Integrated amp: Component weight

@hgeifman The only reason I mentioned the EDGE A is because despite the OP’s weight specification, he also mentioned interest in a 50lb unit, so I figured this one wasn’t far off. :) But yes, it is over 40lb.

@cundare2 I’m not sure which Harbeths you have - can you restate if I somehow missed it? I see you don’t have a virtual system in your profile. I like Harbeths, but I find them to be somewhat sweet on top at times, depending on the speaker, which is why I mention the EDGE, which may bring out more clarity. Seeing that you’re in Hawaii, you might have a hard time demoing things, but it’d be best to hear the amp with your speakers in your room before making a purchase. While it will likely control the Harbeths really well, the sonic signature is slightly warm, but also very detailed and incisive, so how that pairs based on your sonic preferences is left to be determined. I have had two customers, for instance, move away from the Hegel H590 to go to an EDGE A integrated, and the H590 is almost double the retail price.

@cundare2, I agree with @blisshifi that it would be best to hear the amp with your speakers in your room before making a purchase.  Is this possible?  If not, you need an option to return the amp if you do not like it. 

@geof3

Yes, you’re right. I was thinking of the Hegel. The EX-8 would probably spec at about 130-140wpc (nominal, of course) for my 6-ohm Harbeths.  Thanks for catching that.

Harbeth recommends a nominal 25wpc, but also released a video in which the designer/owner of the company powered them with a high-end amp that offered VU meters.  You could see that the Harbeths drew upwards of 300 watts on peaks, and the final recommendation was that, although you could get decent dynamics with a lower-powered amp, the entire Harbeth line would do its best with amplification that had plenty of raw power, especially overhead.  That's one area where Ayre is outclassed by Hegel, at least in my application.

Harbeths have relatively low sensitivity, but other than that, they were deliberately designed to present an easy load. See JA’s measurements in Stereophile. Rememeber that these are thin-walled critters with roots going back to the BBC designs. As an old LS3/5A fan, that was one thing that originally caught my attention many years ago, when I first started thinking about them when I was forced to sell my Quad 57s.

@hgeifman

>I agree with @blisshifi that it would be best to hear the amp with your speakers in your room before making a purchase. Is this possible?

Again, no, Howard, absolutely impossible. The fact that that’s not an option is the biggest reason why I started this thread.

> If not, you need an option to return the amp if you do not like it.

Yup. You do realize that you’re mansplaining now, right? 😉 I’ve been involved with high-end gear since the 1970s and was actually a frequently published audio reviewer in mainstream magazines throughout the 1990s & 2000s. So I understand the logistics.

And tbh, in the case of Ayre in 2024, that may be easier said than done. I’m finding that dealers who have handled Ayre in the past are finding it hard to even obtain product these days -- something not often mentioned on dealership Web sites but made clear when you speak to a dealer on the phone.  Perhaps the recent rave reviews of the VX-8 & EX-8 in high-profile venues like Stereophile have increased demand beyond what this small company can keep up with.

Anybody got a used EX-8 they'd like to part with?  I thought so.  Ayre owners seem to want to hang onto their gear for a long time.

Check out The Music Room. They currently have a 590 for around 5800.00. They are also Benchmark dealers. You’ll see a many other potentials as well. They have a great return policy which would allow you to sample some of these pieces. You might even talk to them and tell them what you are doing and they may have you buy an amp or three and give you some sort of discount on return shipping or something for what you don’t like.