Best Tube/SS Amps for Harbeth 7ES-3

I'm using an Audiomat Opera. 30wpc class A el34 based tube integrated. Simply magic with the C7's.

I also 'tested' the Harbeths with the little LFD mkIV integrated. Also a very nice match.

These speakers are relatively amp friendly, but different/and better amps as well as cables make a huge difference. They sound good with pretty much anything, but they can sound magical with better stuff up the chain.

From personal experience, I can say that I've especially liked my Harbeths when driven by Bel Canto amps, and by a Naim Nait 5i (though the Bel Canto is more refined and musical, at least to my ears.) Even a Rega Brio worked fine as a backup. I can't see why one would want to drive such accurate speakers with a low-powered tube amp -- that seems to me to be asking for trouble.

Alan Shaw, the designer of the Compact 7, looks very skeptically at the question of "best amps" for Harbeths. You can find his comments on the Harbeth user forum. For example, he has posted as follows: "The question of 'will this amp work with these speakers?' seems to have a life of its own. I just cannot fathom out why there is so much anxiety about grabbing any competent amp and hooking it up to your Harbeths and making great music. It seems to me that the fundamental essence of a good amp, well designed and working to original specification is that it must be relatively load-independent and the essence of a good, well designed speaker is that it must be amplifier-independent. So what's the anxiety about then? Who has planted the fear in the minds of an entire generation of hifi consumers that the amp/speaker interface is super-critical to the musical experience? With Harbeth it isn't."

That's funny stuff...
The difference is they can go from dull, boring, sleepy, to engaging, musical, and pleasure-giving... That's all.

I was driving my large Harbeth M-40.1's with a VAC Renaissance 30/30 MKIII, which I've just listed today. It would easily power you compact 7's and would sound phenomenal. I'm only selling it because I've moved up to the 30/30's bigger brother, the 70/70 Signature.

Also, go with tubes if you want to get the best sound out of your Harbeth's. I also had very good success with the McIntosh MC 275 MKV with upgraded tubes.

Don't bother about Alan Shaw's comments on the Harbeth forum if one believes that amplifiers will make a difference. In his mind all amps sound the same.

Tube vs SS - a matter of preference

Which amp - ditto above

How much power for the C7ES3 - this would depend on your listening levels. Manufacturer's minimum recommended is 25W. A good 20W tube amp will do fine unless one listens at head-banging levels.