Help me complete my stereo system (Harbeth, ClearAudio Concept).

Research the Belles Aria amplifier (with onboard MM phono).

DeKay

Yes ¨easy to drive¨ is what is advertised but, as you all note and as is supported by reviewers, Solide State with some headroom in the power department is the way to go (despite the occasional good experience with tube gear).  

On the radar at this point : Yamaha A-S 1200, Luxman (though price is a bit out of whack with the rest of the system, but I'm intrigued), and perhaps NAIM (though their offer is multiple and confusing, I like the minimal aesthetic and perhaps the brit fi factor).    

I drive my P3ESRs with a used set of analog Linn Klimax I ran into. After testing and comparing, I selected a Cambridge Audio Azure 851N as source. If the Linn hadn't crossed my path, I'd probably have auditioned the CA Azur power amp as well. That combo would set you back about 3k€, which would make sense given the P3's price. 

I understand that Harbeth general advice for amplification is that they're easy to drive, but you can't go wrong with a decent, beefy solid state amp. 

Yes, it is a great amplifier. Sorry, I was just providing info regarding power requirements, not trying to make a amp recommendation.

You might start a new thread requesting amp recommendations for the P3s. Provide budget, sonic preference, rooms size specifics therein. 

I see, sure looked the business that amp.

BEL, Brown Electronics Labs is no longer. Mr. Brown passed away in 2009. 

So far, the feedback and real world experience from owners is that P3ESR will be fine for my room size.  This confirms what I suspected and so my heart and mind are now set 100% on the P3s.

My current setup is Creek EVO 50A with smallish 4ohms speakers with 4 inch woofers and while these are fast, accurate, lack a bit of bass  and have good midrange, I find that I prefer a more natural presentation which has led me to Harbeth with midrange focus where I think is where music happens.  I play drums (jazz, light rock) and appreciate good tone and realistic timbres, and find anything bright fatiguing (slight tendnitis tendency...) so Harbeths are it, and considering other factors P3ESRs fit the bill.

Now on to amplification...  

The Accuphase /Harbeth dealer closed shop during Covid 19 to go online exclusively.  

Mesch,

Thanks for the BEL recommendation, I will check into those for sure.  

J

Juleman I would assume you are auditioning the Harbeth's with Accuphase at a dealer? If so does that dealer have more affordable amplification they can demo for you? You will get lots of different recs here some good some bad but nothing beats hearing something for yourself.

Yes the P3 would play well into your room and of a quality that responds to quality amplification.  Regarding sensitivity I believe they are much like my Esoteric MGs which are ~87db sensitive and 6 ohm nominal impedance with a min slightly below 4 ohms. My room is 12' by 15' with 8.5' height and well treated with absorption. I drove the MG10s with a BEL 50wpc amp that was 2 ohm stable to very high levels. 

There are many fans of the P3, hopefully they will chime in as to what they use for amplification.

juleman,
I have owned many speakers including the Harbeth C7 and M30.1. I always return to the P3, I have owned four pairs. I use mine with all tube gear. My friend uses his with solid state gear.

Elliott,
Thank you for your comments/recommendations.  These are all valid points and many of which I've already considered.  Same as mentioned in the De Filios video, I'm not inclined to add a sub. If I feel the bass would not be well served, that would mean going to a bigger woofer, hence why I also have C7s under consideration.

The dilemma with P3esr seems to be that, while they seem like a good bargain, they can't be exploited to their full potential with budget tier amplification. I think the P3s would do a more than adequate job for my space and budget.  If I move and have a larger listening space a few years down the line, I would expect the P3 setup to become either a secondary system or make one of my sons very happy. My budget would move within the reaches of HL5 or 30.1 or the like.   

Yogi,
I've watched that review so many times lately, I find it relaxing for some reason, he makes a great case for the P3s sonic signature and what is so attractive about them.    

Speakers, without a doubt are the most important choice, they will be the ’sound’ of your system. Everything else will be small refinements, heard or imagined.

You may love the sound of those speakers, however I advise you to keep on looking before you buy them.

Think long: you may move, you may want to try tube amps, you might want to try bi-amp.

Try to find more efficient speakers you also love. As primary speakers, I also would try for a larger woofer, I prefer no ports, if so, front ones only.

If you do buy small woofers, perhaps think about adding a pair of self powered subs now or later. A pair, front firing, located near the mains. Bass, fundamentals and the bass overtones do produce stereo imaging, a single sub dis-allows that. Bass players in jazz are often a significant part of the group’s success, and enjoyment.

Letting the self-powered sub take the low bass, sending only upper bass, mids, highs, makes it much easier for your amp, and, critically, the smaller woofers no longer need to try to make low bass, that's a big deal when using smaller woofers.

Efficient speakers works itself into the system, gives you many more options. Most importantly the more competitive world of lower powered amp(s): smaller physical size; weight, heat, placement options.

Lower cost amp(s) allows more for other parts within the budget of the initial system, i.e. more efficient speakers, less amp cost, gives more money for the speakers themselves, or more for the preamp.

I too listen to a lot of Jazz, stereo and mono. I recommend choosing a preamp with a ’loudness’ circuit, automatically/progressively engaged only at low volumes. Maintaining the bass player at low volumes, for me, retains involvement with the music, loss of the bass player becomes background music.

Recording techniques prior to Stereo were quite good, many great bass players. Not the location, but the distinction of individual players is refined by using several techniques: mono mode; mono cartridge; single speaker. Even in Mono, maintaining a more distinct awareness of the bass player at low volume retains involvement.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal-loudness_contour

Yes, if you buy less efficient speakers, you will need a V-8. Keep in mind, you need twice the power to produce a perceptible volume increase of +3db. Choosing 87 efficiency means you start out needing twice the power to produce the sound level of a 90 efficiency speaker. Or, choose a 90 db efficiency, you need only half the power to produce the same sound level.

A bit more, double the amp power again. It adds up.

The p3 is a good choice for that size room! This guy likes them as much as I do!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqFIaiPT_kY

Also, based only on reviews thus far, I think there might be some interesting amplification options from NAIM, Simmaudio and Yamaha.  Luxman is a bit pricey for the kit contemplated; I don't see the point of driving 3K speakers with 6K amplification.  Hegel has surfaced quite a bit in forums I've lurked into but I'm a bit skeptic of internal DACs for the long run.  

I should add that I'm winding down my small CD collection, so I expect streaming to replace those.