Listening test:Harman Kardon CA1500M

Not too long ago I done some sneak peaks and specs on the Harman Kardon range of amplifiers.For my test I have chosen to begin with the mono amplifier from the range to see just what these range of amps have on offer.I will be testing the 2 channel,4 channel and later the 5 channel amplifier.

I stated before that these amplifiers have awesome cosmetics,but,now I would like to see if the cosmetics are not just masking a 'dud'!To start off with I chose a trio of 10 inch subwoofers from the Hertz stable.Being their entry level range,the Dieci series,which handle a measly 150w RMS and are single voice coil units.I had an enclosure fabricated for them from MDF and had it partitioned so that each sub would have it's own dedicated enclosure space.For my source unit,I used a Kenwood DDX-7029 which has 5 volt preouts and all the rest of the bells and whistles one would equate with such a unit.

Hooking up and setting the amplifier was pretty straight forward,using only Allen head screws for both power and speaker inputs and outputs.The terminals are classy and are a very sturdy design.I used Audison's highest range RCA,the Sonus series for audio transfer into the amplifier.Again,great quality RCA inputs are used on this amplifier and the Sonus RCA's held firmly and secure to them.
This amplifier comes supplied with a Bass remote which I did not use in my test as my source unit has it's own sub level adjustment.

A little technology borrowing was done from inside the Harman stable(JBL and Infinity).The DBO(Dynamic Bass Optimizer) circuitry found on both JBL and Infinity amplifiers is also available on the CA1500M.This basically allows the user to fine tune the amplifier to get the most out of the subwoofer/s in terms of the extreme sub bass notes.
On the controls side of things along with the DBO there is a variable Phase Adjustment from 0 to 180 degrees,a variable low pass crossover and the gain control.

I wired my trio of subs in parallel(me being brave) to give me a final load of 1.3 ohms,the amp capable of handling a 1 ohm load producing 900w RMS!My reason for loading the amplifier down so low was that I was keen on seeing and listening to the control and strain the amplifier would handle and how well it would do so.

On a side note,I used another amplifier,a JBL GTO4060 Anniversary series to power my JBL GTO507 splits for full range and had another JBL GTO2060 Anniversary,which I used earlier to just listen to the subs(the subs being wired in series at 12 ohms,bridged,giving me a final load of 6 ohms)and in doing so giving me not as much power but loads of damping for control.The control was there but the sub bass was a bit boomy and rowdy at times.

Back to the listening with the HK(not Hong Kong....lol).I started my listening with some of my favorite jazz tracks.Some Michael Buble to get things going.My first impression when the subs were playing although not moving was,are the subs even working??
Yes indeed they were,the integration with the splits was seamless with the higher bass tones(65Hz up).Then came the low stuff......WOW!The power delivery was extremely smooth and the overall control this amplifier had on these baby woofers was phenomenal!I got up and took my multimeter just to be sure I had a 1.3 ohm load!!

Man this got me excited!!Swapped over to Me and Mrs Jones,a smooth track,smooth tune and my oh my did this HK let out the bass notes smooth as silk.Deep,tight and once again,oh so controlled!Monitoring the amp lighting as well as my power supply,this amp sure was doing the heavy stuff but without the heavy current draw I was expecting!

Swapping over from Michael to the drum track on the Focal test disc,and again,sitting right next to the subs and the higher bass notes integrated so well with the splits.Like I mentioned earlier,using the JBL amp,dialing in the required frequency on the LPF still drew my attention straight to the subs with 60Hz up as you could literally hear it emanating from them.This Harman really is a well engineered piece of kit then and I havnt even been listening for more than 5 minutes!With the drum track,the kick drum came through sounding big and deep,as well as being tight and yes you guessed it,very controlled!

So 50Hz down sounded awesome how about the really lows.I popped in my cd of Vanessa Hudgens(the Disney freaks will know her from High School Musical)the track Say ok,close on to the end of the track there's some serious low note work going on in this track.How did the HK cope with it?With sheer style and grace,showing no signs of dramatic strain or any strain at all,and in doing so it still sounded so smooth.I wonder if the Harman geeks weren't feeding this baby Swiss Chocolate......

Another one of my all time favorites with real sub tones, is the music of Hans Zimmer, for the Pirates Of the Caribbean series.The intro track of the movie has some kettle drums that resonate really low.Damn this HK belted it through these 10's with ease and precision.I couldn't believe how well this amplifier made these 'cheapie' subs sound.

I went through numerous tracks,from Tracy Chapman to deep house from Jimpster to Infected Mushroom and Eric Clapton even the odd Linkin Park and I just could not get over how composed and smooth this amplifier is,and the control it offered at such a low impedance.
After almost 2 hours of battering and bashing and booming I leaned forward from my seat to check the temperature of the amplifier and my word was I shocked to feel that it wasnt even near warm!!My GTO2060 had been on idle and it was warm!

To be honest I must say I was very sceptic in the beginning when I was saw these amplifiers,expecting them to be 'fancy' JBL cover ups,but,I take back my words,the team at Harman international have stuck by their claims of this being a Sound Quality amplifier.It wont keep the bass junkies out there entirely happy but to those of us who do enjoy our music for what it was intended for,then I must say,big ups to Harman Kardon on a really awesome piece of kit.