Integrated amp recommendations for harbeth 30.2 XD

I think I posted that my KRELL k-300i would be great with a Harbeth, but I deleted that post since I was set to sell the unit. However, today those plans have changed and the KRELL is needed.

I have heard the Harbeth with Luxman c900u and m900u combo and it was great. The Harbeth are usually not the type of speaker I gravitate towards. However, with the Luxman pairing It was great, but also very expensive

My KRELL k-300i integrated sounds a lot like that Luxman sound that I heard. Very smooth, detailed, and powerful. The internal DAC is OK and is what I will use in the future for convenience. I also hooked up a Gustard X26 Pro DAC and an AudioMirror Tubadour III SE with Fibre Optical streaming into USB and it was better than the internal DAC streamed to the NETWORK (RJ45) input.

I highly recommend this unit and I think it is the best integrated in the $12K and under price range that I have heard. The CODA CSiB is also another great integrated but I think the KRELL is a bit smoother (maybe a good thing), with stronger bass, and technically very advanced (with DAC option).

AKG_CA, I broadly agree with your sentiments.

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.

Alan Shaw used to express opinionated views on amplifiers, cables and stands for his speakers. I wouldn’t want to bring it out here again but let’s just say I don’t agree with his opinions as well. Before he advocated powerful Hegel amps for Harbeth speakers, he used to say amplifiers don’t matter as any modest-powered amp would work on his speaker. This includes the Rega Brio, Elicit and Nait 5i to name a few. Of course it would work. The real question is whether music will sound good with those low powered amps..

In my experience, no.

The Rega Osiris must be something special to sound better than the LFD with the Harbeth. Is the LFD a Zero or NCSE? The Osiris has received very positive reviews by the Brits, both reviewers and users alike.

Please share your impressions on the Nordost Frey vs Chord Rumour speaker cable on this thread. Personally I don’t think the Rumour will sound better than the Frey. I used to have Chord Epic on the Harbeth SHL5+ . The Epic is a higher range cable than the Rumour and it does sound quite respectable with the Harbeth. I now use Chord Signature XL and it made the Epic sound colored and slightly congested. The higher range Signature XL’s clarity is quite a step up from the Epic. For this reason I don’t think the Rumour will surpass the performance of the Nordost Frey in your system. In short, cables do matter with the Harbeth or any other speaker in my experience.

I do not have experience with the Krell K-S300i although I briefly tried the KAV-300i in my system many years ago. I presume the signature punch and dynamic presentation of the Krell would be quite ideal for the Harbeth.

As shown in this thread, the current capability and drive of the amp is one of the single most important parameters to ensure the Harbeth will sound good, if not great.

the hegel h160 while a ’last gen’ piece at this point, would, imo, set a very high bar to beat in driving harbeths (it is last gen primarily in the dac section only, the amp section is still absolutely top notch) - this is why i am so curious to hear @whipsaw’s findings with his new gato... it would be really something of note if the gato can outperform the h160

another amp i have found to work very very well with the harbeths are the devialets (they also have a useful ’sam’ feature that enhances the bass response of the speaker while also protecting the bass driver) - truly excellent sound

finally, harbeths are a speaker that readily exposes the sq difference between really fine amps like hegel or ayre or pass vs something like a nad... this comment is borne from personal experience, not reviews, nor conjecture

the hegel h160 while a ’last gen’ piece at this point, would, imo, set a very high bar to beat in driving harbeths (it is last gen primarily in the dac section only, the amp section is still absolutely top notch)

Thanks for that, and I do agree that the h160 is excellent. I could have easily lived with it and been happy, but had an itch to try out the GATO.

It’s still very early, but I am tempted to say that the GATO is fleshing out some subtle details that I wasn’t hearing with the Hegel. It could well be bias at play, as I am not set up to A/B the two amps under controlled conditions, but I do seem to be hearing some differences.

I was listening last night to an excellent (live) Mary Stallings CD that I know well, and, among other things, Ron Blake’s tenor saxophone playing sounded more vivid in that I was picking up details from around his mouth.

I also want to say that I am picking up on what might be thought of as a more ’organic’ timbre from acoustic instruments, and that GATO has a better 'grip' on the bass.

I need more time, though, to arrive at any kind of confident conclusions.