Would love to. But where can I find one?
Any particular model?
Alan Shaw on pairing Harbeths with Tube amplifiers
- Thread starter Analogous
- Start date
Any particular model?
If you already have a preamp and looking only to hear out a different poweramp, keep your options open.
Also reach out to Bangalore FMs and hear out DIY PASS ACA or F7 (this if you are not averse to Class-A heat).
May work out well for low volume listening (anyways P3's are not meant to rock the house)
Cheers,
Raghu
Also reach out to Bangalore FMs and hear out DIY PASS ACA or F7 (this if you are not averse to Class-A heat).
May work out well for low volume listening (anyways P3's are not meant to rock the house)
Cheers,
Raghu
Thanks Prem. Any other amp suggestions to pair P3ES that I can source locally? I don’t know any reliable way to source this from abroad as I don’t travel much anymore. Will keep an eye out if anyone has one for sale.
Luxman's also pair very well with Harbeth. I personally found the synergy to be excellent. And here is a professional opinion as well:
www.stereophile.com
Luxman's are available through official dealer here.
Cheers,
Sid
The Fifth Element #53 Page 2
I wonder if it's not essentially the same with stereo systems. Perhaps we can only learn the hard way that sound quality that draws you in and keeps you coming back for more is going to cost a certain, not very reducible amount of money. When I switched back to the budget systems described above...
Cheers,
Sid
I would suggest get a Croft Line Integrated from UK. Landed will be 1.5 lakhs. It should be pretty straightforward. I ordered mine directly from Glen Croft. You can write to him and check. Or order from any of Croft dealers in UK.
I don’t know of any other amps that are so musical in that price range.
I don’t know of any other amps that are so musical in that price range.
panditji
Well-Known Member
My two paise here... Alan Shaw makes wonderfully sounding speakers no doubt but I think his views are him trying to market his product as being that good that you just need a simple well designed amplifier to make them sound best. I think he is also trying to influence potential buyers to move some of the amplifier budget towards his speakers. I think it's purely marketing as if he was rational and unbiased, he would not be selling the SHL5+ at the same cost of a Hyundai i20 car...
I agree panditji. I have lived with the P3esrs long enough by now to see that they scale very well with better amplification. All this talk of harbeths being amplifier agnostic seems to be purely a marketing tactic.
Thanks for this. Would have loved to try the Luxman 505, but I am stretched a bit too much already in my budget on HiFi. Have ordered the Croft line integrated and it’s on its way. If FedEx is not interrupted by Omicron I am hoping for a great start to 2022. Meanwhile I found a Lyrita SET (used) and am enjoying what this does with the Harbeths. I don’t dare to push it beyond 9’o clock (it’s plenty loud). The sound stage and imaging are unlike anything I have heard in my room. The combo is fatigue free and very enjoyable (3-4 hours at a time) with mellow music, folk and such. I will try faster, more complex compositions and maybe hard rock tomorrow to explore this more. I am an admirer of Mr. Viren Bakshi now. It is an eye opener for me as I never imagined 3 watts per channel could sound like this with such inefficient speakers.Luxman's also pair very well with Harbeth. I personally found the synergy to be excellent. And here is a professional opinion as well:
Luxman's are available through official dealer here.The Fifth Element #53 Page 2
I wonder if it's not essentially the same with stereo systems. Perhaps we can only learn the hard way that sound quality that draws you in and keeps you coming back for more is going to cost a certain, not very reducible amount of money. When I switched back to the budget systems described above...
Cheers,
Sid
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harbeth is not really inefficient but it is lower sensitivity....and you can run them with low power amps.
Harbeth doesn’t have impedance swings. It’s a fairly easy load for amps. Which is why tube amps can drive Harbeth. Because it has low sensitivity, you’ll need slightly powerful tube amps, especially if you listen to music a bit loud.
Sensitivity will decide how powerful an amp you need. If speakers have impedance swings, most tube amps normally get ruled out.
