Current or Previous Harbeth Owners…

NOPE!
 Only the Sonus Faber Toy Towers I had even come close to the performance of my current M30.2Xd's & even those were not quite as transparent through the midrange...

I previously owned 40.1's and 40.2 Anniversaries.. preferred 40.1's fwiw.

I found YG Carmels were more enjoyable/musical than M30.2s in a medium sized room powered by Luxman L-590 AXii. Not by much though, and they’re 3 x more expensive. Harbeths are hard to beat, depending on what you listen to. In the same room I preferred M40.2 to Magico A3 with Luxman separates. In my current room I prefer Focal Kantas. Not as natural on voices but all around better soundstaging, bass and highs; more linear. Musical enough, and easier to pair with amplification. I haven’t had the M40s though in my current room, only the M30s. I’m sure if I had the right amplification and set up there’s a good chance I might prefer the M40s to the Kantas.

If you’re thinking about M40s, just make sure your room is big enough.  My original room was 14 x 21 feet, and while the 40s sounded great in there, ultimately they were just too big, too much bass.  I went from the 40s to the 30s in that room.  

Have I heard speakers that impressed me enough to consider a possible replacement for  my M30.2 XD’s?

Yes and No …. Let me explain …

NO: Nada at its speaker current pricepoint nor even if you double it and a bit more,…..

YES ….. but only at significant multiples in speaker price-point step-up AND (a fine and important distinction …) a stablemate many multiples price step-up for the rest of the upstream audio system electronics . (My system is in the $40k - $50K range ) 

I do not know your Harbeths, but become increasingly convinced there is so much to improve upon in front of any transducer in the way of not only equipment, but power conditioning and cabling.  My transducers (3 years now) continue to improve markedly as power cables and interconnects break in.

I've invested considerably in equipment stand, floor stander platforms, wall outlet and of course room treatment.  I believe many of us go down the rabbit hole chasing ghosts.  Those Harbeths being quite good may well have not reached full potential with what's in front of them.  Or, I could be wrong.  Cheers

Back in the 1990's I owned a pair of Harbeth HLP3ES bookshelf speakers with a matching pair of Harbeth passive subwoofers. Did not care for the subwoofers but I did like the HLP3ES, which was a very pleasant sounding speaker.  I do, however, prefer the sound of my 1980's KEF Reference Series 101 bookshelf speakers, which I find to be more involving.  I also owned a few pairs of Rogers LS3/5A's, another lovely British bookshelf speaker, as well as an original version of the Linn Kan. The KEF 101's still sound best to me.  

Rockport of course! 

I have owned Super HL5 Plus, and currently have Compact 7-ES3 30th Anniversary and P3ESR SE.  A good friend had the 40.2 and sold them.  I was baffled when he did, they were amazing.

There's always something "better", but at their price point, Harbeths are hard to beat.  It's going to come down to what you prefer. 

I replaced the Super HL5 Plus with KEF Reference 1.  The KEFs are a little more detailed and dynamic, without being bright.  With a little more laid back electronics, I may have liked the Harbeths better.  I have also owned Stirling LS 3/6, which are very similar to the Super HL5 and were close to, but not quite as good as the Super HL5. 

Even though they are a "lower" model than the Super HL5, I liked the Compact 7-ES3 30th Anniversary even more.  They seemed more cohesive and had less tendency to be bright.  

The P3ESR are amazing, but really made for a small room or near field listening.  I absolutely love mine and while I never say never about swapping out any component, it's unlikely they will ever leave.

The 40.2 are simply amazing - the tone, timbre, and texture of the music along with their ability to fill a room make them really special.  Imaging is great and they can create a very large soundstage.

My pre purchase comparison was The Revel Line of Speakers and Harbeth. I overwhelmingly preferred the Harbeth sound and presentation. Within that group I compared the Super5+, the M30 and the C7ES-XD. I was able to hear them with equipment similar to or the same as mine. For me the C7ES was the clear winner. The best soundstage and clarity. In comparison the M30 was too dark and lacked openness although it was quite accurate and the Super5 was a little too bright and while it offered slightly more low end I still preferred the openness of the C7. I listen to Classical, Jazz , Pop. The C7 blends perfectly with my Accuphase Amp, Aurrender Streamer and MSB DAC all of which have a similar warm, and open sound with excellent clarity.

For me the C7ES was the clear winner.

