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Devore or Harbeths to replace my ESL63s?

I'm on the last stages of a speaker quest that has been quite difficult. For the last year I've had ESL 63s in a smallish room (14'8 x 11'10). I've got them to work extremely well for small scale ensembles, particularly jazz, and they also sound great with electronic music. But I can't give them enough space to image an orchestra, and they don't really rock (at least without Gradient sub-woofers, but that's another story...)

So after a long search, it's come down to either Harbeth or Devore for replacements. These have been my favourite contemporary speakers for years, so basically I've just spent a long time finding out what I already knew.

I previously owned Compact 7ES3 and enjoyed them, but found them unrefined in the soprano regio, and slightly muddy around the port output. The Monitor 30.1 is considerably smoother in the high frequencies and I find it a beautifully balanced speaker. It is the perfect size for my room, with one failing. It lacks the half octave of bass needed to give kick drums any force. I tried the new SHL5+ in my room but they are just too big for my room, sadly.

A friend of mine owns some Devore Nines. Very few people have Devores in the UK, but he has a fantastic system with VTL 2.5/150. It used to be that when I heard his system I would find the Compact 7s unlistenable for a couple of days. That changed with the ESL63s, but the Quads have an uneven combination of great strengths and severe limits in a small room.

So it's come down to either Harbeth M30.1, Devore Super 8, or Devore 88.

I have a second hand pair of the Super 8s at home at the moment. They are beautifully organic and draw you in to their world gradually. Other speakers I have at home have more immediate and crisp micro-detail (Harbeth P3ESR for example), but the Super 8s seem to put a root into the ground and claim the room as the proper place for their music making. Relax, they say, don't worry about the details, we will sort out your musical life.

I have only two reservations; first, they are quite lean in the mid-bass, especially in comparison to my friend's Nines, and this presents some limits with rock and electronic. Second, my system is optimised for Harbeths (and then for ESLs), and Devores would probably work better with lower powered, very refined valve amps. I don't get the same clarity that I get with Harbeths in my system.

I also have an option on some second hand 88s, but I have never heard them and I would have to buy blind. That is generally against my religion.

I guess the key question is; do I go with what I know (Monitor 30.1) or look to optimise my system gradually for the newcomers (Devore Super 8 or 88).

I'd be grateful for any thoughts from anyone who has compared the M30.1 with Devores in the same room, since that is what I can't do at the moment.

(My system details: the amps are Unison Research Unico Pre/DM. The sources are a Fletcher Omega Point 5/Audio Note Arm/Nagaoka MP500, Trichord Diablo/NCPSU). Audio Synthesis DAX Discrete with AS modded CD Transport.)
andreweast
gregm
3,405 posts
 
Out of the spkrs mentioned here, the Harbeths are probably your best bet -- BUT the model you choose does not have much bass... Pity you can't go for the bigger monitor 40.1: it;s a very good speaker.
Anyway, I think you can dispense with the AN, they are strange compared to what you seem to like (good frequency response & details).
Which leaves us with the Janszens & the Devores: between the two, I'm guessing you'll prefer the J: they give an impression of speed, i.e. more of the immediacy of the music will come out.
But you are the boss, as always!
ctsooner
2,480 posts
 
Jet, as I said, I can listen to them all day long (the Harbeths). I decided to go for the Vandy's as they do everything well. I have listened to the 7's with Richards own amps recently with a lot of guys at Audio connection. I loved the sound, however some of the guys kept going in the other room as the 5's were just blazing hot. Best I've heard them sound....The 7's were simply like live music. You really had to listen hard to 'get it'....It was just so easy to sit for hours and listen to album after album. Simply the best sound I've ever heard. The leading attack and trailing edge...the midrange bloom, the kick in your gut bass when it was there. It was the most neutral fastest system i've ever heard. I only share that because that's what I listen for. Sometimes I may make a post and it doesn't come off the way I meant it. Nothing I have posted is to cut the Harbeth. Again, enjoyable, but for ME, I felt for the cost of the 40's, the Vandy's did more. It's audio and all about taste...that's why asking what someone else likes is just that...their tastes. I feel badly for folks who buy what others like and not what they have heard.
act4music
2 posts
 
Forget both of those and go for the JansZen hybrid electrostatic speakers. These are superb speakers that give an incredibly natural and very clear sound. It is as if the performers are right in front of you in the room. Go to www.soundsetup.co.uk and have a look and also google Janszen Loudspeaker for reviews. These speakers are designed by David JansZen, in the USA and he is the son of Arthur Janszen, the designer of the very first commercially electrostatic speaker.

The beauty of the Janszen ESLs is that they can be placed right back against a wall so will go where other ESLs just cannot possibly go. They are ideal for smaller rooms as well as large ones. They are unique in that they fire forwards only which is the reason they do not need to be placed out into the room. Just launched are some very compact stand mount ESLs which are quite unique called zA1.1

ctsooner
2,480 posts
 
If he's into the Harbeth sound I'd really doubt he'd be into a stat. I personally have yet to hear a stat that I could live with. Most ribbons drive me nuts too for many reasons. I'm only heard a handful that I like and they have been very expensive to do it right. I have a ton of friends who love the panels type speakers, but have no use for the Harbeth's or any box speaker. Different tastes.
act4music
2 posts
 
The JansZens are like hearing no speaker at all. Cabinet cone speakers do have their own distinctive sounds due to coloration but the JansZens are as natural a sound as you could wish for. Have you heard the JansZens?
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