Quest for a New Speaker

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JFRMusic

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Longtime audiophile who enjoys the sound of British speakers. Owned B&W, Quad, KEF and recently ATC. The KEF R300s were around $1500. The ATC11s were $2,000. The B&W back in the 80s were around $1,000 and 2006 Quads were $1.500. Harbeths were always way out of my budget.However after about 3years I got frustrated with my ATC 11s. They needed a sub and while generally a pleasantly smooth speaker they tended to be a little too forward in the upper mids and lower treble for my taste. Plus for them to really shine they needed to be played at a slightly higher volume than I like and that emphasized that forwardness even more. So I decided to up the budget this time. I wanted bookshelf not floor standers as I donÂ’t want to move around 60-80 pound speakers particularly at my age.

I was very interested in the Revel line. Especially the Performa 126Be. However when I auditioned them I disliked their upper mid/lower treble. It was smoother but to my ears just slightly elevated and the BE tweeters had a distinct sound that I couldnÂ’t warm too. So next on my list was Harbeth. From the looks and specs they seemed over priced but I do like those British designs. I auditioned both the C7es-XD and the M30-XD. Both were wonderfully musical but I preferred the C7. It was more open with a better sound stage. It was close. Anyway I love it. Most musical speaker IÂ’ve ever heard or owned. It does sound real especially with acoustic instruments and voice. No ear strain. No fatigue. So life like. Great for Jazz, Classical, Pop and film scores which is what I listen to. Amazingly smooth high end. Vibrant midrange. And amazing low end for its size. I do not need my two REL subs. The Harbeths were expensive. $4600 less my ATC trade but well worth it. Now that my speakers are set my next challenge is getting into streaming. So IÂ’ll be researching streamers. BTW my electronics are the Benchmark ABH2 Amplifier, HPA4 Pre Amp and the DAC3. Amazingly clean and neutral system with the lowest noise floor. When singers or instrumentalists take a breath it sounds like someone turned my system off. And they are small and lightweight. And Easy to move.
 
JFRMusic said:
Longtime audiophile who enjoys the sound of British speakers. Owned B&W, Quad, KEF and recently ATC. The KEF R300s were around $1500. The ATC11s were $2,000. The B&W back in the 80s were around $1,000 and 2006 Quads were $1.500. Harbeths were always way out of my budget.However after about 3years I got frustrated with my ATC 11s. They needed a sub and while generally a pleasantly smooth speaker they tended to be a little too forward in the upper mids and lower treble for my taste. Plus for them to really shine they needed to be played at a slightly higher volume than I like and that emphasized that forwardness even more. So I decided to up the budget this time. I wanted bookshelf not floor standers as I donÂ’t want to move around 60-80 pound speakers particularly at my age.

I was very interested in the Revel line. Especially the Performa 126Be. However when I auditioned them I disliked their upper mid/lower treble. It was smoother but to my ears just slightly elevated and the BE tweeters had a distinct sound that I couldnÂ’t warm too. So next on my list was Harbeth. From the looks and specs they seemed over priced but I do like those British designs. I auditioned both the C7es-XD and the M30-XD. Both were wonderfully musical but I preferred the C7. It was more open with a better sound stage. It was close. Anyway I love it. Most musical speaker IÂ’ve ever heard or owned. It does sound real especially with acoustic instruments and voice. No ear strain. No fatigue. So life like. Great for Jazz, Classical, Pop and film scores which is what I listen to. Amazingly smooth high end. Vibrant midrange. And amazing low end for its size. I do not need my two REL subs. The Harbeths were expensive. $4600 less my ATC trade but well worth it. Now that my speakers are set my next challenge is getting into streaming. So IÂ’ll be researching streamers. BTW my electronics are the Benchmark ABH2 Amplifier, HPA4 Pre Amp and the DAC3. Amazingly clean and neutral system with the lowest noise floor. When singers or instrumentalists take a breath it sounds like someone turned my system off. And they are small and lightweight. And Easy to move.
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I can only suggest you reconsider floor-standing speakers. Unless you move home (when help is normally on hand anyway) these speakers are often easier to deal with than stand-mounts. Moving stand-mounts (apart from local repositioning) requires that you take their full weight to lift them from the stands and place them down somewhere. Then you need to move the stand and lastly lift the full weight of the speakers to return them to the stand.

With floor-standers you can often slide them big distances by lilting one way, placing a tea-towel or similar under 2 feet, tilt the other way to get the cloth under all 4 feet, then slide to new position - no lifting required - unless moving them upstairs! I don't know your age, but I am pushing 80 and regularly handle my bulky 100 kg floor-standers without help.

If you like the ATC sound, consider the 40 model. It's a relatively small floor-stander and it's still in their range of "domestic" speakers. I'd avoid their pro speakers (50 up) as they may well disappoint for domestic listening for reasons I've explained elsewhere. Not sure if they are within your price budget but the 40 is often very highly praised by owners. As you say, Harbeth are great speakers (I was most impressed by their big (still a stand-mount) 40 model, but as you also say, their prices are high.

