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Do Harbeth speakers really need a 4000 damping factor?

Just got Harbeth C7ES-3 XD and using them with a "lowly" Yamaha A-S801 Integrated Amp - which with previous speaker (Canadian made Enigma) sounded OK. The Harbeth - are glorious with vocals and even piano sounds good but Orchestration seems somewhat muffled to me. I read that "Harbeth likes to demo with Hegel" (and Sugden?) but also that "Any good Amp will do".... The question is what is a good Amp? Would a Yamaha with 240 Damping factor suffice or really something like the Hegel with 4000? I am mentioning the damping factor specifically since it was such an obvious difference. On paper it looks like this might have a significant effect (assuming to the positive) on the sound. Any first hand experience opinions are appreciated. 

ahal1

Showing 1 response by macg19

macg19
1,031 posts
 

The answer is no, 240 is plenty.

Your amp is not "lowly".

My 40.3XDs are shared as mains between a T+A integrated and a Yamaha RX3080 AVR. I often stream SXM radio from the Yamaha for casual listening and they sound surprisingly good. 

Prior to the 40's, I did the same with 30.2 XDs - very enjoyable.

The stands matter, as do cables. I've use Ton Trager, but if you can build something similar from hardwood go for it, but get rid of metal frames and glass.

Buy some decent speaker cables, for example from Frank at Signal Cable. They are not expensive - I own the entry level cables and have compared them with my Acoustic Zen Hologram II and the are damn good for the money.

Then, maybe find a used Hegel 590 or similar if budget allows. 

 

 

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