Is Harman Kardon Signature amps/pre-amps that bad?

There's nothing wrong with HK components in their price range. I think you don't see a lot of mentions on this site because most people are talking about equipment that costs more than the HK products...sometimes significantly more. I have seen quite a few people mention Citation amps though...it does happen every once in awhile.

It's all about value. I borrowed a H/K signature Series 2.0 from my friend for a couple months while my Proceed was in the shop. He paid $450 for it as a new, 'B' stock unit. I felt he got a good value. I felt it was competative with units up to twice the price. However, the list on that unit is $2500. It simply can not compete at that price point. So, IMHO, it's a very nice pre-pro in the $400-900 range, but it's list price is just silly, for what you get, or could get. My friends also was the 2.10b revision. I would say, depending on your taste, it is in the Denon, Onkyo, Marantz or Yamaha Class of gear. I personally prefer Denon or Onkyo in this class.

I recently auditioned a HK Signature 2.0 for a week. The sound was thin and flat. Its retail price point is way too high to compete with the products in that range. If you need a decent pre/pro under $1000, go with a B&K Ref 10 or 20.