Can the Harbeth 40.1's boggie ?????

I don't own Harbeth's but I've heard them. I'm a huge live music fan, my brother in law plays in a band has has filled in for big names on the quitar such as Pat Travers. I find Harbeth's to do an amazing job of reproducing music. I think a lot of people on this web site get caught up on the sound of their first car stereo and use that sound as a basis. I also find that practically no one on this forum actually goes out and listens to live music, so they're only basing their opinions on previously pre recorded musical reproduction though very bassy boxes. You can say all you want about specs etc, but they have nothing to do with music reproduction. It's a huge waste of time and money. You'll notice that you will never see a musician post on this forum. That's because they listen to music. They don't interrogate it.

Tvad,

Good to finally read something from you, I was getting worried that you might have some health issue. I always enjoy your input.

Hi Donjr....bold statement but beg to differ. Make it a point to listen to live performances as often as I can. Swan Lake at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg a week ago, before that a jazz quartet at a jazz bar in Melbourne and before that the sound check of a professional system in an open field for indie and rock performances later that night. A live band was used for the test.Incredible sound....exhilarating. And before that....I forget.....perhaps one of the many gigs my brother was playing in.

Harbeth make some good speakers which are easy to listen to but do they reproduce the sound of a live performance? in my view....far from it. I have heard quite a few Harbeth setups and none have yet come anywhere close to reproducing one. In fact, I try not to listen to my system after a live performance as it pales, pales, pales in comparison.

Well one could say, perhaps its the equipment upfront but that would run counter to what they tell me that with a Harbeth, any reasonably decent amp will do.

Just my view.

Gltan - good point. I am the original poster of this thread and I to, do attend a good number of concerts per year. I just saw Jackson Browne acoustic - just him and 14 guitars. Nice.....the Harbeth 40.1's are a good speaker, but they were not my cup of tea. At, that price range, I choose the Sonus Faber Cremona M's. I owned and really enjoyed the Avalon's - but in their line you would have to spend allot more to get that ''next step up ''in performance. Also, at 54 I do not want to be lugging big speakers around. The SF's were just right. The Harbeth's as I stated just didn't sound right to my ears......the things that they did well, they did well....and things that they did not do well......they did not do well. What really was the deal breaker for me was the tweeter - and the high end performance on this speaker. It was just not right.....I don't care how many concerts you attend and if you do attend at least one, you can't help but come to the conclusion that these speakers do not reproduce that sprectrum / presentation very well. Again - to some people and their ears - they are the cat's meow....great enjoy the music !!!! If I just listened to vocals or acoustic guitar work ...the Harbeth 40.1's were / are very good. I have the Allman Brothers on right now and Gregg's voice is spot on with the SF's......the Harbeth's ..not soo much. But it does seem thag anything stated negative about the Harbeth's that you should be watching out for the public stonning. It's all about the music and enjoying it ....okay TVAD please proof read this memo and let me know my mistakes

No it can only cha cha.

Garebear, didn't anyone tell you? Hell hath no fury like a Harbethorian scorned.

The tragedy of Macbeth...oops, that should spell Harbeth.

For those who have not listened to any Harbeth, I would recommend trying the C7ES3 before jumping to the big 40.1s. Depending on the type of music that is played, the smaller models (P3ESR, C7ES3 & SHL5) are somewhat more open, dynamic and less sluggish than the 40.1s owing much to the smaller cabinet and the absence of the additional 12" bass driver in the 40.1s. Of course they don't go down low in the bass frequencies but communicate the message in music in a more convincing manner -IMHO of course.

It can also be due to the room as the 40.1s are more difficult to work with. Nevertheless, in the context of this thread I guess the 40.1s are just not for Garebear.

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I have had the speakers for awhile now, and am very pleased with them.
My system now is:
Basis Debut with Graham Phantom and Clearaudio Goldring
Pass XP-25
Pass XP-20
Pass XA-60.5
Harbeth 40.1
This is the most uncolored and clear system I have ever heard.
It is just wonderful.
I think I am finally done - except a synchro-wave power supply for the TT...
I will say that room acoustics are very important. If you ignore this nothing will work optimally.
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If you wanted boogie, why didn't you look at some of the larger ATC actives?

Fujindemon - thanks but I live in home - ATC's are not real living room friendly -

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What do you mean by boogie??
Do you want club sound? There is an EQ setting on the iPod that does this.
I don't want bloat, myself.
ATC's active can be EQ'd anyway you like it. They take an analog signal, convert it into the digital domain, and then do there EQ stuff there, and then back to analog again. That's a lot of processing, but there you have it if that's what you want. I'm not sure of the fidelity but it will be boogie!
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