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Harbeth 30.1 ? The Ultimate Speaker under $5K ?

I have been on a mission lately to find the best speakers within my budget - under $5K ...I am definitely an audio freak and my sound engineer in LA told me we went to a HiFi convention of sorts in Newport and heard every high end boutique speaker there is and hands down the Harbeth 30.1 was the best...thought it was a live band as he turned the corner into room ! 


Local hiFi high end shops always push whatever they deal....guy near me recommends Paradigm Prestige 95s but the seem more for home theatre use...here's my profile: 

I listen MOSTLY to LPs (stream on occasion with Audioengine B1)
Marantz PM-11S1 Mono Block Amp
Sony STR-V7 Amp
Technics SL-15 
1 SVS SB1000 Sub (if necessary) 
My listening room : is approximately 15 feet from Hifi to sitting position, wood floors , pitched ceiling about 10-15 feet in spots ...entire room approx 30 feet across . I consider it a VERY live, reflective space. 

I am a drummer so I love fat , tight kick drum. Rock i.e.: Rush , Prince, old 70s / 80s fusion/Jazz  
I listen to all different volume levels, sometimes low, sometimes I turn up music very loud and crappy speakers always seem to lose definition at high volume . 

I currently have some NHTs 2.3 & Infinity IL60s for surround....

Is the Harbeth 30.1 too small of a speaker for my spot?  what do you guys recommend! Thank You !
tommypenngotti

Showing 3 responses by wolf_garcia

wolf_garcia
6,783 posts
 
I worked  at "Wave Waikiki" off and on with various bands for years, and it was by far the best place to play, with amazing sound...they had early Mark Levinson amps for the bass bins (!). I listen to a lot of modern (and not so modern) jazz dudes, with astonishing drumming...Bill Stewart is a fave...Kenny Wollesen...and many (many) others. I've recently been enjoying some amazing drum tone (and chops) from Tom Rainey on a recent Nels Cline/Julian Lage album (Nels Cline 4). That's a crazy good album...
wolf_garcia
6,783 posts
 
My band was an utterly obscure blues band in Honolulu called "Cauldren" that was around for less than a year. I was part of a small group of musicians that did the endless bar band gigs in Hawaii for many years. 6 night a week...but fun. Also, the Cornwalls are too big for my tastes and my subs more than make up for the Heresy's 58 hz bass rolloff. The short stature of the Heresy IIIs makes them somewhat esthetically unobtrusive relative to the large sound they put out...I like that.
wolf_garcia
6,783 posts
 
"It's Heresy man." I’m a kick drum tone freak to the extent that I’ve required therapy for this from time to time, and my band opened for Led Zeppelin in early ’69, a thing that takes years to recover from if you’re a Bonham fan. I’ve also jammed with Mitch Mitchell (in town for a Hendrix show also in ’69) which made most other drummers seem...well...inadequate). In any case, after decades of being a kick drum aficionado (and working as a musician and sound engineer), my recently acquired Heresy IIIs seem to provide a surprisingly great sounding kick drum experience. You do need a sub or two with these speakers as they’re very accurate down to only 58hz or so, and 2 RELs are in service for that task in my rig. Also, recent recordings of Julian Lage with Kenny Wollesen (mixed a show of theirs a couple of years ago) provides some kick therapy. Jim Campilongo's band...oh yeah...uh huh...
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