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Harbeth Compact 7's

Hi Gents, (Ladies too), Rlmm here.

Recently acquired a nice pair of Harbeth Compact 7's and I'm trying to decide on some gear to drive them properly. I have tried several things I already own, mostly low powered tube and SS amps/preamps. Not real happy so far with the results, but I know these speakers are capable of great things. Based on my experience so far, they seem to want and need some real juice behind them, probably SS power. I know some are using tube gear with good success but my instincts tell me good ss may be needed to get the bass response and impact I am looking for. Odly enough my old Quad 303 amp colecting dust offered up some pretty good impact, just a little dated in some ways. This probably confirms my feelings regrding the need for SS and hefty power supply, which the Quad is known for. I also need some help with the correct size stands for these too. Any and all help is appreciated. BTW, room size is aprox-12x15x8 Thanks as always for your time.
Rlmm.
rlmm

Showing 2 responses by jjss49

jjss49's avatar
jjss49
6,612 posts
 
Some people swear by the tiny little P3s but I think Harbeth should stop making them. They cheapen the brand too much, and involve too many compromises.


disagree -- p3’s have a place in the line... it is a ls3/5a heritage speaker, modernized, and there have been upwards of 500,000 pair of ls3/5a’s and their variants sold over time... hardly a reason to discontinue production

not to mention current p3’s are $3.300 a pair for a mini monitor, hardly cheapens the brand
jjss49's avatar
jjss49
6,612 posts
 
I agree Harbeths (at least bigger ones than the miniature P3SE) can benefit from solid state amp grip on the woofers, which otherwise can play bass that is rich, but a little slow and bloated.  Some better tube amps with excellent relatively linear designs like ARC or Primaluna can do a decent job.  Otherwise, in the ss realm, Hegels are outstanding.  

FInally I have read so much about these boutique LFD's I snatched one up used just now and will try with my C7's see what the fuss is all about  :)
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