Integrated amp recommendations for harbeth 30.2 XD

@decooney

lol - couple years ago when i bought back a set of compact 7’s for fun (after enjoying super 5’s and mon 40s a decade earlier), i found that harbeth user’s group... first i thought it was hella cool -- the owner main designer boss man goes on the board frequently chats with customers answers questions shares thoughts etc etc

then after a couple weeks i realized that place is run like an oppressive regime... our little hifi world version of ’i can’t breathe’ ... but as all these things go in online and tv media these days, people only gather in their own echo chambers, each agreeing and amplifying long held beliefs, pretty much sheep fanboys and associated dealers participate, very few open minds, limited intellectual honesty - ’tis a comment on our general society as much as harbeth or audio in these times

my view is it is a decent place to gather info on the speakers, esp for those new to harbeth, but it’s not one for any real discussion -- takes nothing away from the excellence of the speakers though...

If you are now questioning your overall audio performance with these killer speakers, my guess is that the problem would likely be the compromises and warts with your source and/or the room acoustics ..... And not your REGA amp.

Not all Rega amps are built to sound the same. I owned the Rega Elicit mk2 and the Harbeth SHL5 sounded lacklustre when matched with it.

I would imagine the Osiris to be the best sounding Rega amp, followed closely by the Aethos. The lower range Rega integrateds are suboptimal if your system is above average, particularly if you own some Harbeth speakers.

RYDER has a good point in general vis-a-vis matching higher strata build upstream components to very revealing HARBETH speakers (… and this is not just limited to REGA’s lower tier offerings ,,,): You always only get what you pay for….

Maximizing your HARBETHs performance is an alchemy of 3 things: - a direct function of the components system build price point in the 1st part,
- Price alone is no assurance of a pathway down the Yellow Brick Road to Audio OZ . One size does not fit all …. It will need experimentation to maximize system synergy overall
- And finally, an awareness and ethereal management of acoustic warts introduced in your bespoke listening arena. Th identical system in two different arenas can sound very different in terms of listener satisfaction.

THE GOOD NEWS AND NOT SO GOOD NEWS IMO:

Your HARBETHs are the most agnostic speakers I’ve auditioned in suitable matching with the many high-build amplifier brands. E.g. LFD was my 2nd choice behind my REGA OSIRIS with great results

Conversely they are most revealing speaker to an extreme of graphically exposing all compromises and limitations from your source. That includes the complimentary issue about performance and quality of your ICs.

THE OPEN END CONFLICTING ISSUE OF “BEST” SPEAKER CABLES:

Mr Shaw preaches his mantra that HARBETH are completely agnostic about “good” speaker cables, and that low-budget cheap 79-strand QEDs are examples of suitable partners. Both my HARBETH dealer and I are not in his cohort army.. I currently run a full all-NORDOST FREY high-end loom array with great performance.

LITMUS TEST BAKE-OFF COMING: I just bought the comparatively modest strata CHORD RUMOUR speaker cables to purposely test drive Mr. Shaw’s theories / assumption in the coming weeks in a direct A-B shootout against my incumbent FREYs. (There is a BIG difference in price point deltas…)

Interested parties can PM me on the results.

FWIW

Very early days, but I am getting excellent results with the combination of my 30.1 and newly acquired GATO AMP-150.

@whipsaw

let us know how good it sounds and how it compares with others you have had!

saw darko’s review on the piece... he loves stuff that has cool design, looks so unique and elegant -- that is certainly a beautifully made amp