Harman Kardon HK 340 (1978–1980)
The Harman Kardon HK 340 is a solid-state tuner amplifier - a receiver - produced from 1978 to 1980. It survives mostly through owner reports and a couple of period magazine mentions. There is no deep archival record.
Every source agrees on the power output: 44 watts per channel. Owners on audio forums call it a "powerhouse" and say it holds its own against their best receivers. One owner ran it through a pair of EPI 100s in an office setup and called it a great combo. The same owner noted the H/K manual claims output from 0.5 watt up to the full 44 watts, which suggests the amplifier was designed to be stable and linear at low levels as well as at full tilt.
HI-Fi-Stereo-Buyers (November 1979, p.48) ran a piece that framed the 340 as a David against the Goliath of average $300 receivers. It argued the 340 shared the qualities of its more powerful Harman Kardon relatives - an oversized power supply, discrete transistors rather than IC chips, ultrawideband design, and low negative feedback. The review praised transient response as crisp and clean. Owners also point to the "famous HK twin power design" and a big toroidal transformer as key features.
The one recurring gripe is a bit of static in the volume pot, which one owner mentioned needing to address. That's a common enough aging issue in receivers of this era.
Known specs:
- Power output: 44W per channel
- Tuning range: FM, MW (also listed as FM, AM — same band, different naming)
- FM sensitivity: 2.5µV
- Dimensions: 440 x 133 x 330 mm
- Weight: 8.9 kg
Beyond that, the record is thin. No original price has surfaced, and there is no clear sense of where the 340 sat in Harman Kardon's lineup relative to the 330 or 430 models. It appears to have been a well-regarded receiver from the late '70s.
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