Hello,
I actually had the opportunity to A/B the Harbeth Super HL5 with the Leben CS300XS and a Shindo Vosnee Romanee and Montille pre/amp combo. No question, the Leben was the superior amplifier. The dealer thought so as well. There is a certain synergy between Leben and Harbeth that makes music. The Shindo sounded anemic and lifeless in comparison to the Leben. Definitely didn't sound like it had enough power...which is funny because the Leben is rated the same wpc. We listened to Eric Clapton's unplugged album and Norah Jones come away with me. Both sounded better to me with the Leben. To be fair, I didn't have much time to A/B, and the Shindo combo was only warmed up for 30-45 minutes before being connected to the Harbeth. But I left that audition a firm believer in the Harbeth/Leben synergy. Just goes to show that spending more money doesn't necessarily get you better results.