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Harbeth 40.2 40th Anniversary with Simaudio mono blocks

I would like to report my findings on driving my pair of Harbeth 40.2 40th Anniversary speakers with Simaudio Moon 400M pair of mono blocks, 390 Moon pre-amplifier and 260D CD transport.

I have a decent size room 25 X 35’ but irregular in its shape - it a condo so portion of the roof is high and whole construction is open between my room, living room, kitchen, and stairs - volume wise it is close to 1350ft2.
It is important to mention that the whole place is very well damped with several double decorative carpets, many record and book shelve units, tables, and heavy curtains.
Speakers are 10’ apart and 12’ from the listening sofa. Front of each is 5’ from back wall. There is no wall behind the sofa.

I have initially tried several amps from 30 - 650W a channel and have to say that I truly do not understand why would anybody even think about running 40.2s (and other Harbeths) with low powered amplification. I do not listen to music loud - 85dB at my listening spot is the loudest I go.
I am actually amazed how those large monitors came to life with Moon 400M - the scale, dynamics and sound staging is unbelievable!!! How can it be that those large boxes, set not that far from back walls, throw such an enormous, deep staging and lifelike imaging? Listening to Anna Maria Jopek, Allison Krauss, Patricia Barber, Nina Simone, Shirley Horn, transformed me to the concert club - first row seats!
Amazing Jeff Hamilton Trio "Live"album - track number 8, "Yesterdays", will challenge your speakers, amplification and room’s acoustic. Listening to that track on 150W amp was like driving BMW 750i on lowest octane gas - There was no depth to the sound, most of the Hamilton’s drumming sounded like me with a little stick hitting plastic box.
When 400W(8Ohms) a channel with 80.000uF capacitnace a channel got connected, the difference was night and day - way far from subtle. The performance gave me a goosebumps.

I have seen several Harbeth owners being disappointed by the sound of their speakers while driving them with 30W amplification. Can Fiat 500 outperform Mercedes S560? Or can you buy that S560 to feed it with 87 Octane gas?
All I am saying - next time you will be at your Harbeth dealer - ask them to hook up powerful amplification. Take the step even further - compare the powerful amp (300-400W) to the 50W one at lower (80dB) level and hear the difference for yourself. You do not need to drive 200MPH, to appreciate the 470HP of S560....

I have tired many speakers and amplifiers in my room - Pass Labs, Dartzeel, Hegel, Ars Sonum, Accuphase, Luxman, Cary Audio, Leben, Shindo, Wilson, Dynaudio, Reference 3A, Merlin, Spendor, Kiis, ProAcs, DeVore, Raidho and what I have accomplished now is by far the most pleasurable experience from them all....

If you want to know specifics, just ask and I will try to do my best to answer.


arturgorniak
arturgorniak OP
80 posts
 
I heard Shindo separates with DeVore 0/96s that I had in my dedicated listening room for 1.5 year. Obviously, P3s are little speakers and do not need 200Ws. The little driver can move only so much air before producing major distortion. 
I have several friends who drive their Harbeths with tubes but not a single system is up to my liking. I remember there used to be one individual in Canada recommending Audio Noto to SE (10W) with 30.1s.....quite sad. 

I really liked Hegel H590 and Gryphon Diablo 300 with my 40.2s.....I had both amps at home for a month to compare. Gryphon was perhaps too polite and warm for already warmish Anniversaries. 
H590 was truly SPECTACULAR!!!! As a matter of fact I would blindly recommend that combo for any 40.2 fans out there. If you on the budget H390 would do as well but I did not heard the combo myself.
Luxman L509x run out of stem on material that required drive and control.
Dartzeel LHC208, was close to clipping as well and the combo sounded too syrupy and warm for my taste. 

I was close of keeping the H590 BUT unfortunately I am very picky about the manufacturing processes and quality. The H590 I had has several quality issues - case misalignment, cheap metal used for enclosure, cheap RCA/XLR connector, not balanced construction.Made in China when you look at $12k amp is unacceptable for me.

Simaudio is fully balanced, 10 years warranty, beautifully built like a tank. I also tried their 600v2 and 700v2 integrateds but was not impressed with their sound.

The mono blocks with preamp and separate transport make for amazing system at a really good price point.
nquery
103 posts
 
I know that the general consensus is that they a fair bit of power, but something seems amiss when a minimum of 400 watts is required to bring a speaker to life ...
audiojedi
225 posts
 
I have heard that the 40.2 responds well to big power but there are also some real happy campers running Vinnie Rossi amps that are around 75 a channel and the LFD NCSE which I am running which is also known to play well with the 40.2's.

I don't need to be concerned with numbers to help me to understand that if I'm getting 85db peaks and am between 9 and 10:30 on the volume dial that I'm good and have no need to think that I need some monster amp to get these babies to sing.

You definitely need something with some drive and get up and go to make them move some air but part of the appeal of Harbeth to me is that they seem to be fairly amplifier friendly.

As with any speaker you don't want to under power or they'll sound flat and lacking in drive but I couldn't be more pleased at how well a well designed 70 Watt amp does - you'll know it as soon as you hear it that's for sure...
arturgorniak OP
80 posts
 
Remember that i am using rather large room that is heavy damped. Much depends on the room acoustic. I tried Vinnie Rossi‘s monoblocks and honestly could not understand what is the hype about. They sounded very nice with DeVore Super 9 but far from acceptable with 40.2s in my room. 
9 or 10 o'clock Volume knob position has nothing to do with available power and more with pre-amplifier (section) gain. 
Like I said before it is perfectly fine to drive Fiat 500 in the city traffic...but trying to convince 250ib 6.1’ guy that the drive will be more comfortable than S560 is a weak argument. 
With power you have easiness, flow, and enormous dynamics on tap. If you look at the 40.2 test (german magazine - google it) you will see that they are becoming linear around 80-85dB sound pressure. So In large, heavy damped room, 15’ from speaker, playing dynamic music, 100W will not be enough. Several individuals might think that it is more than enough, driving amp in clipping and complaining about systems’ sound (especially tube amplification)  
i know that many here are die hard low power tube amp users - but try your favorite Harbeth with powerful amp - lets say Hegel H390 or H590...

i used to know individual who drove HL5plus with leben CS600. We spent countless hours on the argument until he borrowed powerful integrated from our local dealer....he was sold overnight and his 4 years old CS600 ended up here on audiogon. 
All I am saying - be open minded and experiment!
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