Here's my story if you haven't followed it: Awhile back, I decided to get out of my headphone fixation and get some music in the air around here, so I dug my old Harmon Kardon integrated (A-402) out of storage and sent it off to be cleaned and serviced. In the meantime, I located a set of barely used Cambridge Soundworks Model Sixes. With the speakers on the way, the HK service on hold (long story) and far too much time logged on internet audio boards in the meantime, I pulled the trigger on a fully digital receiver -- a Panasonic SA-XR55.
The Panny has been pretty impressive, especially when getting a digital signal from my cheap Toshiba DVD player, but the HK came back home in great working condition and it was time to decide what would stay and what would go.
Stuff besides the amps:
The CSW Sixes, if you don't know them, are Henry Kloss' last acoustic suspension design, a tribute to the KLH 6, though smaller and a good bit more efficient. They bridge the gap between modern and vintage pretty effectively and are, in my estimation, a pretty good speaker for this test. The Panny got fed by my cheapie Toshiba DVD player via a nice, but not terribly expensive, digital coax audio cable. The HK got its signal from my trusty old Yamaha CDX-470. My test signals were "Telegraph Road," by Dire Straits, "Listen To The Lion" - Van Morrison, live from the amazing "Too Late to Stop Now," and "Babylon Sisters" by Steely Dan. All very good but standard CDs, particularly the live Van Morrison CD, which lacks a bit in the bottom end but has a ton of detail, dynamics and pure unadulterated source material, with horns, strings, full band and Van's voice in peak form and forward.
Sound:
Well, one thing in favor of the HK: You would never know this thing was putting out 1/4 of the watts of the Panny. It is more than enough amp, with a big, bold, room-filling sound. But in spite of that, I was immediately struck by how small it seemed compared to the Panny. The field was all between the speakers and fairly two dimensional. And the speakers themselves were very evident. The Panny, by comparison, opens up the stage beyond the location of the speakers. Compared to the HK, there seem to be instruments above, in front of, behind and beyond the speakers' locations in the room. And that's pretty cool for a guy who has never owned high-end. The Panny also delivers more detail and definition. You can hear the hands in the waves of applause. Horns have a depth and texture that is missing from the HK's presentation, you can hear the spit, the reeds, not just the notes. The HK, which is well-known for its bass, has it in spades, and I continue to be amazed by how well these small Model Sixes deliver bottom end. But the HK makes them almost sound like ported speakers, with a bit of a low-mid boost. The Panny delivers all the bottom end the Sixes can reproduce, but it is crisp, fast, not the slightest bit soft around the edges.
With all of that said, don't think that the Yamaha and Harmon Kardon sounded bad. They didn't. Yes it was narrower, less defined, less detailed, but it has a smooth warmth that is really easy to listen to, and some folks would understandably like it better than what comes out of the Panny, which could be heard as cold, or even hard. And this much is for sure: Poorly recorded and/or mastered source material can sound pretty awful on the Panny. The HK is much more forgiving.
So is the HK for sale? I don't think so. Right now I'm sitting here listening to "Hey Nineteen" through the Yammy and the HK and it is pretty seductive. I could really see myself wanting to listen to some music through this set up. And I could easily see myself searching out a pair of Advents or ARs or KLHs or Dyanacos to go with them...what a perfect match that would be! Trouble is we don't really have a house big enough for two systems.
I'm just going to have to start shopping for a bigger house...
Tim
The Panny has been pretty impressive, especially when getting a digital signal from my cheap Toshiba DVD player, but the HK came back home in great working condition and it was time to decide what would stay and what would go.
Stuff besides the amps:
The CSW Sixes, if you don't know them, are Henry Kloss' last acoustic suspension design, a tribute to the KLH 6, though smaller and a good bit more efficient. They bridge the gap between modern and vintage pretty effectively and are, in my estimation, a pretty good speaker for this test. The Panny got fed by my cheapie Toshiba DVD player via a nice, but not terribly expensive, digital coax audio cable. The HK got its signal from my trusty old Yamaha CDX-470. My test signals were "Telegraph Road," by Dire Straits, "Listen To The Lion" - Van Morrison, live from the amazing "Too Late to Stop Now," and "Babylon Sisters" by Steely Dan. All very good but standard CDs, particularly the live Van Morrison CD, which lacks a bit in the bottom end but has a ton of detail, dynamics and pure unadulterated source material, with horns, strings, full band and Van's voice in peak form and forward.
Sound:
Well, one thing in favor of the HK: You would never know this thing was putting out 1/4 of the watts of the Panny. It is more than enough amp, with a big, bold, room-filling sound. But in spite of that, I was immediately struck by how small it seemed compared to the Panny. The field was all between the speakers and fairly two dimensional. And the speakers themselves were very evident. The Panny, by comparison, opens up the stage beyond the location of the speakers. Compared to the HK, there seem to be instruments above, in front of, behind and beyond the speakers' locations in the room. And that's pretty cool for a guy who has never owned high-end. The Panny also delivers more detail and definition. You can hear the hands in the waves of applause. Horns have a depth and texture that is missing from the HK's presentation, you can hear the spit, the reeds, not just the notes. The HK, which is well-known for its bass, has it in spades, and I continue to be amazed by how well these small Model Sixes deliver bottom end. But the HK makes them almost sound like ported speakers, with a bit of a low-mid boost. The Panny delivers all the bottom end the Sixes can reproduce, but it is crisp, fast, not the slightest bit soft around the edges.
With all of that said, don't think that the Yamaha and Harmon Kardon sounded bad. They didn't. Yes it was narrower, less defined, less detailed, but it has a smooth warmth that is really easy to listen to, and some folks would understandably like it better than what comes out of the Panny, which could be heard as cold, or even hard. And this much is for sure: Poorly recorded and/or mastered source material can sound pretty awful on the Panny. The HK is much more forgiving.
So is the HK for sale? I don't think so. Right now I'm sitting here listening to "Hey Nineteen" through the Yammy and the HK and it is pretty seductive. I could really see myself wanting to listen to some music through this set up. And I could easily see myself searching out a pair of Advents or ARs or KLHs or Dyanacos to go with them...what a perfect match that would be! Trouble is we don't really have a house big enough for two systems.
I'm just going to have to start shopping for a bigger house...
Tim
