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A move from Harbeth to... Wilson?

Hi gang, hoping for some thoughts. 

I'm very happy at the moment with my system, but getting a slight itch for an upgrade. So many options and directions I could go, but the one I'm pondering at the moment is moving from my Harbeth C7ES-3 speakers to Wilson Sabrinas. (The Sabrina X is now out, which may bring the Sabrina down to my budget... maybe.)

My room is approx. 10'6" x 15'6" with the speakers along the short wall and my listening chair is about 2/3 back from said wall. The C7s plus their stands are just about the right size for this room, and the Sabrinas on their floor spikes are similar in "overall" size, though obviously the speakers themselves are bigger.

Current amp is a Pass Labs XA30.5 which doubles down at 4Ohms (plus lots of headroom) and comes just within Wilson's "recommended" amplifier power. The room is on the smaller side, and I don't listen loud; I've never "wanted" for more power with the C7s. (Though every once in a while I wonder what a pair of XA60.5s would sound like in here, but that's an entirely different thread.)

Eh? Any thoughts?
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Showing 6 responses by aj523

aj523
360 posts
 
@layton64
Spot on ! That intangible their users talk about is their tonality.  It has to be experienced in the right setup to understand. 



aj523
360 posts
 
Geoff won’t like this but i had two 60-90 minute demos with the Sasha Daw in Manhattan this past July and found the $37k speakers too dry and clinical to my ears. Although on the plus side great soundstage, imaging and super clean as I could hear every lyric (which is a problem for me as I have asymmetrical hearing loss), it just tired me out. It had no soul to me. Meanwhile I wound up with the Harbeth 40.2 Anniversary and absolutely adore their warmth and natural sounding musicality. Vocals are liquid smooth.
aj523
360 posts
 
@snackeyp
@yogiboy

Definitely possible tp sound boxy if not set up right. And definitely the 40x’s are not image monsters, but set up right and you will be rewarded with the most musical speaker with the most beautiful tonality that I’ve ever heard.

aj523
360 posts
 
@decathlon1991 was top of the line Audio Research rack and the other was Dan D'agostino momentum line. Is that matching equipment? 
aj523
360 posts
 
Does a speaker exist that has the warmth, the musicality and very critically the tonality of Harbeth with no boxy sound and no boomy bass?  If so, sign me up. I will demo it asap. 
aj523
360 posts
 
@dodgealum

I’ve only heard great things-- cabinet workmanship supposed to be the very best, and similar to Harbeth, the box is used to maximize the sound the builder is after.

I feel like these boutique speaker builders should make demo pairs and send them around the US to potential customers. I'd pay the shipping to send it to the next person. And if you buy it, you get the shipping as a credit. Anyway that's what I would do. 
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