Integrated amp recommendations for harbeth 30.2 XD

I have the HARBETH 30.2 XD’s driven by a REGA OSIRIS integrated amp and paired with its stablemate REGA ISIS VALVE cdp/DAC. (And a MAGNUM DYNALAB FT101a ETUDE fm tuner)
It is stellar and a keeper .... full stop.

If you are now questioning your overall audio performance with these killer speakers, my guess is that the problem would likely be the compromises and warts with your source and/or the room acoustics ..... And not your REGA amp. These speakers will graphically reveal all the pros and cons upstream.

Your speakers will perform a lot better if placed on quality build open form stands (look at TonTraegers ...I have custom build bespoke clones done by a pro woodworker) and also properly positioned from the back wall and side walls ( min .75 m and 1 m respectively)

https://www.tontraeger-audio.com/lang/en/reference-stands.html
https://vinylsound.ca/products/tontraeger-m30-1-reference-stands-for-harbeth-monitor-30-1

RYDER has a good point in general vis-a-vis matching higher strata build upstream components to very revealing HARBETH speakers (… and this is not just limited to REGA’s lower tier offerings ,,,): You always only get what you pay for….

Maximizing your HARBETHs performance is an alchemy of 3 things: - a direct function of the components system build price point in the 1st part,
- Price alone is no assurance of a pathway down the Yellow Brick Road to Audio OZ . One size does not fit all …. It will need experimentation to maximize system synergy overall
- And finally, an awareness and ethereal management of acoustic warts introduced in your bespoke listening arena. Th identical system in two different arenas can sound very different in terms of listener satisfaction.

THE GOOD NEWS AND NOT SO GOOD NEWS IMO:

Your HARBETHs are the most agnostic speakers I’ve auditioned in suitable matching with the many high-build amplifier brands. E.g. LFD was my 2nd choice behind my REGA OSIRIS with great results

Conversely they are most revealing speaker to an extreme of graphically exposing all compromises and limitations from your source. That includes the complimentary issue about performance and quality of your ICs.

THE OPEN END CONFLICTING ISSUE OF “BEST” SPEAKER CABLES:

Mr Shaw preaches his mantra that HARBETH are completely agnostic about “good” speaker cables, and that low-budget cheap 79-strand QEDs are examples of suitable partners. Both my HARBETH dealer and I are not in his cohort army.. I currently run a full all-NORDOST FREY high-end loom array with great performance.

LITMUS TEST BAKE-OFF COMING: I just bought the comparatively modest strata CHORD RUMOUR speaker cables to purposely test drive Mr. Shaw’s theories / assumption in the coming weeks in a direct A-B shootout against my incumbent FREYs. (There is a BIG difference in price point deltas…)

Interested parties can PM me on the results.

FWIW

“ …… I just bought the comparatively modest strata CHORD RUMOUR speaker cables to purposely test drive Mr. Shaw’s theories / assumption in the coming weeks in a direct A-B shootout against my incumbent FREYs. (There is a BIG difference in price point deltas…) …”

“ ….. Please share your impressions on the Nordost Frey vs Chord Rumour speaker cable on this thread. Personally I don’t think the Rumour will sound better than the Frey. I used to have Chord Epic on the Harbeth SHL5+ . The Epic is a higher range cable than the Rumour and it does sound quite respectable with the Harbeth. I now use Chord Signature XL and it made the Epic sound colored and slightly congested. The higher range Signature XL’s clarity is quite a step up from the Epic. For this reason I don’t think the Rumour will surpass the performance of the Nordost Frey in your system. In short, cables do matter with the Harbeth or any other speaker in my experience. …”

HANDS-ON UPDATE:

Yup….cables matter …full stop,…no big surprise here . The litmus test is in.
My take: I don’t get Alan Shaw’s stated agnosticism that cables don’t matter.

(1) Comparatively, the CHORD RUMOURs are a big step down from my NORDOST FREYs comparatively in an A-B direct bake-off. The CHORDs sounded congested, thickly veiled, and solely lacking the same resolution and finesse that the HARBETHs are capable of performance-wise on all levels.

(2) I put the FREY speaker cables back in and I borrowed CARDAS CLEAR XLR ICs for an in-house audition and direct A-B bake-off against my NORDOST FREY XLR’s.
Wow …. An expensive $$ upgrade pathway for me now, because these CARDAS CLEARs are now a keeper for me.

In brief, they simply performed “better” at about a 10% - 20% add resolution. / added finesse / added open airiness audio improvement level, with further notable eliminations of any occasional harsh “edge”, depending on the quality of the recordings.

The FREYs are very good contenders and no pretenders by any measure , but the CARDAS CLEARs are the clear winner (no pun intended). Simply put, they open up the HARBETH’s to a higher audio performance and resulting music appreciation level across the whole spectrum. ‘Nuff said.

No way the CARDAS CLEAR ICs are coming out. They excel with my HARBETH 30.2 XD’s. Full stop.

The complimentary assault on my wallet is that CARDAS CLEAR matched speaker cables are now next as leading candidates for a further upgrade path on the Yellow Brick Road to audio OZ.

FWIW

The 2nd in line model CARDAS CLEAR interconnect in the “Clear” line …the one immediately below the very top model CARDAS CLEAR BEYOND .

http://www.cardas.com/clear_ic.php