what speakers demand high end electronics

To clarify, Alan Shaw believes(probably in an act of pretense) that all amplifiers sound the same and differences are non-existent between well designed amplifiers. He has explicitly mentioned in the user forum that a double blind test(unsighted) will reveal differences between amplifiers to diminish to nothing. That is the reason why he always advocates inexpensive amps with the Harbeth as in his mind most high-end equipment are considered as a rip-off, which can be true in some cases.

I'm not too sure if Herman's first post in this thread is a tongue in cheek. Most higher-end equipment sound better than the mid-range stuff but that does not necessarily guarantee that they are indeed "better" in most cases. It all depends on setup, system matching, listening preferences and some other factors. There are so many variables involved that it is quite impossible to assess or evaluate the quality or performance of one particular gear without taking all other aspects into consideration.

I guess Tvad hits the nail on the head with his analysis. Alan Shaw thinks about his speakers first and foremost as associated equipment take a back seat.

02-25-11: Drubin
Of all the speakers I have owned, I feel that Harbeths were the least fussy when it came to amplifier pairing. (Another way of saying this: Harbeths are less transparent to the source than other speakers I have owned.) So perhaps there is some truth beyond salesmanship to Alan Shaw's comment.

May I ask what amplifiers have you used with the Harbeths? I have used half a dozen amps on the Harbeths and they always managed to take on a different character with each and every one of them, and the differences are not subtle. Although the Harbeths may not be as fussy as other higher-end speakers, I feel they are equally transparent and sensitive towards upstream components. The Pinkfish moderator Tony who has owned the SHL5 for a short period concurred that the Harbeths are not only critical towards setup and placement but upstream components as well.

Speakers that are revealing and resolving where their performance changes as the quality of amplification in front of them changes.

SoundLabs need really really good amps to really even work at all. I don't know if I would even experiment with amps that arn't up to snuff.

I think like someone mentioned above, Alan Shaw says that so he doesn't loose sales to other companies also. I don't blame him either. Those people may buy another brand, because someone selling XYZ brand says you could use mid-fi gear with their XYZ brands. Years back, I used a receiver to power more expensive speakers I liked in the 70s,until I could afford the better separates they deserved. Harbeth speakers do show the flaws in the rest of the system. They at times will show mid-range flaws that a lot of speakers don't reveal. There are cheap speakers that do reveal the flaws of gear that are way higher than their price category. It all amounts to in the end to have a system with everything good enough and getting along while not being any standout flawed sounding pieces in the chain.