Looking for a better amp for Castle Harlech S1s

[JezmondTutu]

Exposure pre/power - what my friend ran for years. He’s just changed to Ruark Crusaders but still has the Castles and they are sounding good with a MF integrated.

 

[Del monaco]

I listened to some Harlech a few years ago at a shop in Barnsley. They were interesting speakers but I chose the Severn’s in the end. I got the feeling they would benefit with from something with power and grip, maybe Naim or perhaps Audiolab?

 

[x21]

I have a Nait 3 I'm intending to sell around £280, that should drive the Castles nicely.

I am already using a NAC 42 and NAP 140.

As mentioned above, a Rega Elex-r. It’s a fast, engaging amp, with a tight bass, and so shouldn’t cause the bass drivers to slow the p.r.a.t. If that fails to get the speakers moving, then me thinks different speakers required?
I had the little Castle Trents some years ago, which I recall were an easy drive.

The Harlechs are about 84dB/w@1m. They need tons of power. I am already driving them with the new Brio. The NAD 326 was the only amp to break them loose at all.

I listened to some Harlech a few years ago at a shop in Barnsley. They were interesting speakers but I chose the Severn’s in the end. I got the feeling they would benefit with from something with power and grip, maybe Naim or perhaps Audiolab?

Audiolab is far to slow and stogy here and Naim is already in use.



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I am thinking of trying a crown xls amp. Force the bloody things to move. I expect a rather brutish amp should work. In the mean time I picked up a pair of Totem Hawks.

 

[Salamander]

Behringer A800 – Thomann UK

It's a very good price at the moment when stock arrives.

 

[x21]

Behringer A800 – Thomann UK

It's a very good price at the moment when stock arrives.

I'll look into it. They have been out of stock for a while here in Canada.

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In the end I found my NAD C316BEE/C326BEE was just more entertaining on rock than the other gear. Perhaps I need new crossovers,tweeters, etc. I lose the detail and spaciousness of the Rega but it cuts a good balance.

 

[x21]

Coming back to this. I have recently gotten my hands on a chinese passive preamp to try my audiosource amp 100s in bridged mono. Starting them up causes quite a nasty chirp but using the speaker b connection on startup helps stop this. This is a lot closer to what I wanted to hear from these speakers.

 

[pocketkitchen]

Harlechs are a marvellous speaker but aren't sensitive at all and need a very controlled sounding amp. If a Naim 140 didn't work well then looking at Naits in whatever guise, just won't work. You don't mention the size of your room (at least I couldn't see that you did) which is very relevant as a bog room will need more power. I would second the suggestions above for an s/h Exposure pre/power amp though. It's also possible that crossover caps, if electrolytic might have drifted off-spec.

 

[Woodface]

A Supernait would work great with these speakers. Castle speakers were often quite dark in their voicing but think they are rather underrated.

 

[x21]

Harlechs are a marvellous speaker but aren't sensitive at all and need a very controlled sounding amp. If a Naim 140 didn't work well then looking at Naits in whatever guise, just won't work. You don't mention the size of your room (at least I couldn't see that you did) which is very relevant as a bog room will need more power. I would second the suggestions above for an s/h Exposure pre/power amp though. It's also possible that crossover caps, if electrolytic might have drifted off-spec.

My room is 335cm x 366cm. They are completely lifeless on the brio with somewhat bloated bass. It definitely can't drive them properly. Exposure gear is quite rare here in Canada however I have a few decent options for amps from the states. Finally I believe they use film capacitors in the crossovers so these should last a while longer.

A Supernait would work great with these speakers. Castle speakers were often quite dark in their voicing but think they are rather underrated.

If I win the lottery maybe. The supernait is $6500 here... I am probably going to look at a Schiit Vidar or an XTZ Edge.

 

[Timcat]

I recently acquired some Castle Richmonds (the front ported version) from flee bay, to use in a second system with a Quad 306. This combination works very nicely. The Quad seems to suit the Castles very well, whereas it did not work at all well with my main speakers (B&W 804d3). I don't know how the Harlechs are voiced, but if they are similar to the Richmonds, then you might want to give a pre IAG Quad a try.

 

[Del monaco]

A Supernait would work great with these speakers. Castle speakers were often quite dark in their voicing but think they are rather underrated.

I agree. I think reviewers were often distracted by their build. My Severn’s were lovely speakers. Speakers you could live with. The configuration of the Harlech was interesting. I’d also be tempted to try them with a Yamaha. Good current and clean almost neutral delivery. An A500/501 May do it but if it were me I’d go for an 801 or even 803 if you like bells and whistles with very little diminish end of sound quality.

 

[x21]

I agree. I think reviewers were often distracted by their build. My Severn’s were lovely speakers. Speakers you could live with. The configuration of the Harlech was interesting. I’d also be tempted to try them with a Yamaha. Good current and clean almost neutral delivery. An A500/501 May do it but if it were me I’d go for an 801 or even 803 if you like bells and whistles with very little diminish end of sound quality.

Do you think a A-S701 would be adequate? Do you think a 501 can control the bass better than the Brio (2017)?

 

[Del monaco]

Possibly? I thought my original A501 was great but 701 or 801 are likely better. To be fair, the 501 controlled bass well. You could try them, of course.

 

[x21]

Possibly? I thought my original A501 was great but 701 or 801 are likely better. To be fair, the 501 controlled bass well. You could try them, of course.

Do you think the Yamaha would also survive with brighter speakers such as the Totem Hawks? The Brio and the Castles is ho-hum. It lacks dynamics. The Hawks have better dynamics but the bass is not well controlled on the brio.

 

[Del monaco]

The Yamaha has

Do you think the Yamaha would also survive with brighter speakers such as the Totem Hawks? The Brio and the Castles is ho-hum. It lacks dynamics. The Hawks have better dynamics but the bass is not well controlled on the brio.

My 803D powers a pair of Magneplanar LRS speakers. Enough power and the sound in near to neutral with a touch of brightness. The high current should suit the Castles I think. With Pure Direct engaged bass is well controlled. My previous CM8s were very dynamic with this amp.

 

[x21]

High current will be fantastic on the Hawks. The castles seem less fussy. Still my bridged 150w amps bring the castles to life at the cost of hurting my ears over a few hours.

 

[x21]

After going and buying the Totem Hawks and living with them for a while I found the Castle and Brio combo did actually work pretty great. My room is likely the problem as I believe it sucks the life out of a lot of speakers. I will probably look at an Elex-R for the Castles in the future.

 

[Frizzy]

I used pioneer a300 precision and a400gte with several models, Durham , Warwick ,Kendal,and Howard’s, both gave speakers super clean delivery, with Well balanced mids and sweet clean top end. Balanced the castles full bodied sound.
Also used rotel to good effect.

 

[Taff63]

I had Harlechs for ages - lovely big, warm sounding speakers but a little slow and need some space around them. They need a decent amp - I used an Exposure 17/18 pre/power for years and it sounded good but even then I had the suspicion that a bigger amp would have been better. After Ruark Crusader 2s replaced them I did try them with a big JVC integrated (1010) and a Sony 770ES. They were an improvement in terms of control - particularly in the bass.

 

[x21]

So another update. I was at the Toronto Audio Fest and found a deal on a Micromega MyDAC. Wow this thing with the Brio and Castles is quick. This is a lesson. Sometimes it's the dac slowing everything down.

EDIT: Really bloody quick. The Castle Harlechs work well with the new combo. The hawks are now somewhat too bright to turn up. But they were in the first place.

EDIT2: I guess this is a lesson in source first.