Integrated amp recommendations for harbeth 30.2 XD

@voodoochillin -- keep in mind that both Luxman and Pass are known to understate their specs. The Luxman 590 AXII has been measured to be around 90 watts @ 8 ohms, which is significantly higher than the stated 30 watts. Also, Harbeths like current ... probably more so than watts.

Oh for sure. I’m just really curious how an amp with a really stout power supply which is necessary for a large class A envelope (but low-ish relative watts) drives these speakers so well. I don’t listen loud enough to get even close to the limits of the amp.

uncle paul helps with some important definitions and explanation of 'current vs watts'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfNoGVahHKg

I presume the H390 is considered a high-current unit, but do we have a measurement of how many amps it puts out?

“ …… 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…) …”

“ ….. 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. …”

HANDS-ON UPDATE:

Yup….cables matter …full stop,…no big surprise here . The litmus test is in.
My take: I don’t get Alan Shaw’s stated agnosticism that cables don’t matter.

(1) Comparatively, the CHORD RUMOURs are a big step down from my NORDOST FREYs comparatively in an A-B direct bake-off. The CHORDs sounded congested, thickly veiled, and solely lacking the same resolution and finesse that the HARBETHs are capable of performance-wise on all levels.

(2) I put the FREY speaker cables back in and I borrowed CARDAS CLEAR XLR ICs for an in-house audition and direct A-B bake-off against my NORDOST FREY XLR’s.
Wow …. An expensive $$ upgrade pathway for me now, because these CARDAS CLEARs are now a keeper for me.

In brief, they simply performed “better” at about a 10% - 20% add resolution. / added finesse / added open airiness audio improvement level, with further notable eliminations of any occasional harsh “edge”, depending on the quality of the recordings.

The FREYs are very good contenders and no pretenders by any measure , but the CARDAS CLEARs are the clear winner (no pun intended). Simply put, they open up the HARBETH’s to a higher audio performance and resulting music appreciation level across the whole spectrum. ‘Nuff said.

No way the CARDAS CLEAR ICs are coming out. They excel with my HARBETH 30.2 XD’s. Full stop.

The complimentary assault on my wallet is that CARDAS CLEAR matched speaker cables are now next as leading candidates for a further upgrade path on the Yellow Brick Road to audio OZ.

FWIW