I think the Compact 7 is an overlooked hidden gem.  I agree with your assessment about it being the "Goldilocks" speaker in their lineup.

I realize “better” is subjective, but a speaker that does what Harbeth does, but better.

I have a set of Pass Labs XA100.5’s,

Sound quality wise, getting a harb 40 would be a waste of these Pass Lab amps, i.e., these are good amps.

20k for that Harb is broad daylight robbery of old men on social security. The Harbeth with its poor quality design/build at most is worth 1k or 2k. It really does not sound any better.

Get a Wharfedale Elysian

Or

Get a Mofi Sourcepoint 888 for 5k and pair it with those Pass amps....Both the Wharfedale and Mofi were designed by higher aptitude British guys, i.e., much higher aptitude than heritage Harb’s daddy and hence they tend to walk all over 20k Harbs.

@deep_333 hahahahahahahaaa,I've seen some delusional,absolutely asinine statements on this site but yours has to rank right up there in the top 2 or 3!

I'm a bit in a similar position trying to upgrade from another BBC speaker, the Spendor SP2/3R2. Admittedly I couldn't test a lot of brands, but I couldn't find the "better" sound, at least not for a decent amount of money. I have recently tested  a pair of Sonus Faber Serafino at home and they didn't quite cut it (a very forward but otherwise wonderful tweeter, by the way). I would have liked to also try Devore, Fink, Tannoy (and maybe Fyne) and the other BBC type speakers - Graham, Stirling, maybe you can check them out, I couldn't. So I have just bought the bigger Spendors, the Classic 100 (the equivalent of the Harbeth M40.x). Small room so bass is a challenge, but we'll see what room treatment can do about it.

I have also owned a pair of Harbeth M30.2 Anniversary and frankly preferred the Spendors. You can read my impressions here: https://forum.audiogon.com/posts/2700741. For others or in a different system the Harbeth's could simply be the ticket.

My history of speaker ownership, in no particular order.

Quad 988, Kef Reference 5, Stirling LS3/6, Klipsch Heresy 3, Kef LS50, Magnepan 1.7, Spendor BC1, Harbeth C7 40th anniversary edition.

I have also heard numerous speakers in shows, dealers, etc.

I now own Harbeth 40.3. Out of the speakers mentioned above I have kept only the Stirling LS3/6 because they are made by Derek Hughes, whom I admire, and resemble the 40.3 sound but in a much smaller scale.

The Harbeth 40.3 imo surpass all speakers that I owned previously. They excel in tonality, realism, voices, dynamics and they are tube friendly which is important to me. I have tried them with a MC275, Quicksilver mid monos, Cary CAD-300sei, and they have always sounded their best.

YMMV, but for me, the 40.3 is a truly end game speaker.

@chrys71 Indeed! Harbeth 40.x is a phenomenal speaker. It's for a select group of audiophiles who appreciate good tonality and timbre, realism, and vocal purity. In my case, the most potent combination was a solid state class A amplifier paired with a tube preamp -- best of both worlds. You'd be surprised how much more the 40.x can offer when a powerful amp takes control of those 12 inch woofers. 

@toddcowles nice post

I enjoyed a few models from Harbeth; SHL5+XD, C7ES3 XD, M40.2 and M40.3XD.
Tried them all in a few different rooms and with tons of different electronics. My favorite was the SHL5+XD in a smaller room with high ceilings; some might call it a near field setup. Not sure. In any case I really loved and appreciated the special magic well setup Harbeths bring to the table. Very satisfying speakers on the long term. I recently discovered ATC SCM40 V2 passives and I’m driving those with Moon North 761 amp. I honestly think that ATC has an even better more authentic midrange and overall tonality than any of the Beth’s I owned and listened to for months in my space. The ATC speakers scale better, have more top end refinement and sweetness. The bass is absolutely better - at least so far in my smaller space; the sealed design makes for easy room integration and awesome well defined and clear bass. The midbass energy has swing and flow to it; I could hear the limitations of the Beth’s in this area with faster music. I could sometimes hear the lossy boxes Harbeth deploys coloring the midbass. Bass ripeness or a kind of raw uncontrolled resonant thing. I will always love Harbeths and will probably try another pair someday but for now I’m super happy and satisfied with ATC. Wish I would have discovered these years ago.

good luck!

