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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. 

128x128ahal1
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,844 posts
 

@ahal1 No, and no loudspeaker ever made does.

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bjesien
1,311 posts
 

I have the 7XD with a Leben 300XS and a Supernait 3. They both present wildly different characteristics. The Leben is a holdover from a different speaker and it sounds beautiful at low volumes but doesn't present a soundstage or have bass anything the the Supernait. If I were to ever get a tube amp with these I'd look above 40 WPC, but again that varies wildly with listening preferences and transformers, etc. 

 

I don't know anything about the Yamaha amp you mention but in my experience you get what you pay for. As far as damping factor I'd say 4000 is a bit over the top and not needed for the 7. Never hears a Hegel amp either.

chayro
2,997 posts
 

If you have the ability to build wooden stands, take a look at the Tontrager stands. People rave about them and they shouldn’t be very hard to knock up for anyone with decent woodworking skills. But don’t underestimate the differences a good stand makes to influence the sound  

 

stuartk
2,901 posts
 

@ahal1

You are aware that Harbeth shows with Hegel, right?

I very much doubt they would choose to do so unless they perceived a significant sonic benefit. Whether Harbeths require high damping factor amplification I can’t say.

I can say that when I switched from Well Majestic integrated with damping factor of 200 to Hegel H390, my Silverline monitors "came alive" in a way I’d never heard. That was a dramatic demonstration of the importance of proper speaker/amp matching. Needless to say, YMMV. 

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