If you are interested in a Pass Labs F7 clone paired with a USSPA class A preamp to try out as you are local in Bangalore then do PM me.
Thanks
Suggestions for an Integrated Amp for Stereo Setup
- Thread starter rajivaryan1984
- Start date
Thanks
@rajivaryan1984
If you have not bought the IA yet, this is a combination to consider, assuming you can host it.
The F7 would be great match for P3ESR
FYI:
I have heard both the components.
Cheers,
Raghu
Passive_audio_enthusiast
Well-Known Member
i am sorry
Created a new a Thread Here
Hi Rajiv,
You are welcome to come over and listen to the Croft with Harbeths. (When it’s safer)
In case I post a review don’t read it lest it leads you astray.
viveshsahu
Member
You could consider audiolab 6000A
Mayasandra_l
Active Member
Hi Rajiv, I would also suggest Audiolab 6000A. If you are in Bangalore, once safe, you could bring over your speakers and we could hook it up to my Audiolab. Lokesh
On all suggestions for AL6000a. I have it and I am driving a pair of Quad S1s. The Quads are rated at 84Db/2.83V/1m and I use this "almost" as a near field setup I am fine with the SPL. However I have tried the same in a larger room and had issues reaching higher volumes. The amp remains pretty composed even when pushed to the limit, but you might want something with a little more power, maybe? It is rated at 50W @8 Ohms & 75 @ 4 Ohms. The amp itself is a great IA and perhaps ONE of the best under 1L - just not sure it will do your speakers justice - though people drive their speakers with low W tubes so.....
***I have never tried the amp with Harbeths, just giving my experience with low sensitivity speakers. I also have sensitive ears so I do not listen to loud music.
***I have never tried the amp with Harbeths, just giving my experience with low sensitivity speakers. I also have sensitive ears so I do not listen to loud music.
narenvaidee
Active Member
Just wanted to add my 2 cents to this. I somehow believe that there's more to that wattage than what it seems. I used to have a Cambridge Audio SR10, rated at 85W/ch, driving GoldenEar AON3 bookshelves. Though the sound signature was warm and beautiful, I found that it lacked some punch and also noticed that I had to crank up the volume quite a bit. I had discussed this earlier here a couple of years ago, and finally added a subwoofer into the equation.
Recently, I acquired a used NAD 356BEE, connected it to the same GoldenEar AON3 bookshelves. I'm unable to cross the 8'oclock position (I listen to music after around 9pm when things are quite. CA SR10 was at 12ish, and this NAD is at 8!), and I have no use for the subwoofer now
. And this has much more stereo separation and imaging, though the highs could be a tad bit better (CA was smooth!). So, if you look at the wattage, it's 80 W/ch for the NAD 356BEE. Bloody brilliant. When WhatHiFi calls this 'gale force sound', I now realize that this is not an understatement at all. Anyways, comparing the two amplifiers with similar W/ch, I find the NAD supremely powerful when compared to the CA SR10. So, I believe it's the quality and quantity of 'current' that's being driven into the speaker by the amp. Am I correct? All these point to only one thing - 'audition' is important, wattage, damping factor, etc don't mean a thing if the amp-speaker combo doesn't sing properly.
Yelamanchili manohar
Well-Known Member
I've recently had the good fortune of listening to a pair of Falcon LS 3/5A in my room ( they are falcon versions of P3esr ) driven by a sugden integrated amp. I think it was 33 watts of complete class A power. And I remember it getting too hot after a little while
But the combo sounded lovely to my ears. Very very realistic vocals and mid range in my opinion, without sacrificing on the bass ( when i say without sacrificing in the bass, i mean the amp is not restricted drivig a 84db speaker. Though the speaker does have its limitations in the bass department). The sugden was in the 2L+ category. And my friend was unsure of the possibility of selling it on in the future. So he sprung for a macintosh MA 275. Albeit in the close to 4L category. I personally enjoyed the sugden while it lasted.