I can't help you with Focal but I was considering their Sopra range a while ago as they ticked most of my boxes, though I never auditioned them. Can't help with stand-mounts - never had them apart from the ATC50 Actives that I didn't like. Oh yes, one other suggestion as you mentioned Quad. I was most impressed by 2905 electrostatics that I had for a short time to establish how panel speakers would sound in my own home. They surprised me with their much fuller and deeper bass than I was expected and they can play loudly too. Sadly, their "barn door" appearance meant they were never going to be kept! They represent great value even new, but try looking for a used pair if this sounds an attractive proposition - and ask the seller (or a friend or relative) to help (carefully) move them to their new home. Good luck.
 
JFRMusic said:
Longtime audiophile who enjoys the sound of British speakers. Owned B&W, Quad, KEF and recently ATC. The KEF R300s were around $1500. The ATC11s were $2,000. The B&W back in the 80s were around $1,000 and 2006 Quads were $1.500. Harbeths were always way out of my budget.However after about 3years I got frustrated with my ATC 11s. They needed a sub and while generally a pleasantly smooth speaker they tended to be a little too forward in the upper mids and lower treble for my taste. Plus for them to really shine they needed to be played at a slightly higher volume than I like and that emphasized that forwardness even more. So I decided to up the budget this time. I wanted bookshelf not floor standers as I donÂ’t want to move around 60-80 pound speakers particularly at my age.

I was very interested in the Revel line. Especially the Performa 126Be. However when I auditioned them I disliked their upper mid/lower treble. It was smoother but to my ears just slightly elevated and the BE tweeters had a distinct sound that I couldnÂ’t warm too. So next on my list was Harbeth. From the looks and specs they seemed over priced but I do like those British designs. I auditioned both the C7es-XD and the M30-XD. Both were wonderfully musical but I preferred the C7. It was more open with a better sound stage. It was close. Anyway I love it. Most musical speaker IÂ’ve ever heard or owned. It does sound real especially with acoustic instruments and voice. No ear strain. No fatigue. So life like. Great for Jazz, Classical, Pop and film scores which is what I listen to. Amazingly smooth high end. Vibrant midrange. And amazing low end for its size. I do not need my two REL subs. The Harbeths were expensive. $4600 less my ATC trade but well worth it. Now that my speakers are set my next challenge is getting into streaming. So IÂ’ll be researching streamers. BTW my electronics are the Benchmark ABH2 Amplifier, HPA4 Pre Amp and the DAC3. Amazingly clean and neutral system with the lowest noise floor. When singers or instrumentalists take a breath it sounds like someone turned my system off. And they are small and lightweight. And Easy to move.
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What is the size of the room where these speakers are going to be placed
 
Congrats on the new speakers. I would look to Aurender or Lumin for a quality streamer. Innuous has some at reasonable prices if the first suggestions are out of budget.
 
Hear Here said:
I can only suggest you reconsider floor-standing speakers. Unless you move home (when help is normally on hand anyway) these speakers are often easier to deal with than stand-mounts. Moving stand-mounts (apart from local repositioning) requires that you take their full weight to lift them from the stands and place them down somewhere. Then you need to move the stand and lastly lift the full weight of the speakers to return them to the stand.

With floor-standers you can often slide them big distances by lilting one way, placing a tea-towel or similar under 2 feet, tilt the other way to get the cloth under all 4 feet, then slide to new position - no lifting required - unless moving them upstairs! I don't know your age, but I am pushing 80 and regularly handle my bulky 100 kg floor-standers without help.

If you like the ATC sound, consider the 40 model. It's a relatively small floor-stander and it's still in their range of "domestic" speakers. I'd avoid their pro speakers (50 up) as they may well disappoint for domestic listening for reasons I've explained elsewhere. Not sure if they are within your price budget but the 40 is often very highly praised by owners. As you say, Harbeth are great speakers (I was most impressed by their big (still a stand-mount) 40 model, but as you also say, their prices are high.

I can't help you with Focal but I was considering their Sopra range a while ago as they ticked most of my boxes, though I never auditioned them. Can't help with stand-mounts - never had them apart from the ATC50 Actives that I didn't like. Oh yes, one other suggestion as you mentioned Quad. I was most impressed by 2905 electrostatics that I had for a short time to establish how panel speakers would sound in my own home. They surprised me with their much fuller and deeper bass than I was expected and they can play loudly too. Sadly, their "barn door" appearance meant they were never going to be kept! They represent great value even new, but try looking for a used pair if this sounds an attractive proposition - and ask the seller (or a friend or relative) to help (carefully) move them to their new home. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Thanks but I already purchased the Harbeth C7es3. As I noted I love them and at 29 pounds easy to handle. They fit my room perfectly and have enough low end that I’m selling my two REL T/5x subs on Ebay.
 
That room is the perfect size for a pair of Klipsch Cornwall speakers, with a small 20 to 25 watt tube amp.
 
JFRMusic said:
Thanks but I already purchased the Harbeth C7es3. As I noted I love them and at 29 pounds easy to handle. They fit my room perfectly and have enough low end that I’m selling my two REL T/5x subs on Ebay.
Click to expand...

If you don't need to sell your subs, I would keep them. Your new speakers don't go that low. They are missing the entire bottom octave (20Hz - 40Hz) and part of the next octave as your speakers are 3dB down at 45Hz.
 
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