Harman Kardon Festival D-1100 (1956)
The Harman Kardon Festival D-1100 is one of the company's earliest receivers. It is a fully tube AM/FM unit presented in 1956, just a few years after Sidney Harman and Bernard Kardon left the David Bogen Company to start their own business in 1953. It was a complex and advanced build for its time, and an important point in the company's history.
The D-1100 used 16 tubes, including 6U8, 12AT7, 6BA6, 6BE6, 6AU6, 6AL5, 12AU7, 6X4, 5U4GA and 5881 output tubes in push-pull configuration. The tuner covered AM and FM bands, and the built-in amplifier delivered 30 watts per channel. It was priced at exactly 200 dollars when new.
Documentation on this model is thin. Most of what's recorded comes from a single Polish-language retrospective on StereoLife, plus occasional classified listings. A Craigslist listing for a working example said the D-1100 put a tuner, control unit, and mono power amplifier in a single chassis, and called it "one of the first true Hi-Fi receivers." The same listing called it "highly sought after by collectors" and said the unit does not come up for sale very often. The record conflicts on its relationship to the Festival D1000. One source describes the D-1100 as the successor to the D1000, while another dates the D1000's introduction to 1958, which would postdate the D-1100's 1956 presentation. The 1956 date is used here because it comes from the more detailed source.
Fully functional examples occasionally appear at auction. One listing mentioned the filter caps as a concern and said the AM sound was "a little less" than ideal. Another seller stressed that all dials, tubes, and labels were original and in place. Output transformers for the D-1100 have also shown up secondhand on DIY audio forums, which suggests parts are scarce.
Known specs:
- Type: Fully tube AM/FM receiver
- Year presented: 1956
- Original price: $200
- Tubes: 16 total, including 6U8, 12AT7, 6BA6, 6BE6, 6AU6, 6AL5, 12AU7, 6X4, 5U4GA, 5881
- Output stage: Push-pull 5881
- Power output: 30 W per channel
- Tuner bands: AM, FM
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