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 |
I think the amp you need is dependent on your listening taste as far as volume and music selection goes. It will definitely work with a Nait 5i, but not if you are seeking louder volumes IMO. A supernait would be a good choice as well and would provide more oomph.
@tlinkie - I've owned SHL5s and Monitor 30s and the little P3s definitely have their place in the right room. Personally, they fit better into my system than the Monitor 30s. As I said above, depends on your listening taste. But they are some damn good speakers. |
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. IDK, maybe for near-field desktop systems or something.
The C7 is a great speaker so long as you’re talking about the 2 and 3 versions. Feed them quality material and the most you’ll ever need is a sub, depending on your taste in music and your listening space.
All of the Harbeths from there on up are splendid, amazing speakers. Not everyone "gets" it but that’s okay.
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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 :) |
Both Mistral and LFD electronics are an excellent match with Harbeth loudspeakers.
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No experience with Ear tube amp. In my limited experience, Harbeth loudspeakers require (suitable) solid-state amp for an all-round performance which includes maintaining the speed, pace and agility especially in the bass department when playing rock or demanding dynamic music. Adequately powerful SS amps that are able to provide the current to drive the speakers. Tube amps have their appeal and are capable of producing a glowing or romantic tone to voices and delicate highs ie. vocals or lullaby music but often fall short when playing rock or dynamic music with plenty of fast thumping bass lines.
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What better time than 2020 to resurrect this thread. Would anyone like to offer their opinion on cellosven's comments. Certainly many seem to choose Solid State. There is of course the fact that MORE people buy Solid State in general. Yet, having followed the forums on this subject, many have chosen SS over Tubes by actually experimenting. I am wondering if the C7's being what they are (laid back, refined, full sounding... yet detailed and articulate), that perhaps many tube amps are too much of a good thing.
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Sorry to be late to the party, but SS amps are not a must. The EAR 70 watt is plenty powerful and, by comparison, a great value. Even has room to knock it down a few watts and put good KT88s in there. |
Rlmm:
Glad you found the source of the low-end vibration. However, it seems that the C7s are indeed vulberable to some mild buzz at very low bass extremes, at high volume. I wa playing one of Stereophile's reference CDs the other day, and on a Stanley Clarke track the lowest registers of the acoustic bass caused some buzz-type vibration. Never heard it under any other circumstances, and it disappeared when I backed my amp off a bit. I guess $2500 speakers have to have a least a few limitations. Even so, I love 'em. |
A Harbeth dealer in the UK used to recommend Densen B-100. 60wpc into 8Ohms, 120wpc into 4Ohms.
I've never heard the compact 7s but I own the B-100 and it's a wonderful little amp ... Naim Nait like drive but with better transparency and sweeter treble. |
I have recently purchased a NAIM NAIT 5i for my Compact 7s.
Since your room is relatively small (mine is 12x12x9) I can endorse this combination even with the 50 watt/channel amp section. I'm preferring this to my previous Audio Refinement Complete integrated. I felt that Harbeth got me out of the upgrade cycle; I can see myself living with the 7 for many years. I have the same satisfaction so far with the NAIM 5i. (I'm also quite happy with the NAT 05 tuner) |
Hi. I have a new pair of C7s mated to a 15 year-old McIntosh MAC4300 receiver. SS, 100 w/ch. Perfect match, for all the reasons that you list in your post, especially because it provides the bass response that the speakers need.
While my MAC was out getting its routine 5-year service in Binghamton, I hooked them up to a 25 year-old Marantz 2225. Even 25 watts drove them beautifully. These are fabulous speakers that will make anything sound great.
As for stands, I have them on 24" Sound Anchor four-posts. Frankly, I hate the looks of the stands, but they do the job better than anything else I auditioned. Tellig's review in Stereophile said mount them on cheaper, sand-fillables, but I disagree.
I agree with the poster who said that Naim components make a good match with the C7s. I auditioned them on Naim, CJ and VAC amps.
Enjoy! |
Rlmm:
You may want to consider the Naim electronics for your Compact 7s. This combo is often recommended and used in the UK and my setup has provided some good tunes for the past several years. Depending on your budget, the new 150/112 would be a minimum starting point with the 200/202 a very nice match indeed. Best of luck. |
Found out that little vibration I was hearing was actually a loose spike/nut on the bottom of the speaker stand. Turns out the spike and nut were vibrating slightly with deeper bass and low frequency information. Pays to check these things a little closer, Duh. |
Thanks for your advice so far on the 7's. I had actually forgotten about the Stratos, might be a good choice. I'm not that familiar with the Plinius line at all, however I have heard good things regarding the line in general. What preamps are you using with these SS amps. Think a nice tube pre would be a good choice or should I stay with a SS pre as well ? Everybody that has commented so far seems to support the fact that more power is better. Not so much for volume levels but I suspect for overall control, headroom, dynamics, that sort of thing. The 7's do seem to have great speed and pitch. I'm really surprised at their ability to play in a not so big room without getting out of hand. I did notice however on some bass extremes the 7's can exhibit (at least in my room with current gear) some odd kind of vibration in the drivers on a couple of odd bass notes or lower frequency drums at a little higher volume. This may well be because of not nearly enough power for good control over the drivers, etc. Any thoughts on that ? Could also just be the recording perhaps.
Rlmm. |
any quality ss amp of 100 watts or more/ or any good push/pull tube design of 75 watts will drive the sevens.....the more power though, the better. |
Rlmm
You are correct in your assumptions regarding the SS amps to be used with the speakers. They will sound good with a good tube amp but they really blossum with a good SS amp. I have owned these speakers for a year and a half now, and I have been using ARC D-130's with great success.
I am in the process of going to the new ARC 150.2 to acquire a little more power; however any good SS amp will serve very nicely. While I havn't tried it I understand that the Plinus line of amps works real well with these speakers.
Whatever your choice enjoy these wonderful speakers, as they are truly great speakers.
All the best.
Regards
AEW |
Rlmm - I like the way the sound with my Odyssee Stratos Dual Mono (180 wpc), and they also sounded really good with a Plinius 102. From what I've read you are right, they are generally favored with SS amps over 150 wpc. Good luck and tell us what you come up with. |
