Harbeth 40.3 XD + Ton Trager First Impressions

I’ve had the 40.3’s (Walnut) in for a week now – they replaced the 30.2 XD’s (Cherry) which are ready for a new home.

I bought the 40’s used (locally) in mint condition. Even used, this is the largest investment thus far in a single component. They came with some decent “homemade” oak stands that did not match the geometry, or height (11in vs. 14.4in) of Ton Trager or Resonant Woods (which I have under the 30.2’s).

I found some open-box TTs for a great price from The Music Room which arrived yesterday. (Hat’s off to Ryan – the transaction/communication/product was great!). The TT’s are beautiful esthetically and the construction, fit and finish are meticulous and although more expensive than RW’s, I think they are worth the extra money.

Side note: Unfortunately, Resonant Woods isn’t manufacturing anything atm – the owner is currently looking for a new shop.

These massive speakers sounded good initially; detail, sound stage, imaging, depth etc. were vastly bigger and better than the 30’s (obviously) but the bass was a tad bloomy/bloated (with or without the RELs). You could feel and hear the unpleasant bass response, especially standing behind the speakers.

Honestly, I was a little worried that I’d made a mistake, but hoped the Ton Trager’s would solve the problem…

…and they did. Big time.

WOW! The sound is really something to behold. Bass is expansive and much tighter, really nice. Very warm and musical with fantastic detail. I’m going to enjoy revisiting every album.

I thought these would be harder to drive than the 30’s but that is not the case at all. In fact, they sound much more satisfying at lower listening levels than the 30’s, but get really loud, easily.

Having said all that, the 30’s are damn impressive for their size. Paired with 2 RELs, they really are the next best thing to the 40’s at roughly ½ the cost.