there are several threads on the right amplification to drive harbeths... much has been covered
search and you shall find
short answer is upper tier refined strong solid state:
ayre, hegel, pass, upper luxman, upper naim and some others like primare i-30, sony ta-1es class a, some musical fidelity... and of course some of the megabuck units like gryphon, coda etc etc |
@smrex13 makes a very fair point
i haven’t heard or had the rega aethos myself but from what i can glean from a quick search, it is a substantial effort on the part of rega to build a very good sounding powerful amp, and it should work quite well with harbeths |
just a sidebar, amusing comment...
alan shaw, owner and main man of harbeth, is adamant that his speakers are quite easy to drive, and any ’decent’ amplifier within the wattage ratings provided per each speaker model will do a fine job
on his user forum, any attempt at discussing better or worse amplification for his speakers are shut down by him with an iron fist, as he personally moderates the discussion forum -- with the rationale that the user forum is about users discussing how great his speakers are, but one had better not try to distinguish a better or worse amp to use in driving them - he doesn't want amplifier brands discussed, yamaha vs rega vs denon vs quad vs sugden.... - it needs to be about harbeth
so ok, alan shaw is completely and totally ’agnostic’ about what amps should be used to drive his speakers (all do just a fabulous job) -- then you ask, so alan, in the company, the workshop, the lab, testing room, audio shows, what amp do you use to test and voice and demonstrate your harbeths?
his answer - ’a hegel h360 for many years, and now, a hegel h390’...
ROFLMAO...
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@whipsaw
all good... actions speak louder than words in my view, especially from those who are well versed at marketing :)
all who care can draw their own conclusions, fair or unfair... don’t get me wrong, i really like harbeths, wonderful speakers that sound so true, i have a couple pair... but i think its pretty hilarious about the amps |
@decooney
lol - couple years ago when i bought back a set of compact 7’s for fun (after enjoying super 5’s and mon 40s a decade earlier), i found that harbeth user’s group... first i thought it was hella cool -- the owner main designer boss man goes on the board frequently chats with customers answers questions shares thoughts etc etc
then after a couple weeks i realized that place is run like an oppressive regime... our little hifi world version of ’i can’t breathe’ ... but as all these things go in online and tv media these days, people only gather in their own echo chambers, each agreeing and amplifying long held beliefs, pretty much sheep fanboys and associated dealers participate, very few open minds, limited intellectual honesty - ’tis a comment on our general society as much as harbeth or audio in these times
my view is it is a decent place to gather info on the speakers, esp for those new to harbeth, but it’s not one for any real discussion -- takes nothing away from the excellence of the speakers though... |
@whipsaw
let us know how good it sounds and how it compares with others you have had!
saw darko’s review on the piece... he loves stuff that has cool design, looks so unique and elegant -- that is certainly a beautifully made amp |
the hegel h160 while a ’last gen’ piece at this point, would, imo, set a very high bar to beat in driving harbeths (it is last gen primarily in the dac section only, the amp section is still absolutely top notch) - this is why i am so curious to hear @whipsaw’s findings with his new gato... it would be really something of note if the gato can outperform the h160
another amp i have found to work very very well with the harbeths are the devialets (they also have a useful ’sam’ feature that enhances the bass response of the speaker while also protecting the bass driver) - truly excellent sound
finally, harbeths are a speaker that readily exposes the sq difference between really fine amps like hegel or ayre or pass vs something like a nad... this comment is borne from personal experience, not reviews, nor conjecture |
whip -- be sure to clarify if you used the h160 through its onboard dac, or if you listened to the amp section only with other source feeding the 160 through analog inputs - important distinction
h160 dac based on an older gen akm chip now 5-6 years old, can sound a little dull and obscure some subtle details compared to the better dacs out there today (and the refreshed hegel dac sections)
gato is straight integrated, no onboard dac, yes?
cheers |
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Wonder how the Harbeth’s pair up with the Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista product line? i suspect pretty well... mf’s are voiced with a somewhat spotlit treble (and neutral textured midrange and solid, tight bass) the harbeths can use some of that (at least the non xd ones can, before the xd generation turned up the treble some more) |
kw6 -- that recommendation is a very liberal definition of 'integrated amp'! 😁😁 |
