Harman Kardon began in New York in 1953, founded by Sidney Harman, who was born in Montreal, and Bernard Kardon. Harman Kardon calls its 1954 Festival D1000 the first hi-fi receiver. We carry Harman Kardon stereo receivers, AV receivers, integrated amplifiers, cassette decks and CD players. We’ve had more than 130 Harman Kardon listings so far. Every used Harman Kardon here is inspected, tested and serviced as required, then photographed in-house and covered by our Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty and Perpetual Trade-Back Program. Every AV receiver we list is tested input by input on our bench: each HDMI input and output, the analog, optical and coaxial inputs, the subwoofer outputs and the wireless features where it has them. Don’t see the model you want? Tell us on First Dibs and we’ll email you when one arrives.
The Harman Kardon story, 1953 to today
Sidney Harman and Bernard Kardon left the David Bogen Company, where Kardon was chief engineer, and founded Harman Kardon in New York in 1953. Harman was born in Montreal in 1918 and grew up in New York. Kardon retired in the 1950s.
Receivers first. Harman Kardon calls the Festival D1000 of 1954 the first hi-fi receiver and the Festival TA230 of 1958 the first stereo receiver. The Citation II tube power amplifier of 1959, designed by Stu Hegeman, sold as a kit or ready-built.
Cassette and the 1970s. Harman Kardon says its CAD-5 of 1970 was the first hi-fi cassette recorder with Dolby noise reduction. Its “Twin Powered” receivers of the 1970s, such as the 430 and 730, gave each channel its own power supply.
Owners. Sidney Harman sold the company to Beatrice Foods in the late 1970s, when he became US Deputy Secretary of Commerce. He formed Harman International in 1980 and bought Harman Kardon back in 1985. Samsung bought HARMAN in 2017, and Harman Kardon remains one of its brands.
Which Harman Kardon is which?
Tube era (1950s and 1960s): Festival receivers, and Citation kits and factory-built units such as the Citation I preamplifier and II amplifier.
1970s receivers: the 330 series, the Twin Powered 630, 930, 430 and 730, and the HK670.
1980s receivers: the “i” models such as the hk690i, advertised for its high current capability, and the 330i.
Citation separates: solid-state Citation amplifiers and preamplifiers from 1970 to the 1990s, including the Citation XX of the early 1980s.
Cassette decks: from the CAD-4 and CAD-5 to the 1980s decks numbered CD91 to CD491. Those “CD” models are cassette decks, not CD players; Harman Kardon CD players carry “HD” names.
AV receivers (late 1990s on) and later stereo: the AVR line, such as the AVR 3600, and stereo models such as the HK 3700 and HK 990.
Buying used Harman Kardon: what to check
Dial and meter lamps. Owners report dead or flickering lamps on 1970s receivers such as the 930, 430 and 330C; many are replaced with LEDs.
Capacitors. Expect a 1970s receiver that hasn’t been recapped to need it.
Output stage. Owners report blown output transistors on the 730 and 430, often caused by a failed part nearby. Both channels should play cleanly at a realistic level.
Switches. Owners say the 1980s “i” receivers are prone to dirty switches that make channels cut out. Try every input and the balance control.
AV receivers. HDMI is usually the first thing to fail on a modern AV receiver. We test every HDMI input and output before listing.
Everything we list is inspected, tested and serviced as required here, and comes with our warranty.
Showing 1–12 of 36 resultsSorted by price: high to low
Harman Kardon DC5300 Dual Cassette Deck – Serviced, Japan
A Japanese-built Harman Kardon dual cassette deck from the early nineties, serviced on our bench and in very good condition.
✔️ Very Good condition — faceplate, cassette doors and display window present cleanly
✔️ Serviced on our bench — our standard cassette deck service before it was listed
✔️ Two auto-reverse decks with Dolby B and C, made in Japan
✔️ Covered by Radique Warranty
✔️ Includes Perpetual Trade-Back Program eligibility
✔️ Expertly packed for safe shipping
Harman Kardon HK3700 Stereo Receiver – 85 WPC, Sub Out
Eighty-five watts a channel into 8 ohms with a moving magnet phono stage, a subwoofer pre-out, and A and B speaker posts. Ethernet gives it DLNA and vTuner internet radio and the USB port takes iOS devices through its own 24-bit/192kHz DAC — network streaming on a receiver that still wants a turntable. Tested and working, HK remote included.
