Amplifier selection for your Harbeths (general, not specific Harbeth models)

[Paul G Smith]

Yes, this was my thinking too. But the point I made in my last post was that the performance in the bass region was poor - very soft indeed. That is why I was so surprised because, as you say, I expected a tight bass with good control.

Happy New Year Alan,
I think my B&W ASW750s are driven by an internal 1Kw class D amp. They sound extremely tight!
They also work extremely well with my M30s.

[chord]

Another digital amp worths considering is nuforce 9SE or V2 currently (V3 is scheduled to come out in 2009). Though I don't like the company's concept of rolling updates or replacement very frequently. This pair of mono-blocks does sound tight and solid in bass and clear and airy in the high. Its performance may exceed that of the Chord amp I used to have.

[denjo]

Hi
I am new to this forum and this is my maiden post!
I was wondering if there are any Harbethians (SHL 5s in particular) who have experiences to share with a YBA Passion 300 Integre amplifier (100 watts into 8 ohms)? I have read the many posts and the general view that Harbeth speakers are non-fussy with most amplifiers.

Dennis

[Gan CK]

Hi
I am new to this forum and this is my maiden post!
I was wondering if there are any Harbethians (SHL 5s in particular) who have experiences to share with a YBA Passion 300 Integre amplifier (100 watts into 8 ohms)? I have read the many posts and the general view that Harbeth speakers are non-fussy with most amplifiers.

Dennis

Hi bro, yes the SHL-5s are very amp friendly & sound great with virtually any amp. I am only running my SHL-5 with an Arcam A85 & am already in musical nirvana. Your YBA passion should yield even better results.

[denjo]

Hi Gan
Thanks for the assurance! I had an Arcam Delta 290 way back in 1995 and it sounded very good. Guess the new Arcam iterations will sound even better. I was just concerned I was using a sledgehammer to break a nut and was told that the YBA Passion 300 was an overkill!

Best Regards
Dennis

[Gan CK]

Hi Gan
Thanks for the assurance! I had an Arcam Delta 290 way back in 1995 and it sounded very good. Guess the new Arcam iterations will sound even better. I was just concerned I was using a sledgehammer to break a nut and was told that the YBA Passion 300 was an overkill!

Best Regards
Dennis

Hi Dennis, don't worry, your YBA Passion won't be an overkill. I had a neighbour many years ago who used VTL flagship monoblocks (approx 300wpc) to drive the old HL-5 & the pairing sounded very substantial, majestic & simply awesome yet also delicate, subtle, & sweet where appropriate.

[Soundbyte]

Hi
I am new to this forum and this is my maiden post!
I was wondering if there are any Harbethians (SHL 5s in particular) who have experiences to share with a YBA Passion 300 Integre amplifier (100 watts into 8 ohms)? I have read the many posts and the general view that Harbeth speakers are non-fussy with most amplifiers.

Dennis

Welcome...Dennis - I do believe your amp will be perfect for the SHL-5... I am only using 35 Watts for my SHL-5.... is more than sufficent to drive the speakers really loud!

Cheers.

[denjo]

Hi Soundbyte
Thanks for the warm welcome!
Thanks also for your nod that my proposed YBA Passion 300 will be a good match.
Could I ask if your 35 watts is SS or tube? Also, I read that Alan Shaw uses a 50-watter to drive his Harbeths. Does anyone know what amplifier this might be?

Best Regards
Dennis

[Soundbyte]

Hi Soundbyte
Thanks for the warm welcome!
Thanks also for your nod that my proposed YBA Passion 300 will be a good match.
Could I ask if your 35 watts is SS or tube? Also, I read that Alan Shaw uses a 50-watter to drive his Harbeths. Does anyone know what amplifier this might be?

Best Regards
Dennis

I am using Lavardin IS Ref (Solid State amp). First watt Is the most important. In theory, if a speaker is about 85db per 1 watt will produce loud enough for domestic enviroment. Often that is a bit loud to hold a comfortable converstation. Alan never disclose the type of amp that he uses... but like he said - I do agree any "reasonable" quality amp will be enough for Harbeth especially the C7 & SHL-5...

[Gan CK]

Hi folks, anybody here pairing their Harbeths with LFD amplifiers? Just came back from listening to LFD Integrated MI100 (SE) dual mono amplifier driving Harbeth SHL-5 & i must say that i was very impressed. The LFD excels on tonal purity, transparency, musicality & sophistication. It was very detailed yet not bright or forward. Midband was very smooth,liquid & classy. Highs were exemplary too. Extended & shimmering yet sweet & not edgy at all. Quite a feat actually. Bass was adequate but lacks a little bit of focus though i would accrue that to the less than ideal acoutics of his living room. Some room treatment here would be useful to get the most out of the system. All in all i enjoyed listening to the LFDs with the SHL-5s. Aural memory can be fickle but i thought the LFDs sounded a tad like Lavardin, especially in terms of midband purity & sophistication.

