Time to upgrade - need advice - budget $7,500

If you buy a speaker solely on looks rather than the sound you enjoyed you will soon regret it. Harbeth and Luxman or LFD are a winning combo.

Hey guys,

In my wait for the 507 to arrive (Tuesday next week), i’m having some concerns over my decision. Primarily around the thought of the sources I will be using and whether the analog integrated is the right choice for me. I will be using digital sources for 95% of my listening and I’m starting to think maybe a good DAC/Pre like a Mytek Brooklyn and a power amp like the Luxman M-700u would be a better solution. Maybe I’m just overthinking it here but this is a route I hadn’t really considered before but might make more sense...

Would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks!

stay the course, you made a good choice....

I have a RME ADI2-DAC that goes through my Luxman CL38 tube preamp. Just smooths out the digital hash from the streaming. If you get the 507 Lux use the balanced inputs w/your Mytek. Killer sound.

UPDATE:

I picked up the Lux L-507uxii from the dealer on Saturday and he was kind enough to lend me their demo pair of Harbeth SHL5+ as I had heard the combo in the store when I bought the lux. I as pretty sure i was going to place an order if they sounded anywhere near as good in my room.

I brought it all home and first setup the 507 on top of the box in my living room so I could A/B between the old emotiva stuff using my Epos Elan 30’s. It took all of about 10 seconds to hear what a major improvement in sound quality the Lux was over the Emotiva. Absolutely blown away. Massive dynamics and bass notes that I didn’t think my speakers were capable of. The top end is wide open with air that filled the room but never harsh or brash. Just smooth and warm but also tight and controlled. We played about 15 tracks occasionally switching back to the Emotiva but it was laughable. I used to have some mid bass bloat and nasally mids that is gone as well. At this point I am shocked and relieved that my big investment has actually paid off. My wife was skeptical and even she could hear from upstairs just how much clarity and quality compared to the Emo. Really pleased at this point.

I removed all the Emo gear and moved the Lux into place hooking up another set of speaker cables into the B binding posts for hooking up the Harbeths. Setting them up next to the Epos in my room about 3’ from the side walls and about 2’ from the back wall (bay window) we played a few tracks going back and forth between the 2 sets. This was a much closer race as the Epos played lower and sounded fuller than the SHL5 with the latter being definitely more neutral and maybe faithful to the material. The Epos is more sensitive so we had to adjust the volume slightly between them but even with the 5’s turned up I couldn’t quite get want I wanted out of them. I tried moving them moving them closer, further, wider, narrow but it didn’t seem to matter. I found the soundstage wide but not as easy to locate the instruments just an overall bigger sound. The mids are sweet but they just didn’t have enough depth for me. Not enough impact. I will say these Epos (which until the Lux I had basically written off) have pleasantly surprised me. The imaging is now great with instruments coming out of the far left and right sides of the room when present and have new low end that I didn’t know existed. These are maybe not the most neutral or "audiophile" speaker but to me, in this room they bested the SHL5 and saved me spending $7,500 on a set of anniversaries. 3 out of 3 of us all agreed the Epos sounded better. We listened over a 5 hour period and all typed of material and while there were definitely some things the Harbeth did better but for me, as an everyday speaker I preferred the Epos. I really wanted to love the Harbeths and was prepared to drop the cash. I love the old school look and the natural wood finish but the sound just didn’t work for me.

Next upgrades are cables. Power, speaker & IC’s. My dealer sell Nordost so was thinking about maybe going with the Purple Haze all around. Also like the idea of some canadian boutiques like Take Five Audio who are selling Neotech but his have some silver/copper hybrid that i’m not sure I want in my system. Any thoughts or experience with this would be appreciated. Currently running some 15 year old Ultralink challenger 14/12 speaker, blue jeans IC’s and stock power cord.