I had the Harbeths for about two years and after trying several tube amps I came to the conclusion that they work better with SS amps. I had a better match with a Quad 909 amp. About 3 weeks ago I had the opportunity to listen to aLeben 600 amp and a Shindo Moonbrison, speakers were Proac (forgot the model, they were big floor standers. The cost was $12000). Anyways, the sound was ok, but it lacked real dynamics, it was kind of soft and mellow, very colorful and rich sound, but after a while you missed the impact of low frequencies. The Leben 600 I believe is 32 w/c. The integrateds are less powerful than the amp. I would try a Rogue Stereo 90. 90 w/c and you can use KT 120's for a more powerful and richer sound.
I own the Stereo 90 and a Perseus combo. For me, it sounds better than the Leben. Just my humble opinion.
Dan |
But the 7 is a vastly different speaker to drive than the 5's.
With the 5's I've watched people divide between Leben or ARC.
With the 7's it's a different kettle of fish entirely.
All about context, and synergy. |
In the past I owned a vsi60 but never listened to them with Harbeth. On the other hand my brother owns the Harbeth HL5 and CS600 and it is a heavenly combo, extremely musical, one of those great synergies. Go to Jeff Days blog at: jeffsplace.me/wordpress/ he writes for 6 moons and Positive Feedback and he has this exact system. On his blog (many pictures) you can look at this system and he gives a great review and makes many cogent comments about this set-up, much more factual than some of the comments here. Oh, and by-the-way, I like the Leben much, much, more than the ARC vsi60. |
Have not heard the VSI60 with that speaker,
but have heard it with similar efficiency
speakers and it sounds far beyond it's 55
watts especially with the KT120 tubes
it ships with now. It is the best bargain
ARC has ever produced.
I've had one for 1 year and the only reason
I'm parting with it, is it's just not enough
to drive my new Revel Studio IIs in a 28x17 room |
To the OP,
Some good, and funny, responses, as usual.
Both are great.
To the lfd added posters, you could compare how the music is presented between the lfd and cs600 or vsi60....the sweet lil leben300, while musically great, can't compare power wise to the others, and IMHO is not a good match with c7's, unless you listen at very low volume. Very low.
Good luck! |
First I think you should ask yourself which mfg.would be more dependable,and most likely to stand behind their product,which has the best overall reputation etc. then I'd get my hands on the vsi60 and the Leben,and compare them side by side with the Harbeths or ANY speaker for that matter.Comments from people about their personal opions about any particular amp are just that,opinions. |
I just got an Ayon Spirit lll to use with Proac D2, I'd certainly add the Ayon to your list. |
My stereo room is 12 x 17. The NCSE has a bit more grunt to it than the smaller Leben. Both the Leben and LFD are similar in being smooth and balanced sounding across the audio spectrum. That is what attracted me most to the Leben and the NCSE, smooth and balanced while capturing and resolving nuances within a recording. In the past three years I had three tube integrated amplifiers (Jolida 502, Rouge Cronus, and the Leben) with the Leben being my favorite of the three). The NCSE was my attempt to simplify things while retaining most of what I liked in the better integrated's I heard be they tube or SS. The LFD Zero Mk III (I owned one too) was a vivacious, entrancing amp, but lacked the refinement of the NCSE. |
Airegin,
Would you be able to articulate the sonic differences between the NCSE and the CS300? I am trying to decide myself between the LFD NCSE and the Leben CS600 for my Compact 7ES-3 speakers. Hopefully this would be instructive for all (as I am not intending to hijack the thread). Thanks |
Had CS 300 and have NCSE (SS) paired with C7ES3's. Either is excellent. My trials indicate room dimensions matters more than tweaking around for some magical piece of gear. Got a room you can dedicate to your gear measuring between 10 x 10 x 8 to 12 x 12 x 10? Close to ideal size space with C7ES3's. |
Out of your two choices i would go with the Leben. Because i have heard the combo. (have not heard the ARC)
But, I would think about manley or BAT also. I have made excellent music using both brands and harbeth. |
I assume you have not interest in SS alternatives? I'm a tube guy, but it seems Harbeth is a brand that does quite well with SS and there are alto of high quality options. |
I have very eclectic taste in music and listen to classical, jazz, blues, folk, bluegrass and rock (both new and classic) as well as a lot of other stuff. My setup is a pair of Spendor SP1/2Es with an Image Audio 65i tube amp (50 watts/ch with KT88 outputs). Spendors are BBC cousins of the Harbeth line so have similar qualities.
I really like the Spendors with all my music. The midrange quality is incredible - tonally accurate and very palpable. The overall sound is very natural with no sense of emphasis or artificial enhancement. 85 dB is about the loudest average listening level I approach and my setup easily meets that with power to spare.
The local dealer where I heard the Harbeths carries both Leben and ARC and they prefer the Leben with Harbeths. I didn't listen to the other combo (I was visiting out of curiosity, not in search of a change) but aesthetically I like the Leben and it certainly worked beautifully with the Harbeths. |
No headbanging. I do listen to classic rock, however I'm more into blues and acoustic. As I'm getting older, my musical tastes are mellowing. Thanks for the feedback. |
A month or two ago I listened to the Compact 7s with a Leben for several hours. It as an excellent combination. However, I assume with this choice of speaker and amp you are not a head banger type of listener.... |
