Hi, sorry for writing in English
I am known among friends to have had the opportunity to own alot of top of the line headphones from Hifiman, Meze, Fostex, Audeze, Stax and so on. As well I own high end in ear monitors. For me I simply am a seeker of natural coherent signatures. It really takes a great product to impress me, as my journey with headphones and iems has been a long journey
You can find all I own/owned on my head-fi account below
https://www.head-fi.org/members/sound-eq.381059/#aboutWith headphones as you know it is easier to find what you like, as the variables are less influencing on the sound compared to home systems. I visited many homes here in Israel, and always felt something was missing from the coherent signatures that I get in headphones alike Hifiman HE1000SE and others. To me from all the headphones and tons of other headphones I auditioned the Hifiman HE1000SE is the perfect headphones I can recommend personally, of course there are other great headphones as well from the companies mentioned above which were amazing
I was always hesitant to step into home system setups, but all this changed in one day, when I was given the opportunity to hear and buy a Harbeth, and I was simply shocked how beautiful the Harbeth slh 5 plus 40th anniversary sounded on a great system with a high end amp
So knowing I did not have a great amp at home for a home system, my search started, to match the great Harbeth speakers to a great amplifier, and I took some amps home without naming them, some were good and some were disappointing, and I will not name which were which.
The amplifier matching took a toll on me, until one day I called a dealer here who brings great equipment for home systems and headphones, and I discussed with him my issue with amplifier matching. He suggested for me to get the Avid Integra amplifier
I went and took it from him to try, and it was an instant click, the Harbeth just rose to absolute perfection in sound, even better than what i heard at the other house using a different amp, where I got my first chance to hear the Harbeth, and the impression that set up had on me was huge. So to get an amp to top that experience speaks volumes. I was literally struck by the amazing Avid Integra amplifier, since I do not speak Hebrew I shared my findings on Pinkfishmedia website, and apparently the Avid Integra is hailed as being a perfect amplifier
So what did this amplifier offer
1- Tight controlled bass even from harbeth, it just had a tight grab on the harbeth's low end. Amazing audiophile low end
2- Mids and this is where we all know the magic of harbeth lays, the Avid Integra just brought perfection of the mids, full organic, with great textures, that is an absolute bliss to hear. If your amp will not be able to extract amazing full rich mids, then know that you are using the wrong amp for harbeth. The Avid Integra nailed it even beyond my expectations
3- Highs and detail were brought out in the perfect amount, never getting to a harsh level, simply perfect highs and detail
4- Sound stage huge compared to all amps I heard Harbeth with
Simply put I can sincerely recommend the Avid Integra as being one of the best amps I heard
In summary, being a seeker for natural sound, this is what I get now. For me its always first and last nailing the natural mids, with great bass and amazing details
So happy as finding a great amp, was a journey that was not easy to nail.
And finally I also have to say, it seems for me that Harbeth will always be part of my audio journey, as simply the natural mid range that this speaker offers is end game, for me at least. And it deserves the right amp for it, and Avid Integra was that amp. It was a pleasure to have gotten the help from Or Audio, the dealer of Avid Integra and his absolute understanding of what I was looking for and he simply nailed it in recommending the Avid Integra
Set up:
Chord Hugo TT2-- Avid Integra--- Harbeth shl 5 plus 40th
:) בעל אוזן מוזיקלית והבחנה מדוייקת.