ATC SCM 19A vs 40A

[karthikswaminath]

I really like the Harbeth, the sound stage, vocals and a better than exptected bass i was imagining. the dealer told me the 40th Anniversary, will be even better. However, will open the pack only if i was willing to buy it. So, now the temptation. After spending an hour, and sipping Chinese white tea (Anji beicha), I pulled the trigger on the Harbeth Super HL5 Plus 40th Anniversary despite the steep walk in pricing. Apparently, only 1000 pieces manufactured and 200 for China.
The 40th Anniversary, was plugged in to the Sugden, and indeed it was even more punchy, the bass improved.....wow, what relief.

 

[karthikswaminath]

The story continues. Now that I was impressed the dealer wanted me to get the Sugden. I liked the amp, however being a niche company, i had limited knowledge of the amp. I told him, I was interested in the Accuphase E-650 and want to check out how it pairs with the Harbeth HL5 Plus 40th Anniversary. I know there is an Accuphase dealer in the same mall. The Harbeth dealer, went and got the Accuphase E-650 and paired it with the 40th Anniversary. I was thrilled - same room acoustics, power,speaker cables etc. Now, I was holding my breath. Well, the Accuphase did well, however, the Sugden was even impressive. The Accuphase was smooth as water, Sudgen was pumping. Although, we played the Accuphase only for 5 minutes, the dealer cut of off for obvious reasons.

 

[arj]

Regarding the Sugden they are very very robust amps with a simple design and really high purity of sound . I had owned their earlier model the A21a for quite some time and have really enjoyed its sound.
The pic you have is of their Masterclass series and those are something..less known than Accuphase (which have too high a brand premium) but i would rate them as good if not higher

 

[karthikswaminath]

Regarding the Sugden they are very very robust amps with a simple design and really high purity of sound . I had owned their earlier model the A21a for quite some time and have really enjoyed its sound.
The pic you have is of their Masterclass series and those are something..less known than Accuphase (which have too high a brand premium) but i would rate them as good if not higher

indeed Arj. The Sugden was dynamic and i liked the paring with the Harbeth. The dealer was offering me a 50th anniversary Masterclass IA-4. I just couldn't get much information on the 50th anniversary edition.

 

[karthikswaminath]

Now that I pulled the trigger on Harbeth Super HL5 plus 40th Anniversary, I hauled to another dealer's place from whom I had earlier purchased LM508ia Tube amp.
My intention was to pair with LM and check it out. To my surprise, there was another customer buying the Gryphon Diablo 300. So, I was thrilled and hooked up the Harbeths to the Gryphon. Wow, I am immediately liked the punch and massive power reserve in the Gryphon and pulled the trigger on it.
Then, went and hunted for a great DAC especially having invested so much on the Harbeths and Gryphon. I could get my hands on Mytek Brooklyn DAC+. I will post pics in the My Audio/Video section.

 

[Rajeshh]

@karthikswaminath this thread is really interesting, I am upgrading my Amp and mostly leaning towards the Accuphase E650, I was blown away after an extended audition last week. I actually found it very punchy on bass. The dealer did mention that it needs at least 30 mins to warm up.
The Diablo is another amp that I have my eyes on. Great reviews overall, and hardly any on the used market, which is saying a lot for its satsifi3d owners. I am planning to go audition it this week.

 

[karthikswaminath]

@karthikswaminath this thread is really interesting, I am upgrading my Amp and mostly leaning towards the Accuphase E650, I was blown away after an extended audition last week. I actually found it very punchy on bass. The dealer did mention that it needs at least 30 mins to warm up.
The Diablo is another amp that I have my eyes on. Great reviews overall, and hardly any on the used market, which is saying a lot for its satsifi3d owners. I am planning to go audition it this week.

Rajesh - Thanks. Indeed there are raving reviews on the Diablo 300 and nothing in the used market. Its built like a tank and mighty powerful.
Please do provide feedback of your audtion. Good luck and Cheers!

 

[heliumflight]

I had the Sugden A21a for a small stint connected it with my B&W DM4, it was nice but not to my taste.

Regarding the Sugden they are very very robust amps with a simple design and really high purity of sound . I had owned their earlier model the A21a for quite some time and have really enjoyed its sound.
The pic you have is of their Masterclass series and those are something..less known than Accuphase (which have too high a brand premium) but i would rate them as good if not higher

I had the Sugden A21a for a small stint connected it with my B&W DM4, it was nice but not to my taste.

 

[asliarun]

Since you are in China, you should check out Audio-GD. They used to make the Master 7 DAC but I think they've stopped it due to lack of availability of the r2r DAC chips. Their flagship DAC is now the R2R 7. 6moons review and fairly large head-fi review and discussion thread on this DAC. My setup is nowhere near as high end as yours, and I have only owned their lower end DACs but even those sound extremely good.

 

[karthikswaminath]

Since you are in China, you should check out Audio-GD. They used to make the Master 7 DAC but I think they've stopped it due to lack of availability of the r2r DAC chips. Their flagship DAC is now the R2R 7. 6moons review and fairly large head-fi review and discussion thread on this DAC. My setup is nowhere near as high end as yours, and I have only owned their lower end DACs but even those sound extremely good.

thanks - I have not seen Audio-GD in my visits to the hifi plaza, maybe I never paid attention. the brooklyn dac+ is fantastic. During my visit, to the hifi plaza i will check the Audio-GD.

 

[karthikswaminath]

Last week my friend got his Sony TA-A1ES amplifier home and we hooked it up with the Harbeth Super HL5 plus 40th Anniversary.
The Sony is 80W per channel and operates mostly in Class A. Sony with Harbeth was very musical and lots of synergy. The sound was very natural and it was pumping the Harbeths well. Except of the speaker cables (I had connected the diablo using Cardas Quadlink 5c) and the Sony with Audio Quest Type 4 - all the other cables including power/dac/CD player were the same. We were truly impressed with the synergy.
Below is the video link:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/pWduvN8cx5FY4VUE9

 

[jenson]

beautiful thread, lot of eye candies here and great choice...

would you please care to cite the difference between Tannoy and Harbeth...I'm am pretty familiar with your choice of music as I do reference them as well luka chuppi especially.

never heard either of them..can imagine harbeth to be rich and warm across freq and the turnberry just warm..?

 

[alwayslogo]

Last week my friend got his Sony TA-A1ES amplifier home and we hooked it up with the Harbeth Super HL5 plus 40th Anniversary.
The Sony is 80W per channel and operates mostly in Class A. Sony with Harbeth was very musical and lots of synergy. The sound was very natural and it was pumping the Harbeths well. Except of the speaker cables (I had connected the diablo using Cardas Quadlink 5c) and the Sony with Audio Quest Type 4 - all the other cables including power/dac/CD player were the same. We were truly impressed with the synergy.
Below is the video link:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/pWduvN8cx5FY4VUE9

song Name ?