[Sam-fi]

I have a pair of Harbeth P3ESR speakers. I was wondering if someone could comment on the synergy between the two. I know from my own experiences that Harbeth seems to do very well with Brit Sound amps.
I am just trying to get a feel for how the virtue will sound in my setup.

Thanks,
Sam-fi

[eclein]

They look like very nice speakers although I do not own any I do own a Virtue TWO.2 and use it to power some vintage JBL speakers. I have had my TWO.2 for a couple of weeks and the sound just seems to get better and better. The amps are very clear and detailed with great all around sound and no listener fatigue at all for me. I hear things I've never heard before in CD's I have heard many, many times.
 The configuration I have is a TWO.2 with Auricaps and the 30V/130W power supply and it easily fills my 12 x 18 ft room with sound. I have only been able to open it up maybe 20% before I start rousing the neighbors. I use a 2.1 setup just because I love having a sub...I have used it with L20T bookshelf speakers only and had outstanding results.
What model are you considering??
Welcome!!

[groovybassist]

Not necessarily an apples-to-apples comparison, but I run my Harbeth Compact 7ES-3s with a Wyred4Sound STI-500 integrated Amp and it sounds great.  Harbeths are great speakers.

[doorman]

What is "Brit sound"?
Don

[srb]

They look like very nice speakers although I do not own any I do own a Virtue TWO.2 and use it to power some vintage JBL speakers.
 
The configuration I have is a TWO.2 with Auricaps and the 30V/130W power supply and it easily fills my 12 x 18 ft room with sound.

Driving an 8 ohm, 91dB speaker is not the same as driving a relatively inefficient 6 ohm, 83.5dB speaker like the Harbeth P3ESR.
 

Not necessarily an apples-to-apples comparison, but I run my Harbeth Compact 7ES-3s with a Wyred4Sound STI-500 integrated Amp and it sounds great.

More like apples and oranges.  The Wyred4Sound STI-500 outputs 250W/channel @ 8 ohms and 550W/channel @ 4 ohms.  The Virtue Tripath amps can output a maximum of 44W/channel @ 8 ohms and 87W/channel @ 4 ohms.
 
I'm not saying the Virtue amp could not drive the P3ESR, but looking at the power output of the Virtue amp and the sensitivity of the speaker, I would want to hear from someone with that setup, or at least be prepared to try the Virtue amp on a trial basis.  A lot will depend on the required volume and room size.
 
Steve

[eclein]

Steve good point--the one set I have (L20T's) are 6 ohm and 87db and the little bugger didn't break a sweat..still pretty efficient and in a smaller size room though -but like you say a lot will depend on room size

[Sam-fi]

brit sound has it's own character. I can try to describe it but you will just have to go discover for yourself to understand.
I like a fuller more musical sound where things have wieght and presence. I also have a high value in pace and timbral accuracy. I like the virtue for it's great bang for the buck and it's highpass filter. I think th 901 will suit my needs best but I may get a 451 and mod it with my own caps and wire or I may go with a two.2 and do fewer mods.

but what I need a feel for (without waisting 60 bucks) is whether these will make my harbeths sing. I tried a wadia powerdac 151 the other day and I really saw how harbeths are not supposed to sound. Things were whispy and thin very detailed (which I liked) and very clear (great!). But when I hooked it to a music fidelity things got meatier and musical (moving toward the vinyl side of things) and kept the detail and sound stage. The virtue though is half the cost and has a highpass. Where does the virtue sound signature fall into this comparison. Neither was perfect but I much preferd the music fidelity. Thoughts?

thanks,
sam-fi

[Sam-fi]

I am using them in a small room and have determined that I only need about 50watts of high current output (amps baby!).
the harbeths might be inefficient but they are notoriously easy to drive speakers ( very easy they say ) and the virtue outputs 6 ohms so the virtue powerwise is perfect for the 6 ohm virtue.

thanks,
sam-fi

[eclein]

Sam-fi- I'm not great at describing things but my TWO.2 has excellent detail and is very musical. I can easily sit and listen to CD's or wav files for extremely long listening sessions(read all day) with no fatigue whatsoever. The bass is deep and defined...I listen to alot of Steely Dan, Pat Metheny and fusion jazz and the sound quality is excellent. There is plenty of power to spare-I'm using 30V/130W PS and the high pass filter with a rudimentary POLK PSW-10 sub and I have tremendous headroom....I run everything as flat as possible in fact sometimes I pull the sub down a tad as I want just a presence..I easily have the best setup I have ever owned and I think Virtue has a 30-day return thing, not 100% sure...they sound excellent out of the box and get increasingly better over the first 50  hours or so. Are you a tube sound guy?? They have just started to offer a tube buffer option on the Sensations and for me that would be where I would go. I use a Tube DAC and I listen all day to music...and have been since I got the unit a few weeks ago...hope that helps a little.

[denjo]

Kingrex T20U (also a Tripath amp) sounds great with Harbeth SHL5.Virtue owners report that Virtue amps sound better than the Kingrex. Most Harbeth speakers are easy speakers to drive, given their benign impedance.

[al128]

Kingrex T20U (also a Tripath amp) sounds great with Harbeth SHL5.Virtue owners report that Virtue amps sound better than the Kingrex. Most Harbeth speakers are easy speakers to drive, given their benign impedance.

if you can run the speakers with a KRex, then a ONE or TWO has TONS of headroom to spare ... (besides the fact that the TWO does everything better than the Krex (I own both, so I am talking first hand here))

cheers
al

[denjo]

Presently driving Harbeth SHL5 with the Virtue Sensation 901 stock amplifier with JT Dynamic PSU. They sound very nice together!

[OzarkTom]

Presently driving Harbeth SHL5 with the Virtue Sensation 901 stock amplifier with JT Dynamic PSU. They sound very nice together!

Wait til you try it with the tube buffer and Dodd battery supply. Hee haw!

[denjo]

OzarkTom: How much of a difference will the 'Sensation' sound with the Dodd Tube buffer? I believe you started with the stock and stepped up to the Tube buffer? Thanks for sharing!

[OzarkTom]

Yes, started with One.2, then stock Sensation 451, then added battery power supply, and now this tube buffer with cap mods. I loved every version but am now crazy with the Dodd tube buffer. Just change one tube and you can change the character of the amp. To me, it made about a 15-20% improvement. But on some of my music, it improved as much as 40%. I am still amazed, gives ne goosebumps.

[Zero]

Time to revive this old(ish) thread!

Sam-fi, I am not sure if you still surf this particular board, but if you do, I want to inform you that the Virtue Sensation (with dodd buffer and upgraded caps) makes for a damned good match with your P3ESR's.  How do I know?  I'm listening to that combo right now.     This is one highly engaging combo! It's full of energy and can handle any genre of music well.

Anyways, if you have any specific questions regarding this pairing, feel free to respond here or to fire off a PM.

[Sherlock]

I have a Virtue M451 running a pair of P3ESR's in my office.  Used mainly for gaming. 

I didn't exactly intend to end up with this setup, it just kind of happened.   I'm in a small room 10x10 and it sounds fine.

In a bigger room, or for those wanting pretty good volume I'd recommend a much beefier amp.   The P3's are wonderful, but they are pigs.  It's a wonder this M451 runs them as well as it does.   

[AlanB]

Hi from across the big pond.
I run the Harbeth 7ES-3's with Audio Analogue Maestro Settenta - 105 into 6ohm and when the recording is htin it osunds thin and when the recording is thicker it sounds thick.  Harbeths are so neutral they will tell it as it is.  Big plus is they are never fatiguing.  They are about MUSIC not HIFI.