I’ve owned every Harbeth minus the 40 ( room too small ). I liked all of them and I am now using the Super HL5 plus and in my room it is perfect. Head Bangers need not apply lookin’ at Harbeth! A Cerwin Vega type speaker would be more to your liking! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm091w0sSKk

At last someone mentions the cabinets. In my opinion, the thin walled, "lossy" cabinets used on the Harbeths is a major detriment. I think this applies to all speakers with this type of construction. The designer offers an explanation as to why this is a viable method of construction, but this explanation makes no sense. 

@akg_ca Why would you call the thin wall design a major detriment? Many other speakers use this design including Spendor, Graham, Falcon, Stirling, etc., etc,. It's been around for over 60 years and many enjoy BBC type speakers!

Simple fact that the energy dissipates by vibrating the cabinet which creates coloration through resonance. Now if you like this type of sound then more power to you, but I believe that speaker cabinets should be inert with only the sound of the drivers contributing. Dissipating this energy properly is not a simple proposition however. When you check out some of the more prominent speaker manufacturers they spend an enormous amount to time, energy and expense in the construction of the cabinet. Some may disagree but things like wide baffles, thin walled cabinets and parallel surfaces are not  things that typically contribute to accurate reproduction. They are also very inexpensive, comparatively, to other types of construction. 

So when people discuss the nature of Harbeth sound they describe the texture, tone and natural presentation of the speaker. I take this to mean that they dont hear these attributes on other speakers to the same degree. I attribute this to the fact that Harbeths and similar are coloring the sound in ways that other speakers do not. Some really like this presentation, but I think it is far from natural. My preference is for a transducer that comes as close as possible to the original signal and editorializes less. 

The BS regarding the cabinet resonance of Harbeth is laughable..WTH do you people think a Cello,Violin, Les Paul,Strat or even a close mic’d drum kit would sound like without the body resonance?
I’ve heard VERY VERY expensive,MASSIVELY heavy,dead cabinet speakers like Krell & Magico,IMO they are lifeless & soulless!

@freediver I believe instead of BS, it’s called an opinion, and believe it or not, some members actually have differing experiences that shape these things called opinions.  Enjoy the music!🎶 

@freediver

 Touché

@dpac996 ,this replier continues to parrot his "opinion" in thread after thread regarding Harbeth speakers,denigrating speakers & a maker who are cherished world wide by end users & reviewers..IF the cabinets contributed so much "coloration" as he states the WHY are they so highly regarded by EVERY SINGLE professional reviewer that has put their time & effort into providing the potential buyer needed Intel?
 Also to address this "issue" I offer the following excerpt from Stereophiles M30.2Xd Anniversary review:
" the thin-wall cabinet construction advanced by the BBC type of designs is intended to minimise such resonance, by means of a layer of heavy and lossy bituminous coating on the inner surface of the panels. Just as a car's shock absorber converts spring rebound energy into heat and stops the car from continuing to bounce long after the initial bump has passed, so this damping layer absorbs and dissipates most of the energy transmitted into the cabinet wall, thus reducing the amplitude and duration of unwanted vibration.
Research carried out by the BBC back in 1976 proved that this construction method reliably put any cabinet wall 'noise' at least 30dB below the main sound output level, meaning that this coloration became inaudible. In engineering terms, that is 'job done'.
As always, there is a compromise in that vibration cannot be totally eliminated (any more than a car can have 'perfect' ride comfort!). The effect of heavy damping layers on thin timber panels is to place the remanant vibrational modes in the mid-bass 100-250 Hz range, where the worst they can do, if faintly audible, is add a modicum of 'warmth' to the sound."

@arafiq thanks, I will try a good solid state amp with the 40.3 sooner or later. Maybe a Hegel. At the moment I run a full tube system with a Mcintosh c2600 tube preamp into various tube power amps.

The Harbeth matches nicely with the MC275 and the Music Reference RM-200 which is a hybrid solid-state/tube 100 wpc.

About the lossy cabinets, I thought that this is backed by scientific data from the BBC research. This type of construction allows the cabinet to dissipate energy in a way that produces a natural and uncolored sound, especially for voice reproduction.
Voice reproduction is one of the greatest strengths of Harbeths imo.

