Harbeth 30.2 or Falcon Gold Badge

I have heard both in the same location and it is an interesting comparison.  At somewhat modest listening levels, both are quite nice sounding.  The Falcon, more so than the Harbeth, is sort of faking deep bass by bumping up the response in the 80-100 hz region.  But, both still deliver plenty of bass for being small speakers.  I hear some upper midrange coloration in the Harbeth that comes off as a bit of a sibilant edge to some notes.  Overall, I actually like the Falcon more.  However, I did not listen at higher volume levels where the Harbeth probably has an advantage—physics cannot be denied, and there are more limitations on drivers and cabinets the size of the Falcons.  I have also heard the Harbeth P3ESR in the same location and liked its sound, but, the Falcon sounded better to me.

In the same size range as the Falcon, I also like the ProAc Tablette.  Played at reasonable volume levels this is a warm, rich, yet still nimble sounding speaker; like the other speakers mentioned, with sort of faked bass, but still very musically satisfying bass.  For a speaker more like the 30.2, I also like the ProAc D2.

I hope this doesn't complicate things, but these are all great sounding speakers.  They all like to be placed away from the back wall and also a bit away from the side walls.  If you need to place the speakers closer to the back and side walls, there is always the Audio Note line.  These are speakers which are so musically enjoyable one does not bother to go down an audio checklist.  Like all of the speakers mentioned, I've only heard them with tube amplification (the only kind the dealer sells).  Most of the customers coming into the shop, if they have a brand in mind, come looking for Harbeths.  A number of Harbeth shoppers actually end up getting Audio Note speakers after giving them a listen; the opposite--those looking for Audio Note, but ending up with Harbeth, is not that common.  

I don't think you will be disappointed with either the Falcon or Harbeth, but if you have the chance, try to hear ProAc and Audio Note speakers as well.

I heard all these speakers at Deja Vu (I don’t work there).  I have heard JM Reynaud speakers a while ago and liked them a lot too.

My favorite speakers are high efficiency horn systems or systems using fullrange drivers as wide range drivers in multi-way systems.

I need to correct what I said above.  I thought it was a Falcon vs. P3ESR comparison (similar size speakers).  The 30.2 is a different matter.  Yes, I still hear a sibilant edge to the 30.2, but, it is a more versatile speaker--it can play more demanding orchestral and choral music with more authority and a larger sense of scale than any of the smaller speakers.  I still think the Falcon is wonderful, but, I might be willing to live with the slight problems I hear with the 30.2 given how nice it sounds in all other respects.  If the larger 30.2 is in the picture, then something like a ProAc D2 should also be considered, and of course, I think any of the Audio Note spekers should be in the contest, particularly if space is a consideration because they are willing to hide in the corners while the others really want to be out in the open well away from the walls.