Harbeth 30.1s in the house - I think I'm done

Moby

Moby

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I recently retired to Colorado and when I moved into my new house realized my SF Cremona Ms were too large for my listening area. After a lot of research, but few audition opportunities, I chose a replacement which I finally installed today - Harbeth M30.1s on Sound Anchor stands. Having never heard them I nervously hooked them up to my MA6600 and listened to Ella and Louis on SACD and The Tedeschi Trucks Band Revelator on CD. Tomorrow I set up my turntable (my preferred source) and will really start critically listening.

But let me just say this. Wow. Out of the box - freakin' wow. I expected Ella and Susan Tedeschi to sound superb, but the real revelations were all of the cracks, creases, warmth and character of Louis Armstrong's voice and the sweetness of Derek Trucks' slide guitar. I have listened to these albums dozens of times, including through a top of the line Ayre system and Revel Salons and I've never heard the level of detail I heard tonight, nor the transparency, all while being very musical and involving. No, they're not the last word in deep bass - I didn't expect them to be. But for what I value they are amazing. Could I finally be done searching for the holy grail and spend my money on vinyl instead? I sure hope so. Chris
 
Congrats Chris,
I never heard the 30.1 but I have the P3ESR ( = 20.1) and the 40.1.
I can relate perfectly to your description of the Harbeth sound.
There are the expected qualities : naturalness, saturated and rich tones, truth of timbre, meat on the bone.
But all listeners are usually very surprised by an incredible transparency and tons of details.
I have listened very carefully to the 40.1 next to my Wilson WP8's. The 40.1 are more resolved. We can hear details that are erased with the Wilsons. I also listened to tracks that I know by heart on Sasha 2 and Alexias.
The 40.1 are more transparent and detailed than both of them.
Most people who never heard Harbeth think that they are warm and colored.
While they are true monitors : made to hear everything.
 
Jerome - if I had a larger listening space I likely would have gone for the 40.1s, but then again I likely wouldn't then have had the reason to make the change. The Harbeths truly are beautiful sounding, but it's the detail retrieval, speed and transparency that are so astonishing to me. Almost like electrostatic or planar speakers.
 
Chris, congrats on the new 30.1's. I'm glad you're getting settled in your new home,as am I. We're both waiting to hook up our vinyl sources, I think you will beat me there as I'm still waiting for my rack to be built.
I had a chance to listen to Harbeths a couple of months ago, they were fantastic sounding speakers! I agree with you and Jerome,the Harbeth sound is so much more than how people usually describe them.

I love Susan Tedeschi too, my favorite album of hers is "Just Won't Burn".
 
The 30.1 are awesome speakers. Congratulations on the new setup.
 
Other errands prevented me from setting up my turntable or listening much to the Harbeths today, but I did listen to Beck's Morning Phase on CD and it was sublime. Compared to the Cremona Ms, Beck's voice was more forward and his guitar was crisp and clear. Instruments were no longer packed together but were clearly separated. That vaunted midrange of the 30.1s is no joke. Chris
 
Moby said:
Other errands prevented me from setting up my turntable or listening much to the Harbeths today, but I did listen to Beck's Morning Phase on CD and it was sublime. Compared to the Cremona Ms, Beck's voice was more forward and his guitar was crisp and clear. Instruments were no longer packed together but were clearly separated. That vaunted midrange of the 30.1s is no joke. Chris
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Congrats Chris,

Wow , you guys make me want to get out and hear this Harbeth sound...



regards
 
Congrats on the Harbeths. I heard the for the first time at Axpona this year. They were paired with the Vinnie Rossi Lio. It was one of the best sounding rooms at Axpona. If I ever decide to ditch my Magnepans, the Harbeths would be on my short list to replace them.

Just curious, has any one compared Harbeths to Audio Note speakers? I have never heard a pair of AN's but have read a lot about them.
 
a.wayne said:
Now much smaller a room for the 40.1 not to work , but a 30.1 would..?
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The 40.1 is a real monster compared to SHL5 and 30.1. They do produce a huge and big sound that the little ones can only dream of.
My actual room is 6 meters x 8 meters.
My future listening room is 4 meters x 7 meters.
 
Mechnutt said:
Congrats on the Harbeths. I heard the for the first time at Axpona this year. They were paired with the Vinnie Rossi Lio. It was one of the best sounding rooms at Axpona. If I ever decide to ditch my Magnepans, the Harbeths would be on my short list to replace them.

Just curious, has any one compared Harbeths to Audio Note speakers? I have never heard a pair of AN's but have read a lot about them.
Click to expand...

I never owned AN speakers but I listened to them a few times.
They sound very different than Harbeth.
The treble is much more forward and bright. Almost agressive. The mids are nice but they are far from the Harbeth transparency.
 
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