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McIntosh Amplifier for Harbeth Speakers

travellersol

travellersol

Active Member
I am relatively new into this hobby and after playing around with some vintage gears like Sansui 7070 receiver and Marantz 1060 iintegrated for close to one year. Now I would like to really get my foot wet into the McIntosh realm.

My main types of music would be jazz, vocal, mainstream rock (ELO, Dire Straits, etc.), 80s pop, and classical. What I wish to hear from my system would be good sound stage, sweet vocal and sax for jazz, fun for pop/rock, balanced in all frequencies, and the ability to play large scale classical orchestra passages with authority.

For speakers, I am quite sure I'll take Harbeth, most likely the Compact 7es3. I think I like what I heard in the dealer's showroom, it has beautiful mids, and also very balanced from the highs to lows.

From what read, Harbeth speakers do not demand very high power, are pretty easy to be pushed by almost any amplifier. I wonder would a McIntosh amp an overkill for Harbeth?

Due to the high costs of both these two brands, I will go the secondhand way. In my area there would be MC7200, MC2105, MC2205, MA6200 and the like floating around in the secondhand market, and they don't stay long. Would any of them be a good match for Harbeth Compact 7es3?

If you think that there are better combos than McIntosh + Harbeth Compact 7es3, please feel free to list them down, just that my total budget is USD4000 (for used items.)

One more thing: I love the blue meters on Macs! Would prefer amps with these beautiful meters.
 
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I recently purchased a pair of Bryston Mini-T (not so mini, BTW). Powering them with a MA6600 (integrated 200w/pch @ 8ohms and blue meters!) and could not be happier.
Considered the 7es3 as well, however I liked the idea of a 3 way system and the Brystons were less expensive (20 yr warranty too!).

You may want to check them out.
 
These speakers are recommended for amps with 25 wpc or greater. Power handling is rated at 150w but sensitivity is only 86dB. The impedance is 6 ohms, which helps make the speakers a little easier to drive with that low sensitivity rating. I think the MC2105, MC2505 or MC6200 would make good matches based on the speaker specs.
 
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When you say play large scale classic orchestra passages with authority, how serious are you about that?
 
DogsPart2 said:
I recently purchased a pair of Bryston Mini-T (not so mini, BTW). Powering them with a MA6600 (integrated 200w/pch @ 8ohms and blue meters!) and could not be happier.
Considered the 7es3 as well, however I liked the idea of a 3 way system and the Brystons were less expensive (20 yr warranty too!).

You may want to check them out.
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Bryston - I have read about their amplifiers but speakers this is a first. May I know how much is the current price? How's the sound, especially as compared to the 7es3?

A quick check on my favorite local forum (I'm from the South East Asia) shows that there are some used Bryston amps and DACs available now at almost the McIntosh's prices, but no speakers found, so I think the dealers hasn't brought them in yet. 20 year warranty-now that is tempting!
 
damacman said:
When you say play large scale classic orchestra passages with authority, how serious are you about that?
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I am not quite sure what you mean, but I love Symphonies like Bethoven No. 7 and 9, all of his piano concertos, Tchaikovsky 4, 5 and 6, Carmina Burana, etc.
 
travellersol said:
I am not quite sure what you mean, but I love Symphonies like Bethoven No. 7 and 9, all of his piano concertos, Tchaikovsky 4, 5 and 6, Carmina Burana, etc.
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It's just that it takes very large power amplifiers to pull that off with speakers of such low sensitivity. And then, you have to worry about overpowering the speakers. Classical music has the widest dynamic range of any.
 
damacman said:
It's just that it takes very large power amplifiers to pull that off with speakers of such low sensitivity. And then, you have to worry about overpowering the speakers. Classical music has the widest dynamic range of any.
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The C7es3 is 86dB, 6 ohms, 150w, so you reckon that it would not suit large scale pieces? Should I look for larger models? Any recommendations?
 
travellersol said:
The C7es3 is 86dB, 6 ohms, 150w, so you reckon that it would not suit large scale pieces? Should I look for larger models? Any recommendations?
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I believe you are on the path of understanding. The Klipsch Cornwall immediately comes to mind as a sensitive speaker able to handle the wide dynamic range brought by classical music, with room to spare!
 
eiraved said:
I believe you are on the path of understanding. The Klipsch Cornwall immediately comes to mind as a sensitive speaker able to handle the wide dynamic range brought by classical music, with room to spare!
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15"! I have little doubt it'd be good. But Klipsch is very hard to find in my country. How about JBL's family of 4312s?
 
travellersol said:
Bryston - I have read about their amplifiers but speakers this is a first. May I know how much is the current price? How's the sound, especially as compared to the 7es3?

A quick check on my favorite local forum (I'm from the South East Asia) shows that there are some used Bryston amps and DACs available now at almost the McIntosh's prices, but no speakers found, so I think the dealers hasn't brought them in yet. 20 year warranty-now that is tempting!
Click to expand...
Bryston offers a full range of speakers. The Mini-T retails for around $3900 a pair new. They are very forward speaker which nice high end and good bass (8" woofer). I do not use a sub woofer with mine.
 
eiraved said:
JBL 4312 would work also. JBL 4412 is a Zilch favorite here on AK, check it out if they're available in your area.
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A guy used to have a pair of 4312 to sell at $750 half a year ago, not sure if it's still there. These vintage JBLs are very very rare in my place.
 
The JBL 4312 is sold I just checked, but the guy has a pair of Altec 14, I wonder would a Mac amp with 100-200 w can drive them comfortably playing large scale classical stuff?
 
DogsPart2 said:
Bryston offers a full range of speakers. The Mini-T retails for around $3900 a pair new. They are very forward speaker which nice high end and good bass (8" woofer). I do not use a sub woofer with mine.
Click to expand...

I had an opportunity to listen to the flagship Bryston speakers when I picked up my 2.5B3 amp. They are very understated in their appearance. However, the performance is excellent with great build quality, plus the 20 year warranty is a nice plus. For me, Bryston is tied with McIntosh as my top choice.
 
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I used a Mcintosh MC275 mk.iv on Harbeth super HL-5’s and was very pleased with the results. The 5’s are harder to drive than the 7es3’s so it should be an even better match. The 275 mk. 4’s also have gain controls so you could use without a preamp for digital until you can acquire a matching preamp.
 
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