Sensitivity will decide how powerful an amp you need. If speakers have impedance swings, most tube amps normally get ruled out.
Decadent_Spectre
Well-Known Member
Shame Harbeth doesn't make a 130db speaker, I'd have liked to listen to it if there was one.
I google found this:
“Efficiency” is NOT the same thing as “Sensitivity”
Speaker engineers use the term “sensitivity” because it is technically more precise definition of how loud a speaker will play when driven by an input signal of at a specified voltage level. “Efficiency” is usually a more colloquial term used by consumers, to informally describe how much power a speaker needs to achieve a desired loudness level: “Oh, your speakers a real power hogs. They’re not very efficient.” From a technical standpoint, “efficiency” is defined as the sound power output divided by the electrical power input—but that’s not how consumers use the word. So rather than try to turn laypeople into engineers, we’ll just concentrate on sensitivity.
The reason for quoting sensitivity rather than efficiency is that the true efficiency of a speaker varies wildly with frequency because of its impedance variation. The efficiency quote would be fairly meaningless, so loudspeaker engineers measure and refer to “sensitivity” instead.
www.audioholics.com
“Efficiency” is NOT the same thing as “Sensitivity”
Speaker engineers use the term “sensitivity” because it is technically more precise definition of how loud a speaker will play when driven by an input signal of at a specified voltage level. “Efficiency” is usually a more colloquial term used by consumers, to informally describe how much power a speaker needs to achieve a desired loudness level: “Oh, your speakers a real power hogs. They’re not very efficient.” From a technical standpoint, “efficiency” is defined as the sound power output divided by the electrical power input—but that’s not how consumers use the word. So rather than try to turn laypeople into engineers, we’ll just concentrate on sensitivity.
The reason for quoting sensitivity rather than efficiency is that the true efficiency of a speaker varies wildly with frequency because of its impedance variation. The efficiency quote would be fairly meaningless, so loudspeaker engineers measure and refer to “sensitivity” instead.
Loudspeaker Sensitivity & Impedance Explained
The focus of this article is on loudspeaker sensitivity and impedance. Loudspeaker manufacturers sometimes exaggerate the specifications of their products to make them look better than reality.
www.audioholics.com
Decadent_Spectre
Well-Known Member
The sensitivty also varies with impedance, Normally people use 2.83V into 8ohms for 1W but the speaker impedance means that it will see varying levels of power, so 1W sensitivty is not constant however the 2.83V sensitivty is constant with a constant voltage source, and voltage is what drives loudspeakers.
High sensitivity does not mean a low powered amp will be able to drive it. For example my 4343 is 93 dB efficient. So is the 4344. But the 4343 can be driven by 10-15 watt amps. The 4344 can’t be. Will need at least 60-80 watts at least.
I google found this:
“Efficiency” is NOT the same thing as “Sensitivity”
Speaker engineers use the term “sensitivity” because it is technically more precise definition of how loud a speaker will play when driven by an input signal of at a specified voltage level. “Efficiency” is usually a more colloquial term used by consumers, to informally describe how much power a speaker needs to achieve a desired loudness level: “Oh, your speakers a real power hogs. They’re not very efficient.” From a technical standpoint, “efficiency” is defined as the sound power output divided by the electrical power input—but that’s not how consumers use the word. So rather than try to turn laypeople into engineers, we’ll just concentrate on sensitivity.
The reason for quoting sensitivity rather than efficiency is that the true efficiency of a speaker varies wildly with frequency because of its impedance variation. The efficiency quote would be fairly meaningless, so loudspeaker engineers measure and refer to “sensitivity” instead.
Loudspeaker Sensitivity & Impedance Explained
The focus of this article is on loudspeaker sensitivity and impedance. Loudspeaker manufacturers sometimes exaggerate the specifications of their products to make them look better than reality.
A real treat , but only as a never-heard guess from me, would be your Harbeths powered by a pair of Jadis JA-30 Watt Monoblocks .