@freediver copy that. Good excerpt. I really do love Harbeths and always wanted to try the babies in a small near field setup; I’ve discovered, however that for the overall genres of music I love, ATC SCM40 v2 have that juicy vibe and incredibly transparent midrange of the Beth’s I’ve tried, but to my ears do the music even more justice. Classical and big band scale super well and vocalists have that lit from within quality my ears 👂 adore. 🥰 cheers mates and enjoy the Holiday!

@yogiboy

“ …l @akg_ca Why would you call the thin wall design a major detriment? Many other speakers use this design including Spendor, Graham, Falcon, Stirling, etc., etc,. It’s been around for over 60 years and many enjoy BBC type speakers…”

@yogiboy

Why are you presuming that I’m knocking HARBETHs. I never said nor implied any such thing , I am assuredly not knocking “thin wall” HARBETHs or any other BBC monitor design .,,, I love my HARBETH M30.2 XD’s on TonTraeger speaker stands as defo keepers long-term, full stop. .

All I posted herein was a simple personal experiences opinion that

(a);I prefer to keep my current speakers over the many contenders and pretenders at the 30.2 price-point strata , and up to double theirpricepoint strata.Adding ahigh-end ATC subwoofer to flesh out the bottom end for these standmounts provided me me with a peer speaker system to the higher model 40,2’s.

(b) and yes ..Ive also auditioned other speaker brands (mostly at audio expos) that could sway me to change, BUT ONLY AT significant multiples ( ….plural ….) in 30.2 speaker pricepoint AND a matched significant multiple in price of upstream electronics to drive them. Intuitively unless I win a mega lottery, nuthin’ is gonna change for me,

I can't speak to the 40.2's but I owned 30.2 XDs and now have 40.3 XDs. I drive them with a T+A PA 3100HV integrated and they sound great.

I've had the T+A for about 7 months now and it never gets boring or fatiguing. (I had a BAT VK 3500 before the T+A it it was just OK with the 40's.) 

While I enjoyed several tube amps with the small Harbeth's, the 40's absolutely need big powerful SS amplification.

I'm guessing your amps would drive them really nicely. 

My experience with other brands is limited but if your music preferences matches what Harbeth's are renowned for, I think you will be happy with them. 

I would add one more thing..I moved from M30.1 to the 30.2Xd...The 30.1 did indeed have a touch more "warmth"that could come off as slightly veiled or too dark with the wrong amplification..The 30.2Xd does not have that additional warmth,adding a bit more nuetrality through the upper bass,lower mid range..An email to Harbeth returned the info that the inside of the cabinets & crossover received a little tuning to bring this about...

I recently sold a pair of Harbeth C7ES3XD speakers, the latest model, and they left a strong impression. Having owned more than 20 pairs of speakers, I can confidently say these stand out. They achieve a remarkable balance in the mid/upper frequencies, with zero harshness or fatigue that many other speakers in this range can cause. The imaging is fantastic when paired with sufficient power—I'd recommend at least 50 watts to get the best results, especially in a small to medium-sized room.

The resonance argument is silly. It doesn't matter. I've encountered speakers that struggle with resonance, or have zero, but the Harbeths use it to their advantage somehow.

I decided to part with these speakers mainly due to my challenging room layout, which required frequent repositioning for optimal performance. They also benefit from ample power, and while they worked beautifully with my Supernait 3 (for sale!), I generally prefer tube amplification. I paired them with a Leben amp as well, and the Supernait-Harbeth combination was particularly stunning.

Although this was my first experience with Harbeth, I can see myself revisiting them in the future. While they benefit from a subwoofer for deeper bass, the C7ES3XD has a satisfying, full-bodied sound. Their box size—comparable to the upper torso of an average person—seems to contribute to their weighty, realistic presence. They won’t mimic the depth of a large-scale concert or rock the house with Pink Floyd, but they excel in drawing you into intimate, smaller-scale music venues.

An instrument creates sound. A speaker reproduces sound. Pretty simple really. 

The Stereophile excerpt is copy. Do you think Fremer or Atkinson would give a Harbeth the same review as Dudley? What about the glowing reviews of a "dead" speakers like a Magico?

Anyway, as dpac points out, we all have opinions and these opinions should be respected and welcomed. At least among adults.

If you like the Harbeth 40.3, check out the Graham LS5/5. Same BBC heritage and similar but not identical sound. You might like one more than the other. 

All, TY for the responses.

