helomech
Responses from helomech
| What Is So Special About Harbeth? 12:14pm For those that say they are overpriced I would be interested in which less expensive speakers sounded better to you. Vandersteen 1Cis and Magnepan .7s are two speakers I would much rather own than the 3X costlier C7ES3s. The Vandys wit... | |
| What Is So Special About Harbeth? @avanti1960 Harbeth woofers struggling to keep up and becoming compressed seems to be online urban legend rather than how they truly sound in practice- at least the latest versions. I have to disagree on the urban legend notion, unless Har... | |
| What Is So Special About Harbeth? Putting it in perspective, Harbeth is a tiny company with 15 employees. Here is their UK business filing (link). Their budget is shockingly small to me (but I work in the tech industry). Hardly what I would call a "powerhouse in marketing". I t... | |
| Totally overwhelmed (speakers under $5k) Of the more mainstream brands (Focal, B&W, KEF, Polk, Paradigm, Goldenear etc.), Revels are definitely some of the best. A $3K Revel speaker will generally outperform a $6K B&W or KEF speaker IME. There are better speakers but determining... | |
| Would appreciate a group consensus on Agon purchased amps Sellers should disclose whether a component includes the original accessories and cables. And sometimes the manufacturer-supplied cheapo cables perform better than aftermarket boutique stuff. | |
| What Is So Special About Harbeth? As for listening to Harbeth, the only local high-end audio retailer specializes in big projects, like wiring houses for complete audio-video systems, though they probably carry some individual speakers. I feel a bit uncomfortable going there just... | |
| What Is So Special About Harbeth? All but the largest Harbeths struggle when pushed. Seems their mid-woofers simply aren’t designed for high power handling. Their similar competitors often sound better and can play louder before compression sets in. Similar to Focals, their midran... | |
| Appreciate Some Dac Advice Even the Ares II is better sounding than the Qutest, so the Pontus is a good option. | |
| I had a question related to Class D My experience is that in practice, class D amps generally sound about half as powerful as an AB counterpart of the same power rating. This isn’t to say that will be the case with any class D amp, but it’s a pattern that was prominent in the early ... | |
| Magico A5, Wilson SabrinaX, or PS Audio FR30? PS Audio of course. Grandpa Paul’s content-marketing machine will convince you. | |
| Tube preamp: Cary SLP-03 vs Schiit Freya+ Try a Bel Canto Pre5. Sounds more like a good tube preamp than the Freya+, regardless of what tubes are rolled into the latter (even the overrated Ken Rad 231s). Yeah, it’s more than twice the price but the leap in sound quality is worth every pen... | |
| Tube preamp: Cary SLP-03 vs Schiit Freya+ The problem with the Freya+ is it doesn’t really provide the sound characteristics tubes are known for. Its tube stage sounds like what you get with a tube buffer, i.e. a very slight increase in “bloom.” Doesn’t matter what tubes you roll into the... | |
| The Big Misconception About Electricity I wish someone would make a video explaining why it is that so many gullible dummies have enough money to afford high-end audio equipment. Trust funds I suppose. | |
| Best Phono You've Heard Under $2200 The Lounge LCR has a huge bass hump in its response. It’s an incredibly inaccurate RIAA curve, so probably not fair to expect any other preamp to offer similar levels of midbass. The Lounge is a good example of why these days, I am weary of purcha... | |
| Moving away from inefficient/low impedance speaker in order to move to a Tube Amp As an owner of Altecs you probably know that exquisite midrange is not a trait exclusive to Harbeth. Many speakers in that price range are equals or better than the C7s in that regard, so no good reason to limit your amp choice to those unless you... |