A lovely Push Pull amp, sonically, I would think, on that type of speaker load. Only three stages, and the first two are advantageously DIRECTLY coupled to each other, such that there is only ONE coupling cap, on each side of the P-P amp's circuit . KISS.
Can you DIY ? Here for one channel :
1 pair EL34 Tube Amp Bare PCB - Upgraded design of Jadis JA30 for Audio DIY | eBay
1 Pair Mono EL34 Push-Pull Tube Amp Bare Print Circuit Board with Upgraded design for Jardis JA30 DIYER. These Bare Print Circuit Board is for Twin Mono EL34 PP Amplifier DIYer. Use 2 pieces EL34, 1 piece 12AU7 & 1 piece 12AX7/ECC83 (not included) for each channel.
www.ebay.com
I imagine this built with wide bandwidth / ultra-fast R-Core Japanese Softone P-P output XFRs. ( seemingly to me, NO interleaving required, none, in a R-Core output, totally audible and superior with our tests on music playback ). Let us simply add a sonic-killer power supply .
We can get SHILCHAR of India to make you a FINE 320 VA R-Core Power Transformer, low in radiated field and low in DCR. Two Hammond 6 Ohm 159ZA chokes, 12 Ohms total ..... LOL, fed by two 5U4GBs for each monoblock. German Roederstein Resista MK-8 2 Watt resistors. Yummie !!!
I'd help you - on power supply specifications / design, and parts choices. Not inexpensive, but worthy of a music lover's involvement, in all likely hood. Amps that truly honor the music, are the weakest link IME !!!
Maybe we should call this the HFV-JM30 project, for F.M.s wanting a proven tube amp BASIC P-P design, that rocks - out. Parts choices are critical.
Jeff Medwin
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Jeff, Thank you for the kind offer to help. If I had a little experience with electronics I’d be tempted to take you up on this.A real treat , but only as a never-heard guess from me, would be your Harbeths powered by a pair of Jadis JA-30 Watt Monoblocks .
A lovely Push Pull amp, sonically, I would think, on that type of speaker load. Only three stages, and the first two are advantageously DIRECTLY coupled to each other, such that there is only ONE coupling cap, on each side of the P-P amp's circuit . KISS.
Can you DIY ? Here for one channel :
1 pair EL34 Tube Amp Bare PCB - Upgraded design of Jadis JA30 for Audio DIY | eBay
1 Pair Mono EL34 Push-Pull Tube Amp Bare Print Circuit Board with Upgraded design for Jardis JA30 DIYER. These Bare Print Circuit Board is for Twin Mono EL34 PP Amplifier DIYer. Use 2 pieces EL34, 1 piece 12AU7 & 1 piece 12AX7/ECC83 (not included) for each channel.www.ebay.com
I imagine this built with wide bandwidth / ultra-fast R-Core Japanese Softone P-P output XFRs. ( seemingly to me, NO interleaving required, none, in a R-Core output, totally audible and superior with our tests on music playback ). Let us simply add a sonic-killer power supply .
We can get SHILCHAR of India to make you a FINE 320 VA R-Core Power Transformer, low in radiated field and low in DCR. Two Hammond 6 Ohm 159ZA chokes, 12 Ohms total ..... LOL, fed by two 5U4GBs for each monoblock. German Roederstein Resista MK-8 2 Watt resistors. Yummie !!!
I'd help you - on power supply specifications / design, and parts choices. Not inexpensive, but worthy of a music lover's involvement, in all likely hood. Amps that truly honor the music, are the weakest link IME !!!
Maybe we should call this the HFV-JM30 project, for F.M.s wanting a proven tube amp BASIC P-P design, that rocks - out. Parts choices are critical.
Jeff Medwin
Don't we all start with no experience, and learn by doing ? You have to want it, commit your mind and heart to it, and proceed.
IndianEars
Well-Known Member
Yes, Jeff, Completely agree with you.
The Audiophile pursuit is a journey, often with stops on the way to savour achievements up to that point.
Its not a 1 stop destination.
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