I am currently using Totem Tribe Towers with my SN2. I heard a demo of a Harbeth C7es-3 and fell in love with the sound. I will demo them again extensively to be sure.
I was wondering if anyone is using a Supernait (1,2 or 3) with any variant of the Harbeth C7es-3 (XD, Anniversary, regular). Thoughts and impressions?
I use that combination but unfortunately cannot tell you anything meaningful as i have not compared these speakers with other amps. As for the speakers they are wonderful but they do need quite a bit of room around them, and they are not really forgiving when fed with average recordings. With some kind of music (especially busy rock music) you might also find the soundstage a bit too much on the front which results in quite a polite presentation. Try them at home and see if you like what you hear. And if you don‘t , don‘t fault the amplifier which is a great integrated! 
Which music do you like?
Just curious about the music taste (and music presentation) the Harbeth owners like!
David
My tastes are very eclectic: jazz, rock, country, etc. But, I especially like female vocals.
I had the Harbeth 30th Anniversary Edition with a SuperNait 2 for quite some time, first as standalone speakers, then added two SVS subwoofers, then back to just the Harbeths. I’m like you in that my musical tastes are quite eclectic, it seems. I enjoyed either iteration for years until finally deciding I needed something that would dive a bit lower without the use of subwoofers to take up space. Dialing them in was never the problem, but I really wanted to simplify.
The Harbeths do nearly everything right for the exception of those lower octaves that are important to me on certain rock, piano and electronica. My opinion of them are very high, and for many it could be an ‘endgame’ set of transducers, especially paired with a competent amplifier/preamp combo or exceptional Integrated like the SN2.
I also used them with valves and an LFD LE MK IV Integrated to excellent effect…quite beautiful, actually, However, I really enjoyed the synergy with the SN2 the most. It gave the speakers more ‘wattage’ than its rated power and really controlled their behavior.
I’ll always have fond memories of the 7ES3/SN2 combo. Some of the most musical moments in my estimation.
I auditioned the C7 XD today. I fell in love with the sound. I bought them in Tamo ash.
They are smoother than the Totem Tribe Towers they replace. They also sound much bigger and have more bass. The clarity is amazing, especially vocals.
Good for you! I have zero doubt you’ll enjoy them for years to come. I’ve never heard the XDs, but knowing the other iterations of the C7 and how they improved with each one, I likely wouldn’t need to audition them if I ever thought about purchasing another pair. Mr. Shaw, regardless of his idiosyncrasies, designed a world-class speaker that deserves all the accolades it has gotten over the years and may continue to receive. Very happy for you.
Thank you.
With Harbeth, human voice is one of the best if not the best, and I’ve listened to many high end speakers costing multiple times more.
Currently I have Marten Duke 2 in my main system which costs twice as much as the Harbeth SHL5+. Although vocals sound great with Marten, to my ears the Harbeth reproduces human voice to sound even more real and believable.
Enjoy the C7ES3 XD. The Compact 7 and SHL5 are my favourite models in the Harbeth line.
@Airdavid sorry for the late feedback. I listen to a very ecclectic range of music, usually what is considered beeing outside of the mainstream. I could go on with genres but the only thing i really don t listen to is opera and techno. Of course there is probably not a single speaker on the planet which reproduces all the genres i like at its best but as many things i enjoy the most are acoustic so the Harbeths were a good choice.
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