Is there a point of diminished returns with amps and Harbeth 30.1s?

I worship the ML1.1s but our 700 sq ft loft is just too small!

You can get meaningful improvement by getting a better amp regardless of the speakers you are using.  The question is whether the improvement is worth the price.  With speakers as good as the 30.1, I think that it would be worthwhile to spend a significant amount on an amp of your liking.  I know many Harbeth fans like high power, but, I’ve heard, and liked these speakers with 50 or so watts of tube power.  I think they sound good with less power than that, so I would look for quality, not necessarily quantity (I.e., watts).

I don’t know what $5,000 buys on the used market.  I particularly liked these speakers with the Synthesis A100 amp and their A40 amp (both tube amps).

There is always a point of diminishing return on spending more for pretty much anything. For those speakers.you probably hit it for most once you get past $5k for an amp I would estimate.

There is always a point of diminishing return on spending more for pretty much anything. For those speakers.you probably hit it for most once you get past $5k for an amp I would estimate.

i would agree with @mapman on his comment above, in particular for normal sized listening rooms

@dhcod  I have owned the M30.1s for a few months now, and I can certainly relate to why people fall in love with them. I have them set up in my home office driven by Raven Audio Blackhawk. A few weeks ago, I temporarily moved them to my media room (20x15) and hooked them up to the Luxman 590AXII to see how they perform. Let me tell you, it was a revelation! They actually sounded better than Sonus Faber Olympica 2 (now sold) driven by the same Luxman. They had a blacker background, even better midrange, and that 'singer in your room' feeling was more enhanced. The SF sounded thin by comparison, although it had more bass slam to be fair.

So based on my experience, the 30.1s will most definitely scale with amplification up to $10k. Anything north of 10k, I'm not sure ... yet :)