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Harbeth 40.3's. Should I buy them?

I've owned a lot of speakers. I've just finished auditioning a pair of Alta Audio Alec's. Not good at all in my system. I own a pair of Spatial X3 open baffle speakers. I really like them and my wife doesn't. I recently bought a pair of Buchardt S400 MKII's for a second system. I say second system because I have a dedicated 2 channel room 15' x 19'. Upstairs in a much larger room, the Buchardt's were anemic, fine, 2 Adam subs solved the anemia. Then just for the heck of it (and because audio is a hobby) I moved the Buchardt monitors downstairs in the 'big guys' room. The Buchardt's loved that room and my wife loved the Buchardt's except they are to small for the listening room and our listening tastes.

I'm tired of buying and selling speakers. I've been to a hundred audio shows and have "favorites". Harbeth have always sounded great, not a show stopper, but, at shows, they've been totally inoffensive, warm and engaging in the same way I like Audio Notes AN-e.
We play all types of music. My wife especially likes classical, leaning towards female singers but too, she'll rock out on Led Zeppelin, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Keyes, Journey, you get the idea. Me, classic rock but anything that soothes my soul works. I like to play loud. My wife - louder, but not teenager loud.

We have an awesome front end to work with. Allnic T2000 30th integrated (60wpc in triode 150wpc in pentode), Allnic H5500 phono and Allnic D10000 DAC.

Why wouldn't we happy with this speaker?

128x128desalvo55
ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62
3,130 posts
 

@desalvo55 

You must have missed my question. See above.

gsm18439
895 posts
 

I am partial to efficient full range speakers that do not have to be pulled away from the rear wall into the room. My listening tastes are similar to yours although my space is much larger. Currently, I have Zu Def 4s. I also like Living Voice, Audio Note, and Volti Rival or Razz. Zu and Volti are sold direct. Zu gives a 4 week in-home audition period.

henri2017
2 posts
 

Great post, thanks. Having owned and enjoyed the 40.3XD and giving up on them, maybe I can offer an opinion. The 40.3’s are “good” at many things, to my ear they weren’t great at anything, though the upper mids are a standout. That said, I’m not sure if the mids were outstanding because the rest was more average. I also found the bass response lacklustre, especially at low and mid level volumes.
For context I am running Allnic A6000’s w/ an A4000 pre  

A whiffed attempt at something off the grid, I paired the aforementioned gear with Sabrina X’s, different, perhaps better but not captivating  

In walked Audio Note AN E-D - again, to my ears they smoked the 40.3’s and Sabrina’s, they were less than half the price of the others no less! Plus the added real estate they provided due to placement  

in my humblest of opinions, I would give the AN’s another serious audition  

listen well and enjoy the ride  


 

 

henri2017
2 posts
 

Great post, thanks. Having owned and enjoyed the 40.3XD and giving up on them, maybe I can offer an opinion. The 40.3’s are “good” at many things, to my ear they weren’t great at anything, though the upper mids are a standout. That said, I’m not sure if the mids were outstanding because the rest was more average. I also found the bass response lacklustre, especially at low and mid level volumes.
For context I am running Allnic A6000’s w/ an A4000 pre  

A whiffed attempt at something off the grid, I paired the aforementioned gear with Sabrina X’s, different, perhaps better but not captivating  

In walked Audio Note AN E-D - again, to my ears they smoked the 40.3’s and Sabrina’s, they were less than half the price of the others no less! Plus the added real estate they provided due to placement  

in my humblest of opinions, I would give the AN’s another serious audition  

listen well and enjoy the ride  


 

 

richdirector's avatar
richdirector
269 posts
 

Never sell those allnics they are end game .... Fyne audio and Tannoys do classical jazz and can rock out too ...

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