Just for kicks, I plugged the falcons on the end of my own tube chain, and it again sounded beautiful. So I would really recommend class A or tubes to get the most of that magically real sounding mid range
+1I've recently had the good fortune of listening to a pair of Falcon LS 3/5A in my room ( they are falcon versions of P3esr ) driven by a sugden integrated amp. I think it was 33 watts of complete class A power. And I remember it getting too hot after a little while
But the combo sounded lovely to my ears. Very very realistic vocals and mid range in my opinion, without sacrificing on the bass ( when i say without sacrificing in the bass, i mean the amp is not restricted drivig a 84db speaker. Though the speaker does have its limitations in the bass department). The sugden was in the 2L+ category. And my friend was unsure of the possibility of selling it on in the future. So he sprung for a macintosh MA 275. Albeit in the close to 4L category. I personally enjoyed the sugden while it lasted.
Just for kicks, I plugged the falcons on the end of my own tube chain, and it again sounded beautiful. So I would really recommend class A or tubes to get the most of that magically real sounding mid range
I posted a similar experience in another thread. The Harbeth P3ES sounded glorious with the 3WPC Lyrita Single ended triode (class A tube) amp. I was searching for an explanation for how a “hard to drive, low sensitivity speaker” could work so well with a 3 watt per channel amplifier. Experienced FM (@prem and others) explained that this was possible as the impedence curve of the Harbeths remains flat.
I did not know about this before. But I am glad I tried.
As long as the amp is not pushed to clipping levels, it should be safe. I was getting more than adequate volume at 9 or 10 o’clock positions. And the sound was fantastic.
My experience is similar with the 15wpc Leben. Sounds lovely at lower volumes (beats the Accuphase and Luxman top end SS AB amps to my ears for sheer midrange magic. Recently tried it with a class A Accuphase which it narrowly beat on this specific criteria) if you listen to softer vocal based music genres. Of course cannot compete with the larger SS amps for dynamic music or higher SPLs in a bigger room.
Only issue with Hegel, there are no dealers carrying it in Mumbai, dunno why which is very weird.
Not sure if it helps but I will share my experience with how my P3esr pairs with the various amps I have tried it with in descending order of how good the synergy was-
Accuphase e480 - excellent rich textured yet transparent sound, very good tonality, power opens up the p3esr bass
Luxman 509 - similar to Accuphase but more dynamic, slightly leaner tonality, bass is slightly worse, wider soundstage.
Leben CS300xs - Beats the above two by a slight margin on tonality and richness of vocals, correctness of instrument timbre and works very well for low volume/night listening for acoustic, vocal based despite the low sensitivity of the p3. Obviously cannot match excellent class AB SS amps on bass slam, dynamics, volume SPL, etc.
Hegel H300/H390 - Very good control on the bass, the P3s work well without a sub in a small room with the Hegel. Tonality is above average. Good soundstage. I found minimal difference between the 300 and 390 with the P3. This was very surprising to me. With ATCs there was a noticeable difference.
YBA Audio Refinement Complete - Extremely engaging tubish sound. Cannot hold up to the ones above it in the list but very very good considering the price and vintage nature of the amp.
Lyngdorf 2170 - Brief audition without room correction engaged, so take it for what it is. Very clean sounding. A bit sterile though. The sound did not engage me.
Jolida 1501 - Good for non criticallistening and for the price, but less transparency and resolution than amps higher on the list and bass has less authority.
Trigon Excceed - Nothing bad but similar to the much cheaper Jolida amp
Nain Uniti Atom and Naim Super Nait 2 - This is likely strong personal preference. I did not like what the Naim units did to the Harbeth sound. Many people seem to like this combination of Naim and Harbeth.
By no means is this anything other than a highly personal statement of preference so the standard caveat applies - the room, the rest of your chain, personal taste play a huge factor so auditioning for yourself if possible in your own room is the best option.
Of course, there will be many other combinations that I haven't heard that work equally great or better with the P3
Do update on this thread if you find something that you end up loving.
Update - my Goldmund Telos amp is a better match than all the above amps I listed by quite a large margin. The extremely fast Goldmund is a great match and makes the Harbeth more dynamic and exciting without losing any refinement and richness.
Hi , can you share some info on your F5 ? Are they DIY ? Asking because I’ve been looking to get a F5 as well.
Contact First note labs
Last edited by a moderator:
Buy from India's official online dealer!