Interesting post... I had Harbeth M30.1 bought in 2015. Loved them until I happened upon a little know speaker from Canada (by way of Belgium) called the Equation 7. Not a stand mount but a narrow, shallow smaller 2/way tower. Incredibly well built with a beautiful Spanish maple finish. They were great at the shop in NY I found them at paired with a Mastersound integrated so I bought them on the spot. Took them home and immediately inserted them into my setup consisting of Chord, Hovland, Luxman/Hana - was shocked at how much better at everything the Equations were over the Harbeths. A more pleasing sound signature on almost every level. I have since moved on to a more vintage Shindo/Altec setup but I'll never forget how I was floored by a speaker that was so totally unexpected.

I own a pair of M30.2 40th anniversary. I have listened to some other speakers since I got them 4 years ago. Afraid to lose that outstanding midrange and soundstage that is so superb with vocals. This speaker is so easy to listen to with its neutral and accurate timber.

i recently did an AB comparison with the M30.2 XD and a pair of Fleetwood Deville. Nice but it not float my boat.

However the Devore 0/96 I listened to right after were fantastic. Wow! This was something else. Would not have the bass of the 40.3 but in terms of soundstage, texture and organic sound , the DeVore would be something to consider IMHO. A lot more expensive than my M30.2 obviously, but in the price range of the 40.3

If I may add. Agree with other comments about stands. The Ton Tragers are without a doubt the best match with Harbeths. They make quite a difference because they allow full resonance of the cabinets. They make the Harbeths sing. Worth the investment if you are a Harbeth owner. 

Spendor or Graham. I like both better than the Harbeths. The Graham 5/8 is probably the best of the three to my ears. 

IMHO, there are brands that employ more advanced materials/tech that sound better than any of the thin-wall, BBC derivatives. Some of those are Rockport, Acora, Borresen and Joseph Audio. 
 

Just like dpac996 I have chosen ATC after several smaller models of Harbeth. ATC does have a better, more colourful midrange and the dynamics are much better. I’m a classical listener and Harbeth is an often advised brand to people like me, for some years now I have felt no need to change my speakers, other equipment yes.  

I’m a member of a large audio club and we have a Zoom social weekly. There are a lot of very experienced, even obsessive, audiophiles in attendance. I attended the usual weekly Zoom meeting just two weeks ago and came away with what I think is valuable advice on a speaker that you might consider listening to. Here’s the story I heard: a fellow audiophile member had some Danish speakers in for review which he liked very much. When he had finished his review and returned the speakers he was instantly aware that his Harbeth* speakers sounded dull and unmusical in comparison. The difference was so obvious that he immediately decided he had to sell his Harbeths and buy the Danish speakers, which he did. He is very happy with the change and kept emphasizing how much more musical the Danish speakers were. And, interestingly, the Danish speakers cost about half what the Harbeth’s cost. Perhaps that’s because the Danish speakers are sold direct unlike Harbeth speakers which are sold through distributors and audio shops which raises their cost to the consumer. It also turns out that Harbeth speakers are built to a price point and contain el cheapo parts in their crossovers; the Danish speakers have an opposite philosophy in that their speakers are designed with the best parts that will perfect the way they sound. Also the Danish speakers are shipped free all over the world and have a 60 day trial period.

The speakers are Buchardt S400 MKII. They are perfectly suited to his smallish room. I don’t know more.

https://buchardtaudio.com/collections/passive-speakers/products/s400-mkii-color-se?variant=48341062025562

* I’m not absolutely certain of the model no of his Harbeth speakers I think they were 30.2s. They might have been 40.2s.

Let me add my voice to the chorus of high praise for the C7ES3. I originally chose that model because more than one Harbeth employee mentioned off the the record that upper management considered the C7 line the "best-sounding" of what Harbeth had to offer (whatever "best-sounding" means -- I can’t get into that here, but regardless, that was a convincing endorsement).

I’ve had my pair for, I dunno, 10 years?, and in that time, upgraded from a sub-$1K amp to a $19K T+A. In every case, yes, in terms of voicing and cohesiveness, these little boxes rivaled the Quad ESL (57s) that I’d restored & enjoyed for over 20 years. I’m sure that many people have other favorites in this price range, but overall, these non-flashy little speakers are stunningly lifelike in many ways -- at least in my 14x17 room, paired with a sub.

