Tubes Asylum: REVIEW: Harmon Kardon Amplifier (Tube) by dls123 Questions about tubes and gear that glows. FAQ

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Model:
Category:	Amplifier (Tube)
Suggested Retail Price:	$500 +
Description:	7581/6L6GC based power amplifier
Manufacturer URL:	Not Available

Review by dls123 on December 06, 2007 at 13:49:22 IP Address: 207.216.69.114

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I have some reservations about writing this only in that the Citation V is a bit of a sleeper amp, with less of a reputation than its larger sibling, the Citation II. I have no interest in adding to any hype or inflating prices for Citation gear in general, especially the V. However….here goes….

First, the caveats. I am not related to Jim McShane, never met him, just bought parts from him several times. I am not in the hifi business, just an end-user as it were.

Several months ago I restored an old Sansui 1000a receiver for a basement system. In doing so I bought some of the power supply parts from Jim McShane. Of course I got great parts and lots of good advice as any of you who have dealt with Jim would already know. Anyway, after finishing the Sansui, a great piece in its own right, I told Jim I’d always wanted to hear a Citation II and was wondering if he knew of a rebuildable one I could buy. Jim didn’t know of a II (who does for a reasonable price..?), but he did know a fellow who had an old Citation V he might part with. So I contacted him and he sold me a V core for a very reasonable price because he wanted to see it in use again. When I received it the amp was a real rat’s nest of various mish mash repairs to the power supply over the years. I ordered every Cit. V kit Jim has, plus a bunch of nice hook-up wire and started in on it. I replaced every cap in the amp, entirely rebuilt the power supply with all of Jim’s stuff, replaced just about every wire in the amp, replaced the rca jacks, the power cord, and added 5-way binding posts for the speaker outputs. I also added one extra $20 or so tweak that Jim recommends for the V. This involves building a small bridge rectifier on a terminal strip on the power supply bracket and feeding DC to two small regulator assemblies mounted next to each of the two 12BY7a’s, thereby converting the filament supply for those two tubes from 5v AC to 5v regulated DC. After tracking down some hum issues the amp is done and is quiet now at idle. It has maybe 80 hours on it and has settled down. I plan on rolling some tubes, but I know how it sounds now….

First, let me make it clear that this is a totally modified Citation V using all of Jim McShane’s mods and kits; I have never heard a stock Citation V. OK, all I can say is that I have owned a lot of amps including 5 or 6 tube amps. I have been listening to a custom built KT88 PP power amp which uses 12au7 –> 6SN7 –> KT88, with AC filament and no feedback. I have had it wired in triode for about 20 watts/ch and rolled all sorts of tubes. Let’s just say it has a very good complement of tubes in it and it is a very fine amplifier and I have lived with it for 4 years now. The Citation V is definitely in the same league and it cost me much less, and in some ways it is better. I can throw out all sorts of hifi jargon, but basically the Citation V is a stunning little amplifier that has tons of headroom, belying the 40 watt/ch rating. It is well balanced across the frequency spectrum. It is hugely dynamic, and most of all it has absolutely stunning imaging. Mine is driving a pair of Joseph Audio RM25si Mk2 speakers. These are an MTM floorstander which is rated a 8 ohms, and 88dB if I recall. They are an easy load for a tube amp because they never dip below 6 ohms. The image beautifully and go petty low, I think they are 3 dB down at 35Hz or some such. I can detect no strain in the Cit. V when driving the Josephs as loud as you’d ever care to listen in a large living room. Anyway, the Josephs are imaging champs and with the V driving them it is almost spooky. With a good amp the Josephs have always thrown a floor to ceiling image with extension a couple of feet outside of the speakers. Depth was always nice. Well, with the Cit. V the image starts to extend towards you to the extent that with certain tubes and on certain recordings it almost is wrapping around you. It is very easy to get lost in the recording.

The Citation V dashes some of my preconceived notions. I always assumed an amp with reasonably high levels of feedback could not possibly have much air and imaging. Wrong. I am quite certain the quality of this amp is due to the legendary output transformers and the high quality power supply as modified with Jim’s kits. Also Jim’s re-cap kits make quite a difference. I wouldn’t say the Citation V is bright, I would just say it is ruthlessly accurate. It simply amplifies what is coming in with incredible frequency extension. I would say it leans toward a “fast” rather than slow and syrupy sound, but it retains that tube sweetness we all love. It has lots of headroom and is extremely dynamic with a velvet black background that all really good amps have. Whether you will like it depends on your taste and the rest of your system, but despite its rather homely appearance it is a stunningly good amplifier. If you have an already bright system or room and are looking to tone it down, don’t look at a Citation V. However, if your system is well balanced the frequency response of this amp at the upper end will knock your socks off. At this level you can take your pick of amps. Any amp of this sonic quality is a good amp…you are playing in the big leagues and you have a stereo that is better than anyone you know with the exception of the other nutso audiophiles who read this and similar forums – and we know who we are! If you find a Citation V on the cheap, I can heartily recommend you invest the $300 or so for Jim’s kits and a quad of Winged C 6L6GC’s. At the very least do the power supply and the caps. For $20- $30 worth of really nice wire and jacks and 20 or 30 hours you can completely re-wire it and replace all the jacks and cables. When you are done, you will be glad you did….you’ll have a seriously good amplifier on your hands!

Now to find a II to rebuild……

Happy listening!

Don

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Product Weakness:	A little homely looking, but sounds great.
Product Strengths:	imaging, frequency response, dynamic range

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Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier:	H-K Cit V
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Space-tech labs QA115-reg
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Consonance 2.2 CDP
Speakers:	Joseph Audio RM25si Mk2
Cables/Interconnects:	signal labs, mac cables
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	all sorts, jazz, pop, bluegrass, classical
Room Size (LxWxH):	20 ft x 15 ft x 9 ft
Time Period/Length of Audition:	80 hours or so
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

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