@brianbiehs
If I got this right and the Harbeth is 6 ohms and 86 dB, its actual efficiency is around 84dB. That isn't quite criminally low efficiency, but it is quite low and in most rooms you're going to need about 600 watts to make it play. This is why the amp is being overloaded (which BTW also puts the tweeter in the speaker at risk; that's the classic method to damage a tweeter).
600 watts is a lot of power and that sort of requirement makes it a lot harder and more expensive to find an amp that sounds as good as one that makes only 100 watts. Further, there's really no reason to make a speaker that inefficient. It isn't bandwidth, it isn't speed, it isn't resolution. Plus when speakers are that inefficient, you get thermal compression caused by heating in the voice coils.
If you are driving that speaker with 100 watts (which is about what the Pass will do at clipping) it will make a certain sound pressure. But if the speaker were 94 dB instead of 84, you would need only 10(!) watts to make the same sound pressure. Now my speakers at home are 98dB and just to avoid doing the math I'm going to say for this argument that they are only 97dB... so 3db more than 94dB means that I can make the same sound pressure as you can with only 5 watts. I can tell you that in my listening room which is slightly on the small side that even with my speakers that isn't nearly enough. BTW a 3dB difference is a doubling of amplifier power, a 10dB difference is 10x the amplifier power. Decibels (dB) are on a logarithmic scale since that's how our ears hear.
I'm running an amp that makes about 45 watts/channel and its impossible to clip it in my room. To put that in perspective, that would be like having an amp that has 900 watts/channel in your system. In simple terms you're a country mile off when it comes to matching these two products.
The simple solution here is that if you like that amp and don't feel like going on the hunt for a 600-900w/channel **integrated** amplifier, change out the speakers for something more efficient! The combo might sound great at low levels, but if you want to hit anything that might be considered 'satisfying' its not going to work as you well know.
If I got this right and the Harbeth is 6 ohms and 86 dB, its actual efficiency is around 84dB. That isn't quite criminally low efficiency, but it is quite low and in most rooms you're going to need about 600 watts to make it play. This is why the amp is being overloaded (which BTW also puts the tweeter in the speaker at risk; that's the classic method to damage a tweeter).
600 watts is a lot of power and that sort of requirement makes it a lot harder and more expensive to find an amp that sounds as good as one that makes only 100 watts. Further, there's really no reason to make a speaker that inefficient. It isn't bandwidth, it isn't speed, it isn't resolution. Plus when speakers are that inefficient, you get thermal compression caused by heating in the voice coils.
If you are driving that speaker with 100 watts (which is about what the Pass will do at clipping) it will make a certain sound pressure. But if the speaker were 94 dB instead of 84, you would need only 10(!) watts to make the same sound pressure. Now my speakers at home are 98dB and just to avoid doing the math I'm going to say for this argument that they are only 97dB... so 3db more than 94dB means that I can make the same sound pressure as you can with only 5 watts. I can tell you that in my listening room which is slightly on the small side that even with my speakers that isn't nearly enough. BTW a 3dB difference is a doubling of amplifier power, a 10dB difference is 10x the amplifier power. Decibels (dB) are on a logarithmic scale since that's how our ears hear.
I'm running an amp that makes about 45 watts/channel and its impossible to clip it in my room. To put that in perspective, that would be like having an amp that has 900 watts/channel in your system. In simple terms you're a country mile off when it comes to matching these two products.
The simple solution here is that if you like that amp and don't feel like going on the hunt for a 600-900w/channel **integrated** amplifier, change out the speakers for something more efficient! The combo might sound great at low levels, but if you want to hit anything that might be considered 'satisfying' its not going to work as you well know.