My new set-up

[karthikswaminath]

Now switching to Harbeth's, we paired the Harbeth Super HL5+ 40th Anniversary with Yamaha A-S2100. The amps maximum power is 160W per channel (@ 4 ohms). Harbeth is a 6 Ohm and 86db. The Yamaha took about 30 minutes to warm-up. I must say the Harbeth's paired exceedingly well with the Yamaha. The amplifier provided the right level of balance of sweetness and attack. The Sony was really sweet, but Yamaha provided a dynamic output and I could feel the power.
This week, we continued the demo with another friend who got his Sonore Ultrarendu. The Mytek Brooklyn DAC+, Ultrarendu, Yamaha A-S2100 and Harbeth's were the perfect combination and one of the best auditions we experienced.
I am wondering do I really need such an expensive Grypyon Diablo 300 to pair with Harbeths (maybe that's for the second set-up .
Also, in the attached Pic you will notice, I got an external LPS for the Mytek (Oh, my it does improve overall SQ and Bass) and Mytek no longer gets hot.
And not to forget, upgraded the TT from Amrai LP-18s to Amari LP-22s Turntable. I find Amari to be VHM compared to the other brands (not that i have much experience with Vinyls).
Cheers and more later...

 

[karthikswaminath]

some additional pics attached

 

[heliumflight]

Thanks for sharing...it was truly an eye treat!

 

[mpw]

Karthik

I have this feeling the Gryphon Will be exchanged for a Yamaha 2100.

 

[sunand777]

some additional pics attached

Yamaha S2100 have very elegent and neat look ,

 

[sameer kumar]

Congratulations.
Gryphon is not overkill for Herberths. FM Sid used to drive them with Symphonic line Kraft .

However ...in terms of return on price and performance ....passive ATCs like SCM 50 or 100 is right choice....my humble opinion...

 

[karthikswaminath]

Karthik

I have this feeling the Gryphon Will be exchanged for a Yamaha 2100.

Lol. finally, i have paired the Gryphon with the Harbeths. In total i must played the Gryphon for less than 10 hours. So, for next few days, I am going to let it burn-in and would provide my impressions.

 

[karthikswaminath]

Congratulations.
Gryphon is not overkill for Herberths. FM Sid used to drive them with Symphonic line Kraft .

However ...in terms of return on price and performance ....passive ATCs like SCM 50 or 100 is right choice....my humble opinion...

Yeah Sameer. the return on price is what's making me think. I am going to play it for few days for now. The ATCs 50/100 is way over for me having invested on these .

 

[sidvee]

My take on this is that perhaps the Gryphon may be an overkill for the Harbeth SHL5+, but down the road if you should ever change speakers (read upgrade) then you will not have to change the amplifier. Anyways when I had my SHL5, they sounded good with most amplifiers, however when I upgraded to the Ascendos which were significantly more transparent, the SL Kraft 250 was much better.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[karthikswaminath]

Its a while since i updated the exploration that seems to continue...
As you can imagine, I was not satisfied with the value proposition of Gryphon with Harbeth. So, I hauled the Harbeth's - first to listen with Line Magnetic 219ia. I previously had the LM 508ia and loved it.
The Harbeth's danced to the sweet LM. The 219ia is mighty amp at 62 kgs. I could feel the vibrations and the music was profound. I almost triggered the purchase - thanks for my credit card not working.
Later, the same day we went to the Accuphase dealer and paired the Harbeth with Accuphase E-650. It the best audition and synergy we could get -- my friends and I literally had gooseberries to Luka Chupi. Harbeth Super HL5 Plus 40th Anniversary and Accuphase E-650 are a match made in heaven. In addition to the music being detailed, we felt the voice was a bit recessed in the LM - Accuphase delivered everything. Now sleepless nights.....

https://photos.app.goo.gl/4bg7iu87cNHajx7h7

 

[heliumflight]

That's the problem in music...You can't live with, or without them

 

[mpw]

looks like one big lukka chuppi in shanghai with harbeth + diablo and the loverboy Accuphase..

 

[karthikswaminath]

That's the problem in music...You can't live with, or without them

exactly - its a sliding slope

 

[karthikswaminath]

looks like one big lukka chuppi in shanghai with harbeth + diablo and the loverboy Accuphase..

the dealers love the songs we have played especially ARR -- yeah the eluding accuphase.

 

[karthikswaminath]

Line Magnetic 508ia is back - the harbeths are singing and lukka chuppi continues.
The Diablo will be sitting idle for now - till I figure it out.

 

[heliumflight]

Fabulous room. Can't live with out the Line Magnetic ? It still haunts you, right?

 

[karthikswaminath]

Fabulous room. Can't live with out the Line Magnetic ? It still haunts you, right?

thanks - well what i learnt is Harbeth's love Class A. Of course, the Accuphase E-650 was awesome synergy, however, the Line Magnetic was VFM and pairs very well too!.
Cheers

 

[karthikswaminath]

After much contemplation between Ultrarendu / SOTM /Aurender/ Aurlaic, I triggered the Auralic Aries G1.
I had the opportunity to listen to the Ultrarendu with Brooklyn DAC and liked the synergy and SQ. I couldn't find a place to demo the others.
Went ahead with Aries G1 as its new to the market (upgrade from Aries) and has much more features.
First impressions : it’s solidly built - setting up was a breeze. Tidal streams seamlessly. 1TB of music on NAS mapped within couple of minutes. The search options are cool - including searching by file type.
Most importantly significant improvement in SQ. The music is much more detailed and richer and can hear the last note. Would update more after break-in.

Cheers
Karthik

 

[karthikswaminath]

Harbeths and Gryphon have now bed in. Gryphon has turned into sweet wine. The synergy is very musical across the frequencies. The high power of Gryphon is getting the best out of Harbeths.
The Auralic Aries G1 is very impressive. My friend came home to listen and ordered the Auralic Aries G1 after back to back listening Ultrarendu and NUC.

 

[karthikswaminath]

I let go the Dali Opitcon 6 used in for HT. Got a good deal on last few pieces of B&W CM 10 C2.
To begin with i connected it to the Gryphon to break-in the speakers. I was thrilled with the bass and was surprised with the rich mids. Now tempted to keep the Harbeths and CM10s for the mains. CM10 provides a dynamic sound signature and the Harbeths are warm and non-fatiguing.