Overall opinions on Harman Kardon

My former college roommate is still using his HK receiver he bought used in 1975! The solid-state Citation 18 tuner is very well-regarded. The Citation I and II are beloved tube classics, the 14 is a decent tuner and the 22 is a good power amp. The Citation 23 can be a great bargain for urban use if you get a good one. The 12 and 16 are good subwoofer or low-frequency amps but not up to current standards. Have fun!

The HK 990 integrated is probably my favorite 2 channel integrated on the market. I always liked the digital in, 2.2 channel, room corrected, digital bass management approach, but I was unable to hear one until recently. I only got a brief listen and the main speakers were unfamiliar, but the overall SQ of the system was outstanding. The bottom octaves sounded right in a way that, for me, seems to require this digital signal processing approach. At the price (under $2k), I think it's a crazy value - particularly if your source material is 100% digital.

BTW, the power amp section is derived from a Mati Otala (Citation) design, FWIW.

If I ever build another 2 channel system, this is likely my choice of amplification.

Marty

i'm a longtime HK fan--their amps have almost always sounded better to me than their peers, perhaps because of their high current designs and minimal reliance on negative feedback. their 70s stuff (730/930 receivers, citation amps) is classic, and after sidney harman re-acquired the company from the japanese in 1985, they resumed making very sounding gear (the late 80s pm665 integrated is especially noteworthy). as others have stated, their quality started declining in the 90s, although much of it still sounds good by mass-market standards. the recent hk 990 seems to be their attempt to re-assert themselves as serious player, and like marty says, it's an exceptional unit.

The HK 990 looks pretty nice. Lots of current delivery and power doubles into 4 ohm in a $2500 integrated? Gotta check that out sometime.

You've probably heard this before, but it all comes down to synergy. let me share a story with you. back in the late 90s, i friend of mine had the legacy focus being pushed by a pair of hk monoblocks. i cant remember the source or the preamp. my system was a denon integrated, a pair of infinity reference 4s (i think) and a denon cd player. huge speakers vs small speakers. 100 watt monoblocks vs an 80 watt integrated. we set up both systems in the same room and a-b'd them. my very modest system, both in size and price, beat the living crap out of his. i have never looked back at hk since for anything. he was so disappointed that he sold the 2 amps the very next day and upgraded to the big nad 280 amp.
synergy works wonders.