Harbeth 30.1 or 40.1

wrong on both

shl5 super or compact 7

@gt357s

mon 30 are midrange oriented monitor more for semi nearfield listening - will need bass reinforcement if run full range deliver dbs into 18x16 room

mon 40.1 are very full range, perhaps overly so... i had mon 40.1 before, they boomed, need to be far away from room boundaries - have you seen these speakers in the flesh?  they are huge boxes, know what u will be getting, if this is anything but a dedicated sound room there may be aesthetics issues

otoh, the c7 and shl5 bridge the gap between the two - c7 small box but more balanced high thru low, shl5 basically a larger version of c7 with supertweeter, similar voicing - 18x16 is good size but how will you set up the triangle, how close to room boundaries and therefore how much bass reinforcement?

"listening to how they sound on youtube and like them"

sorry, i have to laugh and roll my eyes

@dodgealum 

i am with you -- can lead horse to water but it may not drink lol

@big_greg 

like your report - i would only add that all but the tiniest harbeths do benefit from strong amp control of the woofer(s) - therefore hegels are so good a match as many have found

yes there is great nuance and magic to using tube amplification, but therein lies the trade... bass control is sacrificed and bass impact lessened in exchange for midrange magic ... this particularly key for 40 and hl5 - where with the wrong/weak amp the bass can bloat and slow to a crawl