakers will still blow, because it's distortion that's blowing them, not too much power.

I just connected my subwoofer, and now I hear a constant hum. What can be done to fix this?

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