Harbeth Compact 7's on the way: Amp suggestions?


I recently purchased a new pair of Rosewood C7's. I should have them soon. I had the P3's in a small setup, and sold them about a year ago, so it's time to play again. I will incorporate these in to my main system, as an alternative speaker to listen to. System: Kuzma Stabi Ref, and Ref 313 VTA. EMT tsd 75 (Air Tight PC-7 on back up head shell), A23 Step Up, Shindo VR Pre/phono... The amp I will be using to Break In the 7's is a Croft Phono Integrated. The passive volume control will be in the chain, but I have tried this with the P3's, and it was better than I thought it would be. No knock on the Croft (it's really nice), but I think I will be moving on from it soon. Price range: $3,000...used or New... The great majority of Harbeth owners seem to have Solid State, but I'm open to either Tube or Solid State. I do think the former will have to have some Oomph...perhaps a quad of KT 88's or KT 150's. I'd like to avoid balanced topology, as I want to use my existing RCA cables. Thanks in advance, and Happy New Year. 
fjn04

Showing 1 response by smrex13

I had the Compact 7s for a while in a vinyl-only system.  My experience was that a good solid state amp with 100+ watts made them sound best.  I believe that Alan Shaw makes similar claims on the Harbeth forums.  In any event, a Bryston integrated was my favorite, even better than the fantastic Primaluna Dialogue HP.  When I wanted some tube flavor to the system, I went with a tubed phono stage.  I imagine that a tube preamp with a solid state amp would work very well.  

Just my 2 cents,
Scott