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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
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,331 posts
 

PrimaLuna's EVO 400 power amp has a damping factor of 7.  It's their most powerful pure tube amp ever.

The Crown Studio Reference II has a factor of >20,000.

 

 

 

macg19
1,086 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. 

 

 

ahal1's avatar
ahal1 OP
9 posts
 

So - I did purchase the Hegel 400 - and I am still shocked at the difference. I did think that Amp is an Amp-- well, not true. No way to compare the Yamaha (which I quickly sold for 450). The control of the bass is just amazing. With the Yamaha, the piano sounded muffled and bloated - not so with the Hegel. I also built a Ton Trager like stands (from American red oak - so I can't compare to the real thing (German ash, I believe?)

arafiq's avatar
arafiq
1,741 posts
 

Except for the ‘all amps are the same crowd”, this should not be news to anyone. Harbeth speakers like solid state amplification. When I had the 40.2s, my best combo was a tube preamp paired with an SS amp. Best of both worlds. 

bjesien
1,415 posts
 

I had the C7esXP with a Supernait 3 it was a great combo but when I tried to play them "loud" with any bass music the baskets would bottom out. I only did it twice before realizing they’re perfect for most music but don’t excel in others. Kind of surprised, i might have been approaching upper 90’s db. 

Damping on this amp is 330 if that helps anyone figure it out.

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