Harman Kardon PM640VXi Vintage Integrated Amp – 45 WPC, Japan
A 45-watt amplifier built by a company that spent the 1980s arguing the watts were the wrong thing to look at.
✔️ Condition: Very Good
✔️ Covered by Radique Warranty
✔️ Includes Perpetual Trade-Back Program eligibility
✔️ Expertly packed for safe shipping
Harman Kardon AVR 325 7.1 AV Receiver 50WPC – 40 lbs!
Fifty watts into 8 ohms on all seven channels, 65 in stereo, from the high-current supply that accounts for most of the forty pounds. Dolby Digital EX, DTS-ES in both matrix and discrete, Pro Logic II, Neo:6 and Harman Kardon's own Logic 7. Three optical and three coaxial inputs, two component video, and the seven channels will run 5.1 plus a powered Zone 2 instead. Original remote. Good cosmetic condition.
Full Digital Path! Harman Kardon 350 Watt 7.1 AVR DPR-1001
A full digital path from disc to amplifier — PWM digital amplifiers and 192kHz/24-bit DACs, with no A/D or D/A conversion in between. Fifty watts into 8 ohms on each of seven channels at 0.15% THD, Dolby Digital EX, DTS-ES and Logic 7, plus 7.1 pre-ins and pre-outs. Retailed new at $1200 USD. Remote and PDF manual included.
Harman Kardon AVR 1510S 375W 5.1 Receiver – 4K HDMI, Spotify
Seventy-five watts to each of five channels, four 3D-ready HDMI inputs with 4K pass-through, and one HDMI output with ARC. Spotify Connect, vTuner and DLNA over Ethernet, front-panel USB, optical and coaxial digital in. A digital supply keeps the whole thing to ten pounds. Level 1 serviced here; cosmetically graded Good.
Harman Kardon HK3300 Stereo Receiver – 20 WPC
Twenty watts a channel at 0.09% distortion, with a 40-watt dynamic peak and a damping factor of 60 — Harman Kardon's high-current approach rather than a large power figure. Bandwidth is quoted at 0.5 Hz to 120 kHz, there is an MM phono input at 1.8 mV and dual subwoofer outputs, and impedance is switchable between 8 and 4 ohms. Built 1991–94. Tested and working well.
Harman Kardon HK3250 Stereo Receiver – 40 WPC, High Current
Forty watts a channel into 8 ohms at 0.09% distortion, from Harman Kardon's high-current design — ±20 amps of instantaneous current, which is the figure that matters when a speaker load turns awkward. Six inputs, dual speaker outputs, a 30-preset AM/FM tuner and ±10 dB of bass and treble. Black metal chassis, full-function remote included.
Harman Kardon Ultrawideband Linear Phase Cassette Deck TD292
A 1985 two-head deck with a Sendust combination record and playback head, Dolby B and C, and a full-logic belt-driven single-capstan transport. Bias fine adjustment for dialling in a particular tape, digital peak meters (see the known issue in the description below), and normal, chrome and metal all supported. 20Hz to 21kHz, wow and flutter 0.05% WRMS. Made in Japan.
Harman Kardon 240 Watt 6.1 AVR w/ Remote AVR 135
Six discrete channels rated a conservative 40 watts each into 8 ohms from 20 Hz to 20 kHz at under 0.07% distortion, fed by 192 kHz/24-bit converters and a Cirrus 32-bit DSP. Dolby Digital, DTS-ES Discrete and Matrix, Neo:6, and Harman's own Logic 7. Triple-crossover bass management, automatic digital input polling, 30 tuner presets. Harman Kardon remote included.
Harman Kardon 200 Watt 5.1 AVR 130
Forty watts a channel in surround and fifty in stereo, both conservatively rated, with six digital inputs — three optical, three coaxial — and a subwoofer pre-out. Logic 7 and VMAx are Harman Kardon's own surround processing, and Stereo-Direct bypasses the digital section entirely for two-channel analogue. 5.1 inputs for SACD and DVD-Audio, HK remote, manual as a PDF.