Leben CS600 Owners - Help

Well, I wish I could retract my posting!! (If moderator can do it, please go ahead). It turns out the noise was only happening when the amp was placed within the media rack. I live in a furnished house with a decent sturdy media furniture (I wouldn't have bought such a thing but it was still decent from audiophile standard). After I removed the silly back plate (you know, with a tiny cable hole), the amp compartment becomes a cubic-shape tunnel, with four sides blocked and front and rear surface open. This particular configuration must have generated some kind of resonance. After I took the amp out on the floor, it became dead quiet. Oh well...

If I may add a few more cents, CS600 is a fabulous amp! I am driving Harbeth M30.1 (which is also awesome!). I was a bit worried about the low rated power considering the low sensitivity of M30.1, but it was not a problem at all to fill my 5m x 7m living room (with the space behind the listener wide open). Moreover, the lush/silky midrange was quite expected, but I was most impressed about how it reproduced acoustic bass with such weight and authority! Now I understand why so many people were talking about Leben.

BTW, I had a chance to side-by-side audition CS600 with CS300X. While CS300X had the same and perhaps a bit better midrange, which was understandable at the time as my CS600 was right out of the box, CS600 clearly stood out with bigger soundstage and scale. Overall, I am so glad that I spent the extra money for more power, especially for my Harbeth.

Many Harbeth owners who are hesitant to try this low powered amp, rest assured that you will have more than enough juice, unless you want to crank up the Zarathustra.

That's a story with a happy ending. I've heard the 30.1 and would own them had they been released before I purchased the C7ES3's.

My integrated is a Rogue Cronus Magnum which I love but sometimes feel I'm missing out on some detail. I've done some minor tube rolling but I'm losing interest fast. I'm considering either a solid state integrated (Hegel possibly) or KT120's for the Rogue. I'm just not sure what I'll get out of KT120's besides more power.

Hgim,

I got my CS600 a month ago and have the same hum sound as you described. Thought it was defective and took it to the dealer. His demo unit also have the same hum sound. He told me that it was normal. On mine, I can only hear it when standing or sitting next to it when music is not playing.
As for speakers, I'm also thinking of getting the M30.1. Right now, my CS600 is hooked up to a pair SF Auditors. The combination sound very nice but I always hear or read about the Leben + Harbeth combination. In a few weeks, I'm going to demo the M30.1 to see if they are any better than the SF Auditors.

Glad it worked out.
I love the CS600. I had transformer hum with a previous amp and it was a deal breaker for me.
I've been thinking about trying the Harbeth 30.1.
Heard them with the Red Wine audio amp at the NY show and the sound was beautiful.
Still using the focal electra's and they sound great with the Leben too.
Listening as I write this. Tomasz Stanko Quartet, Matka Joanna on ECM.... warm and crisp at the same time.

Thank you all for the kind words and further input.

Xmuavah, I suggest that you try to place CS600 on a sturdy platform, either directly on the floor or an amp stand. I suspect that the hum will be reduced.

Oddmorning, I'm a big fan of ECM label. The M30.1/CS600 combo made some obscure (and somewhat uninteresting) ECM music come alive by rendering the live studio in front of me.

Donjr, please don't go to that route (IMHO). I heard good words about Rogue Cronus Magnum, which I'm sure is a fine product, but there's so much you can expect for the budget. I'm an expat and in my US home I have Audible Illusions M3A -> CJ MV-60 -> Proac 2.5. The system is comparable to my new system in retail price (at the time), but I never got this kind of sound. I also seriously thought about Hegel H300 as a second amp in case I need more bass and power, but I completely changed my mind now. I'm still interested in Hegel H25 DAC though.