Having said all that, they’re not perfect. They throw a decent soundstage, but don’t disappear as well as some of the competition. Despite their generally excellent imaging, I can always point to the speakers with my eyes closed. However, given all the other strengths of the Harbeth house sound, that’s never been a showstopper for me. they still regularly provide a thrilling listening experience with content like SACD or 45RPM vinyl.

These comments only speak to the C7 stand-mount models, which are the only ones I have extensive personal experience with. But my understanding is that the main ways in which the larger and smaller models differ is in bass extension and dynamic range (and, to a minor extent, to treble extension).  All Harbeths are reputed to have similar house sound.

As for the thin-wall-construction controversy, all I can say is that it seems to work. Aside from the fact that it’s nice to have 15-pound speakers that produce this level of SQ, I did personally confirm that part of the BBC’s design philosophy was to not even try to eliminate all cabinet resonances -- but to instead minimize them and then incorporate any residual resonances into the speaker’s sonic signature. That is, the overall system design expects the cabinet resonances to exist and is tuned to complement them.

I verified this by damping the cabinets externally, just out of curiousity. And when I did so, the sound degraded considerably, lifeless, dull, colored. I guess that’s one reason why Harbeth recommends minimizing coupling with even the Harbeth-recommended Sound Anchor stands.

Bottom line for me is that the Harbeth line -- especially the C7ES3 -- are undoubtedly worth considering in their respective price ranges. Not for everybody, not for every system, but still an extraordinary box speaker in its price range.  Add a top-notch sub like a Perlisten, and you’ll have a heckuva good $5-10K system for a small or mid-sized room.

I owned Buchardt S400 when they first came out. Very different speaker with different target audience. If hearing the nth level of detail is the goal, then I agree Harbeth is not the right choice. Both are very good speakers though.

I’ve had C7ES-3XD, 30.2XD, and 40.3XD. All were very good enjoyable speakers that I had for several years but as this hobby is I moved on.
Currently have KEF Reference 3, Reference 1 Meta and a pair of Joseph Audio Perspective2. They do some things better but can be more fussy with amplification. At this level, it comes down to personal preference.
One thing about the Harbeth sound that I started to notice is that the bass on all three was a bit “thumpy” for my taste and not tight enough compared to a heavily braced modern cabinet. Harbeth midrange tone is excellent and very easy on the ears, although I found myself craving for more transparency, air, and detail.
If I were to get another Harbeth at some point, it would probably be the C7, those I felt were special in the lineup.

People have to remember that the BBC designed speakers are a engineering tour de forces of a concept where no budget was ever an constraint.

I think most people bad mouthing the BBC design, have never heard un amplified instruments being played.

I have the LS5/9 and I get goosebumps hearing a violin or cello playing, just so natural and sweet sounding, Jazz is sublime to listen to also.

If one need more omph, get a Rel sub or a pair if you can swing it.

+1 @gryphongryph  I would also add that very few speakers do vocals like the BBC speakers. I would love to own the bigger Grahams some day. When I first heard them, I preferred them over Harbeth 40.2. However, I think 40.3 has closed the gap considerably. 

Yes voices are marvelous too, of course if one is more to heavy metal or elecronica then other speakers will fair better.

I don’t think I will ever get rid of my ls5/9 except maybe for the Graham LS5/5, but I have to win the lottery first 😂

I had Super HL5 found them a bit boring. I currently have Dynaudio Heritage Specials, best tweeters I’ve ever had 

Those are great speakers for sure, Dynaudio are known for liking power, what amp are you using?

Has anyone compared the Harbeth 30.2Xd to the B&W 805 D3 or D4? If so, I’d be interested in hearing your candid opinion. I’m currently running a CJ Classic 62se amp. 

I read a LOT of reviews and user comments about Harbeth & Spendor before picking up a gently used pair of 30.1s. Everything good anyone said about the 30.1s is true. I can pick nits (the mid- and low-bass aren't as thunderous as some other 8" woofer designs), but that matters less than the overall "voice" of this speaker--they sing music to me.

I couldn’t possibly fit a 40.1 or 40.2 here, but I heard the latter once and was really wowed. Easy to hear, even in a poorly damped show room, how good that one sounds.

I prefer Graham LS 5/5 to Harbeth.  To me a bit more spatial.

I wanted the BBC Sound to work, but in end realized you really need a floor standing speaker for bass. I ended up going with Von Schweikert Endeavour. Love them!  I saw a preowned paid on this site last weekend. A no brainer at $20k!