advertisement


Which valve amplifier with Harbeth SHL5 (no plus)

Henry53 said:
I am using Audio Physic Sitara 25 speakers you had AP's and used a Unison Research S6, which AP's?
Click to expand...
Please use another thread for this or PM function. Thank you.:)

I'm not interested in general advices for amps, I'd only like to know which valve amplifiers the users here are using with Harbeth speakers, especially SHL5 versions. Please also no post like: "I know this and that amp and I think it would be a good match with your SHL5."

I'm looking for user experiences and I'd be glad if the topic and my wish would be respected.:)
 
Jodet said:
Which valve amp? None. Harbeth speakers prefer solid state. Hegel, Naim, Benchmark, Belles, etc.
Click to expand...

Thats an interesting view

Mirrors my experience with sloggy Harbeth bas, however I never heard SHL5 with acceptable bas notes - price range should proove otherwise, doubt valve amps would be a viable solution TBH.
 
Yes my experience of shl5+ and valves, is don’t. It’s not what the manufacturer wants and it’s not what the speakers want.

polypropylene cones have some mass and need an amp with damping factor. Thats never going to be valve. It’s just the totally wrong combination.

You either need different amp choices or different speakers.
 
@PerF: Maybe you should finally try out a SHL5+, SHL5+ 40th.A.E. or a SHL5+ X.D., they have a different bass than a SHL5, much tighter and drier.
 
Valves for mellow music without much bass and transients going on, mainly vocals or lullaby music to put you to sleep. The treble sounds more exquisite and illuminated with good tube amps, one being Leben .

Solid-state for dynamic music with a lot of energy and fast thumping bass played at moderate to high levels.

My experience with most Harbeth models is they sound dull and laidback with most solid-state amps. They sound open, alive and dynamic with few select solid-state amps. The sound is more illuminated with an airier and extended top-end when they are driven by good tube amps but play something fast and dynamic they fall apart. I'm not sure if there's a powerful tube amp which can do them justice though.

Old Shatterhand said:
Maybe you should finally try out a SHL5+, SHL5+ 40th.A.E. or a SHL5+ X.D., they have a different bass than a SHL5, much tighter and drier.
Click to expand...
I would agree with the above based on my 10+ years experience with both SHL5 and SHL5+.
 
PerF said:
Didn't he say most amps would work and all sound the same ?
Click to expand...

fairly sure they have caveated that in the past by not really discussing valves!

best amp I heard my shl5+ 40th on, was the gato amp 150. Big juicy robust sound. Great control and much less insistent and bright top end than with my valve amp.

still no real bass mind you. Hence why i didn’t keep the speakers.
 
PerF said:
Didn't he say most amps would work and all sound the same ?
Click to expand...
As you know, he does, because of marketing reasons. But I have to add he didn't say all amps sound the same he said comparable solid state amplifier which are not driven into clipping are not distinguishable IIRC.
 
PerF said:
Tight and dry bas is not what I would associate with Harbeths, but open for new view.
Click to expand...
Not tight and dry as many modern, stiff MDF designs, which have an artificial kind of bass, at least to my ears, but way tighter than the bass of the pre SHL5+ designs. This is also the case for the C7 XD which has a much tighter and less warm bass compared to the C7 ES3 and C7 ES3 40th. A.E.
I was told the same about the difference between the M40.1 and the M40.2, M40.2 40th. A.E. and the M40.3 XD.
 
I have SHL5 plus speakers and use an EAR 864/890 combo to drive them, sounds outstanding to me.

I also have a pair of P3ESRs, which are on the end of a Naim 200/202 set up, again sounds great to my ears but not as good as above of course
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top