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RE: 1958 Harman Kardon TA230 find

Posted by FlaCharlie (A) on September 17, 2016 at 08:59:19

In Reply to: 1958 Harman Kardon TA230 find posted by tbcblues on September 16, 2016 at 17:30:02:

I'd say you got a good deal - especially since it includes the wooden case. I have one buried around here somewhere, I think. I'm not generally a fan of receivers since I rarely listen to radio. Also, I've been told that restoring and aligning tuners is pretty complex. Way over my head.

I have more experience with its integrated amp version, which is the A-300. I assume the amp and preamp sections are essentially the same. The A-300 really shines in the mid and high frequencies but the bass, at least in stock form, is not real tight. I suspect some improvement would be possible by increasing the value of the power supply caps in the voltage doubler and downstream, although this may be limited by the small output transformers. I'd also replace the stock diodes with UF4007s or something. I don't know anything about Valencias but I suspect they are quite efficient. If so, the TA230 should work quite well with them.

Eli's advice, as usual, is spot on if you plan on using the phono input and want to upgrade that aspect of its performance. I'd suggest listening to the amp section first, though, to see if you like it before delving into a redesign of the phono stage.

Bottom line . . . If you are able to work on this yourself it would be a fun project. If you have to hire someone to do the work you will likely end up spending much more than it's really worth in my opinion. It's not generally considered to be one of the top vintage receivers.

If you've never used tube gear and you're curious I'd suggest you take a quick look inside to make sure there aren't any obvious problems like burned parts or leaking goo. If all looks OK, power it up slowly with either a variac, if you have one, or a dim-bulb rig (do a search). Then have a listen and decide if you want to pursue further restoration.

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