I recently auditioned the LM 518 mated to a pair of Harbeth 7es-3s, the same combination Tim Smith used in his wallofsound.ca review. It sounded absolutely horrible. Congested, bloated, dull, slow, and completely devoid of any dynamics. Everything from the lower mids down was a complete mess. The dealer was apologetic and as he said, "embarrassed" that I set a Saturday aside to drive the considerable distance to hear (and not hear) this highly regarded amp that we both agreed was unlistenable. I was really wanting to love this amp and was sorely disappointed when it wasn't even close. The dealer attributed the poor sound to what did seem to be a rather pronounced echo in his listening room, however, it sounded so poorly, I wasn't convinced that could be the primary reason and declined his generous in-home audition offer. As a consequence I've since ordered the Coincident 845 SE and can't say that based on my experience, I could recommend the 518 to anyone.
Line Magnetic 501-a gold? any experience?
I heard one of these with a Harbeth 7es-3 and quite enjoyed it; I am thinking of purchasing the system. Everybody of course raves about the Harbeth, but almost no reviews about the Line Magnetic. The LM 501-a also had a 502ca dac connected which I thought worked well also.
FYI this dealer also hooked up various combinations Naims, LM, 7es-3s, and super 5s. I was disappointed in all the Naim/Harbeth combos, which surprised me as they are well reviewed together, and I am usually a solid state guy.
This is a second system coming in at around 10k minus the source. Open for suggestions.
FYI this dealer also hooked up various combinations Naims, LM, 7es-3s, and super 5s. I was disappointed in all the Naim/Harbeth combos, which surprised me as they are well reviewed together, and I am usually a solid state guy.
This is a second system coming in at around 10k minus the source. Open for suggestions.