What tube amp for Harbeth 40.1


I am looking for a tube amp for Harbeth 40.1.  I know many suggest SS amp such as Accuphase, Luxman, Hegel, McIntosh ... etc for Harbeth, but I decided to keep it with tube.  I also don’t think I need a lot of power.  I currently have a 8W custom built 300B and had a 18W Almarro 318B, and to me, they sound fine.  However, I think more power will help, and I never know what I missed until I try it out.  Having said that, I don’t think I need crazy power.  Anything 30-80W is good enough for me.  I am 3m away from the speakers, listen to Jazz at avg 83dB.

i have the following short list:
1) PrimaLuna Evo 400 integrated
2) Leben CS600X 
3) Linear Tube Audio Z40

Which one do people like with Harbeth?  Any other suggestion?

Among all qualities, I value holographic presentation the most.  I really like the feeling as if the singer is floating in front of me, if you know what I mean.  And my current 300B do pretty well in this regards, and I read this is what SET amps are good at.  Will I be disappointed with the above?
Thanks.
gte357s
@gte357s ,

’I don’t think the speakers draw power, but it is the amp pushing power, right?’


The speaker / amp relationship is pretty murky, at least to me, but the important thing to remember is that to get the same volume from the M40s a lesser powered amp might be forced into clipping, even if it’s for mere milliseconds.

Clipping happens when an amplifier runs out of power a bit like a car with a tiny engine going up a very steep hill. If there isn’t any protection built in to the amp, clipping can be disastrous for the loudspeaker.

With a more sensitive loudspeaker you certainly wouldn’t want to keep the volume knob in the same position unless you wanted to use it outdoors or in a much larger room.

This is assuming that it was capable of being played much louder in the first place. Not all more sensitive speakers are, but size is a good indicator.

It’s also worth remembering that loudspeakers are horribly inefficient devices. Hence the temperatures inside the voice coil can reach hundreds of degrees.

Much like car engines, most of the power going in is converted into heat. not sound (or in the case of the car engine, power). Overheating is a common enemy of both.

For those who like to play loud, thankfully before we are able to destroy our speakers by overheating, we should get a warning by experiencing a compression (and likely much distortion) in the sound.

It might simply not be worth going beyond a certain point of the amp volume dial as the speaker will tend to only get hotter, not louder.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_compression
I stream a Cambridge Edge NQ through balanced cables to a McIntosh 275 into Harbeth 7-ES3 speakers and I am extremely happy with the result, as I age, my hearing has deteriorated so I can't analyse the result except to say it is the best music I have enjoyed in 50 years of Hi Fi / audio experience
I run the Leben 600x w my Devore 0/93.  Very nice combination.  PM me if you want to discuss the amp further.