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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?
don_chisholm

Showing 2 responses by yogiboy

yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,864 posts
 
I’ve owned the Harbeth C7 and the M30.1. IMO, they both sounded nice but boxy. My favorite Harbeth is the P3ESR. They really do a disappearing act when in a smaller room like yours. You can get a pair at the fraction of the cost of those others that you are looking at. If they don’t work out they are very easy to sell. Here is a video of a guy that agrees with my opinion about the P3ESR!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqFIaiPT_kY
And another!
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=harbeth+p3esr+review&view=detail&mid=5D7EB69CCEBBAAE793...
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,864 posts
 

@snackeyp
To me, boxy means that the sound was ’small’ and you can tell exactly where it’s coming from.  This was my experience in my room with those other Harbeths that I have owned.  In my room the little P3 sounds very similar to a QUAD ESL. I am not putting down the larger Harbeths. They just did not work out for me!
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