Do Von Schweikert VR1 sound as good as Harbeth P3?

The VR1 will work great with your sub. They are easy to place and can go against a wall or on a bookshelf with minimal penalties. They have a very small rear port and do go as low as 45-50 hz, so you can cross your sub at an optimal level and still get great imaging and depth on the VR1s. They are efficient and will play loud and work well with a variety of music including rock. Your 80 wpc should be perfect. I drove them with a Forte 3 which is 100 wpc biased higher toward class A by Jon Soderberg. I believe they tend to the warmer side with more of a rounded bass, but they are extremely musical and a great value if you can find them. The crossover is really exceptional with good components and is 4th order to eliminate beaming and off axis issues so they are easy to set up and forgiving of a variety of listening positions. I had them set up at my old house on a long wall in a rectangular room on built in bookshelves and the soundstage, bass response, and depth was truly incredible. I had them turned on their sides with the tweeters on the outside. They also sound wonderful installed the "correct" way on stands in a vertical alignment. I have a pair tucked away for my second system (sorry, you can't have them ;-)and now have the VS VR4SRII in my main system so you can tell I love the VS sound.

The VR1s sound is quite a bit different than the Harbeth's. I would caution you to listen to both if you can. If not able to audition them, at least get a sense of the VSA vs Harbeth "house" sound. To my ears the VR1s are somewhat more detailed and analytic in a good way, vs the Harbeths which will be warmer and have less treble energy. As always it is a matter of personal preference. My preference is VSA and if you can them for a good price I would jump at it.

agree with rrog--the vr1s are a great, virtually full range speaker for rock. no sub necessary

Yes you should. The VR-1's are an excellent speaker. They are very efficient and sound much bigger than you would think and they have excellent bass. Considering the price, especially on the used market, the VR-1 is a bargain.