Price Paid:  $192.00 from Harmon Kardon Store

Summary:
I purchased a factory remanufactured unit on e-bay at the HK Store. Used in combination with Premier Acoustic Tower Speakers ($250 pr. delivered price),
Outlaw Audio .5 meter copper interconnects ($50), Onkyo DX-390 CD Changer($165), DuaL 12" active subwoofer ($125), and heavy gauge Monster bi-wired speaker cables ($200) yields undistorted, articulate, well defined, high resolution, sound.

It may not be analogous to driving an Infiniti or Lexus automobile. However, is there anything wrong with a Camry? Better to put the cost savings into your IRA
account or a 529 Plan for your children's college savings. I think you would need to spend a lot more to achieve a substantial improvement in overall sound quality.

The HK has been an excellent performer. Be sure to use in a well ventilated rack or audio stand. It gets warm quickly. No, it doesn't run hot. However, it does need adequate ventilation.

Strengths:
Check out Premier Acoustic Tower Speakers on e-bay. My cherry edition are
furniture quality in appearance and sound equally fine. The HK receiver really
makes them shine. The horn section in Tower of Power Live (1999) sounds
phenomenal through my system. I prefer HK over comparably priced Sony and/or
Onkyo components. The sound clarity is deeper, warmer, and more thoroughly
defined. Individual instruments stand out. It's almost as good as "being there".

Two channel audio enthusiasts will enjoy the HK 3470 or current model 3480
receivers. You can build a good quality component system around either choice
at affordable cost.

Pure_Amp

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.50 of 5, 8.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00 from N/A

Summary:
I hope you will find this interesting. Wifee bought this for me, as I had been a proud owner of a HK from college days, that being a PM-645VXI. The PM645VXI is a true bad boy, you will appreciate this more in just a bit. I have been always unimpressed with the sound quality from my HK3470. Sure, it has power to spare; it can make you ears bleed, but the imaging is just not there. I am not an audiophile, actually deah in one ear. The reason my one ear is damaged, as I have always loved, loud music. But appreciated good quality reproduction. As for good quality reproduction, this HK-3470 is lame. Just tonight, I finally am happy with it. I am using it as a pre-amp(remote control) for my stellar PM-645 vxi. I am amazed my "wimpy" 60 watts per channel integrated amp from a 1992 purchase, blows the doors off this more recent, 100 watts per channel HK. I guess, HK has gotten better at specmanship than high-quality , high-performance audio. I saw a review from a dude at zero-distortion dot com that finally rang through to me. I am not an EE but an ME, so, most of this stuff is above my head. But when he pointed to the fact that a massive line-filter greatly helped to improve the imaging of this receiver, that confimed my suspicions that this piece of electronics is as over-rated as Santa Claus. Yes, it has some jouce, but just don't listen too carefully! I think I am moving on to Rotel or Outlaw seperates. It looks like they are both in the business of offering products that deliver! - Former HK guy.

Strengths:
Decibels

Weaknesses:
sound quality

Similar Products Used:
PM-645 vxi (no comparison) Sony something(piece of junk) Nikko Int Amp NA-850(stold from estate sale for $25, better than HK3470)

Price Paid:  $400.00 from crutchfield

Summary:
well, this is my first receiver, before now, i would buy a mini shelf system, oh, i was such a fool. now, i can actually feel the music deep in my soul. this reciever is terrific. i bought it brand new and paid a lot more than most people, i don't do e bay or buy refurbs, but i think it's worth every penny. looking back, however, knowing what i know now about the audio world, i would save up and buy a more high end receiver. see, i only listen to cd's, and it has tons of inputs, tape, phono, etc., that i've paid for and will never use. i use a simple 3 speaker stereo setup, left, right, and a powered sub.this recever if, nothing else, will give you mucho power, and pretty clean sound to go with it. for the price, it really is your best bet, well, no actually a year after i bought this bad boy, hk came out with the hk 3475, same model except it delivers 110 watts per channel as opposed to 100 wpc this one delivers.dosen't matter, until i rent a place that i don't share a wall with neighbors, i can't crank it up anyhow. i never go past halfway on the volume control, and as you may find, you don't need to. now here comes the bad stuff about the receiver. v max is horrible, a wasted feature at best. the remote lacks some control, example, bass and treble control, and poor volume control. the rear speaker inputs don't allow for spade terminals, minor inconvenience, and the receiver itself runs extremely hot in a short amount of time, to remedy this i bought a quiet fan and propped it to cool it down. exterior design tends to collect lots of dirt, dust, and prints, so your always wiping it off. overall, good starter receiver, till you can afford something better, such as a receiver with a .5 distortion or less, this one has a .7 thd.

Strengths:
lots of power, lots of analog inputs, allows tons of hookup options, two sets of speaker terminals, so you can bi wire your speakers, affoordable price, whether new or used,durable frame and construction

Weaknesses:
terminals don't accept spade lugs, v max processing is terrible, remote could have been more efficient, runs hot very quickly, tuner antenna sucks, poor reception, only a one year warranty, that's about it.

Similar Products Used:
too many crappy brands i care to admit to, but i have seen the light, and it is good.

Price Paid:  $200.00 from ebay

Summary:
I got this unit after reading through a lot of reviews at this site. From my reading it sounded like this was the best receiver for the money. So, I went on ebay and waited for a good price. I haven’t been disappointed. True, the remote isn’t very good, but I honestly don’t use it very much. I have the receiver where I can reach it from my chair and don’t get up much. It has quite a bit a base which I find distracting at times. So much so, I have to reach over and adjust the bass manually (there is no way to do it with the remote). However, I do enjoy the loud overbearing bass when listening to music that needs it. It’s nice to have a receiver that doesn’t need a separate sub amplifier. It is also quite loud. I never listen to it with the volume turned up over half way and only then when I’m having a party. Because an eighth of the volume is a comfortable volume and a quarter is a little too loud and the remote doesn’t provide very fine volume control, you basically can’t use the remote to adjust the volume. The receiver does have a stylish look to it and the controls on the front are well laid out and easy to use which help make up for the bad remote. VMAX is a joke. I never use. It just muddles up the music and makes everything sound just plain bad. If you’re looking for a simple receiver with out many bells and whistles with a lot of power and good sound, I would recommend this unit, but don’t be surprised if you never use the remote or VMAX.

Strengths:
Great sound with a lot of power. Stylish design.

Weaknesses:
remote and VMAX

Similar Products Used:
AIWA

Price Paid:  $222.00 from Harman audio outlet

Summary:
I read the other reviews on this web site before I purchased my 3470. Many other audiophiles said it was "warm" sounding and I agree! However, for me being a Rock fan this was a welcome thing. I'm running a pair of Klipsch towers and I'll tell you honestly if your into the Doors or Van Halen or anything similar this unit [combined with my Klipsch towers] sounds fantastic! Tremendous bass and power.I was running a Denon 50 watt per ch. and was considering a subwoofer addition. I got the 3470 and now I no longer need/want the sub. The tuner needs a "better" antenna but if the signals there it sounds good. Overall, for the price I paid I doubt I could have done any better.

Strengths:
Rich warm sound suites my taste perfect. Very reasonable $$$$ from Harman direct. Excellent build quality inside and out.

Weaknesses:
Tuner needs help with a quality antenna

Similar Products Used:
Denon and Pioneer receivers