Harbeth P3 vs KEF LS50W

Very nice suggests, thanks. I actually got a great deal on a two years old Rega brio-r, hope it will match up good. There are many positive reviews on that amp.

But I gotta tell you, I'm really curious of the sound from LFD with Harbeths, but will have to wait a bit until I've saved some more coin! Is mistral an older amp? Have you had any chance to hear Harbeths with Mk III or V?

Lastly I'll need a DAC.. Looking for a used Rega dac or Ifi Micro Idac, do you have any suggestions there?

With respect to the LFD- yes, the Mistral is an earlier amp, which had a phono section.  I tried both the Mistral and the Mk. V in my system at different times.  I slightly preferred the Mistral, because the Mk.V seemed to have less bass response.  However, I discovered later that it was an issue with the phono amp I was using with the MK.V, so it wasn't the amps fault.  Knowing that now, I'd recommend the MK.V if you can find one used at a decent price (not easy to do).

I think the Brio-R will be a great match - many, many people seem to like the Brio-R with the P3s.  I don't listen to digital too much recently, but from reviews over the years I have gathered that the Rega DAC is one of the most analog-sounding DACs you can get.  The newer version (Dac-r)has can take higher sampling rates, so that fact alone would probably steer me towards the newer model. However, the previous model was very well reviewed and should be available used at a very reasonable price.  It should be a fine match with the Brio-r.

Keep us posted on how the Brio-r sounds with the P3s.  

Best, Scott

I have the p3esr and the kef ls50
the p3esr are in another league imo. dont know about the kef ls50W

I haven't found any Rega Dac for a good price yet.. I read that the -r model does include remote and has higher bit rate through USB, other than that the sound is the same. Can you confirm that, and help me understand what cables I need to connect my MacBook and amp.

Is it RCA from amp to DAC and USB, optical etc from DAC to MacBook.

Since I don't have a DAC for now and would like to connect the amp to MacBook, what cable do I need?

I ordered Qed 79 speaker cables as I read much on HUG about them and Harbeth. But I don't have a clue about the other cables, decent brand/model to start with..

I haven’t found any Rega Dac for a good price yet.. I read that the -r model does include remote and has higher bit rate through USB, other than that the sound is the same as the former model. Can you confirm that, and help me understand what cables I need to connect my MacBook and amp? My mac is a 2008 year model.

Is it RCA from amp to DAC and USB, optical etc from DAC to MacBook?

Since I don’t have a DAC for now and would like to connect the amp to MacBook, what cable do I need?

I ordered Qed 79 speaker cables as I read much on HUG about them and Harbeth. But I don’t have a clue about the other cables, decent brand/model to start with..

Thanks.