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Electronics for Harbeths -- $5-10K

I've been looking for an amp/preamp or integrated to pair with my mid-sized Harbeth speakers (86dB sensitivity, minimum 6ohm impedance, ~50Hz crossover to a powered sub).

I've dug deep into Pass Labs, ARC, Levinson, HiFi Rose, PrimaLuna, Ayre, MF's Nu-Vista line, Hegel, etc. -- the usual suspects. But I haven't found a perfect fit, b/c I have a few constraining requirements:

- weight not much over 40 pounds

- an HT Bypass input and at least 2 line-level outputs (for powered sub & headphone amp); no digital inputs required

- I love well-designed tube gear, but in this case, I'm restricted to SS

In terms of sound -- the most important factor, of course -- I rarely't exceed moderate listening levels in a smallish room (10 ft to seating position).  I do, however, enjoy a large, three-dimensional presentation & uncompressed dynamics, and sonics more like the sweet, tubelike house sound of ARC & Pass than the "analytic" superdetailed sound of Luxman or Levinson (both outstanding companies, but just not the right fit in this case).  One motivator is that after recently switching to more revealing Analysis Plus Silver Apex cables, I find I can no longer stand the sound of my last-gen Class D amps.

A Pass Labs XA25 amp + SP-12 pre combo comes pretty close, but doesn't have quite enough power. MF's new NuVista 800.2 would be perfect if it didn't weigh nearly 90 pounds. 

Then there's Ayre's new VX-8 amp, or EX-8 integrated, sound great on paper, but which I know almost nothing about, aside from specs & a Stereophile review.  Anybody own one of these?

I have no opportunity to demo any of this gear live -- disabled & don't get out much -- but if anybody would like to recount their first-hand experience finding a soulmate for Harbeth speakers, I'll be listening. 

 

cundare2
fynnegan
93 posts
 

I hope you have the Harbeths on Tonträger stands, because that’s the first thing to do with them. 

cundare2 OP
218 posts
 

Sound Anchors, with Blu-tak. I think the trick with thin-walls is to do nothing that damps the cabinet resonances.

A pet peeve: A Harbeth rep said to be sure to isolate the speakers from the stands with the Blu-tak that came with the speakers. Doing so certainly did make a difference in sound quality. But it also discolored the cherry finish. Now I have yellow stains on the bottom of each cabinet. Not visible during normal usage, but still pretty annoying.

petar3
61 posts
 

No one mentioned Hegel H190. you don't need more power than that amp has for the Harbeths. My Stirling LS3/6 are very happy with the combination.

helomech
1,525 posts
 

$5K-$10K amplification is going to easily outclass your speakers such that the Harbeths become the new bottleneck. I understand why that would be hard to believe given all the hype surrounding this brand, but take the Harbeths along and compare them to nearly any $10K/pair speakers on $5K electronics and you’ll understand why I say this. The resolution required to justify most $5K^ amplification (especially in the bass and highs) just isn’t there. 
 

The aforementioned Hegel H190 integrated is the absolute max necessary for the mid-size Harbeths. I’d also look at the Yamaha A-S1200. 
 

 

ryder
1,686 posts
 

One motivator is that after recently switching to more revealing Analysis Plus Silver Apex cables, I find I can no longer stand the sound of my last-gen Class D amps.

May I ask if the Silver Apex are speaker cables or interconnects? If it's the latter, you may want to try a used Acrolink 8N-A2080III instead of changing amps. This interconnect has a warm and liquid midrange with a tube-like glow in the highs, and it is said to match Class D or bright sounding amps well. Other alternatives include warmer sounding interconnects. 

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