[Robnz]

So many combinations that I've given up worrying! I normally run my SHL5's with a pair of 100w Manley mono blocks but of late have been lucky enough to run them with a 30w Pass Labs XA30.5. While they both sound very different, depending on the music and mood I could live with either of them. I don?t think there is a perfect amp for every source, sitting and recording?. just one that fits the budget.

[Hu]

So many combinations that I've given up worrying! I normally run my SHL5's with a pair of 100w Manley mono blocks but of late have been lucky enough to run them with a 30w Pass Labs XA30.5. While they both sound very different, depending on the music and mood I could live with either of them. I don?t think there is a perfect amp for every source, sitting and recording?. just one that fits the budget.

Agree with you, Robnz, even my Plinius gives different sound at his A Class and A/B class, for some sort of music this sounds better or for other sort of music that sounds better for my ear.

[LGCS1]

Hi Everyone,

Although I've been lurking around for a while, this is my first post here. I run my C7s (non-ES) with Audio Note P1 SE, Odyssey Khartago monos and Audio Note Conquest monos. Naturally, each amp gives a different sound, but to me, all are musical with (in varying degrees) rythm and soundstage that I cannot really complain about

Listening area is almost square living room, about 5.7 m x 4.5m x 3+ m, with corner of wall behind speakers opening to dining room etc. No sound treatment whatsoever unless kids' toys, newspaper rack, sofa and piano are counted. Sources are a mix of digital and analogue.

My first time trying to express in words how each amp sounds, so please forgive me if I am not very clear:

Conquest - Musical presence can be felt (fills the space between the speakers and listener as someone put it). Musical notes have "weight". Good rythm and pace.

Khartago - A bit more laid back than Conquest. Notes have less "weight" (i.e. a little more thin?) but nonetheless sweet and musical. However, bass seems to go lower than Conquests (not surprising as it is solid state and has much more power).

P1 - Rated at only 9 watts, but drives the C7s competently. Good soundstage and rythm, musical, but of course not as good in bass as the other 2. A little less refined and notes have even less "weight" i.e. even thinner. The slight lack of refinement could perhaps be improved with a change of tubes - I haven't changed the factory supplied tubes. Will try one day.

Hope this helps anyone trying to figure out what amps to get. What I find special about the C7s is that it has no problems matching all of them and helps to bring out the character of each amp. They are the single greatest improvement I've experienced so far.

By the way, Soundbyte, I think I bought your C7s.

[Soundbyte]

By the way, Soundbyte, I think I bought your C7s.

Is that so? I sold off my Compact 7ES2 - I didn't have the C7 Non ES version... Anyway welcome to Harbeth Sounds!

Cheers.

[LGCS1]

My mistake - they are ES-2s. For some reason, I keep thinking of them as non-ES, perhaps because they are not the new ES-3s. Bought them end Oct 07.

[denjo]

Has anyone tried a TVC (transformer volume control) preamp with your harbeths? I have a Bent Audio TAP TVC powered by a Sanders 360 watt SS amplifier and would welcome views on the combination.

[mznn]

Has anyone tried a TVC (transformer volume control) preamp with your harbeths? I have a Bent Audio TAP TVC powered by a Sanders 360 watt SS amplifier and would welcome views on the combination.

I'm using the TVC from Promitheus Audio with a Trends Audio TA 10.1 ( used as power amp ) driving my C7 ES-3. To me the combination is really great coz I don't / can't listen loud and it gives me great clarity at night listening.

[denjo]

I'm using the TVC from Promitheus Audio with a Trends Audio TA 10.1 ( used as power amp ) driving my C7 ES-3. To me the combination is really great coz I don't / can't listen loud and it gives me great clarity at night listening.

mznn,
I have heard great things about Promitheus! I know the Trends but did not know they were powerful enough to drive the Harbeths! Cool! My Bent Audio TVC is much like the Promitheus - very transparent and pure!

[Philippe Monteyne]

Hello Everybody... I didn't post any message for a while here but continue to follow the discussions with highest interest from time to time.

I'm thinking about changing my close-to-15 years old Woodside tube amp (2X30 W)... I'm used to enjoy my Compact 7s with tube amplification for so many years that I will certainly look at new possiblities in the same direction.

Would anybody have experience with Jadis tube amps? I'm in particular looking at the JADIS DA50, which runs with four KT88 tubes..

Anybody with any experience with Jadis or with similar tubes?

Thanks a lot,

Philippe

Note: a quote about C7s I really liked some time ago on this forum:

" ... Compact 7s, like most Harbeth speakers, are relatively easy to drive and will sound great with just about any quality amp out there. However, they also tend to be very revealing and therefore, you must make sure that they are fed a high quality signal..."

[DSRANCE]

I would very respectfully suggest that Jadis make "male jewelry" products that wouldn't perform any better at all than the Woodside amps you have and love, apart from using up even more electricity and heating the room excessively.

The Woodside amps were made by a Bristol firm I think; the same firm that made the 1990's AVI solid state amps. My advice would be to have them serviced, as the electrolytic capacitors may be getting a bit tired now after ten - fifteen years and if you must have a change for the sake of it, then look at EAR Yoshino - beautiffuly crafted valve designs and apparently utterly reliable...