HH Scott 299B with Harbeth/low-efficiency speakers

I tried using  Scott 222C with a set of Harbeth Super HL5, previous model in the 5 series, and it was not a good combination. My recollection is that the 222C uses EL84’s and only put out 20 watts so this may not be relative to your setup.

For what it’s worth, I have not found any tube amp to sound good with any Harbeth speaker. I know lots of people like tubes with them and YMMV. I have owned the Super HL 5’s, the Monitor 40’s and now have the Super HL5+ and tried a number of tube amps with all of them and did not like the results at all. Again, this is only my opinion and only you can tell what you will like.

Good Luck!

Hi,

The 40's are great speakers that play everything well. The bass was overpowering in my room which is the only reason I sold them. The highs were not as extended as the SHL5+. The midrange was outstanding and the reason I bought them in the first place. The sound of the human voice through these speakers was so natural the it startled me a few times. They both play really well at the lower volumes that now prefer. 

The SHL5+ is less romantic sounding which seems to be the direction Harbeth is going with their newer speakers. I find the SHL5+ to be the perfect speaker for me right now. I cannot find any fault with them at all. They did benefit from the change from the Ayre AX-7e  to the Aesthetix Mimas as they seem to like the addition of a tube in the preamp section and maybe the extra power. I lived with the AX-7e powering the SHL5+ for three years and and loved the sound they made together but the Aesthethix Mimas, which cost double the amount of the AX-7e, is the most musical amplifier I have ever heard.

I recently heard the 40.2's and they are the speaker I would love to own. They really seem to have gotten the voicing right with that speaker!