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.
I owned a pair of TT stands with a pair of M30.1, and agree that they are excellent. However, this claim (above):
is patently false. The stands certainly do not "decouple" the speakers from the ground. |
To drill a bit deeper, I have listened to the 30.1s on the TTs both directly on the floor, and placed on Townshend platforms. The difference in sound is clear, but because some of the bass energy that is typically felt through the floor is lost, some might prefer those speakers, which are a bit bass-light, not decoupled. With the 40.2/40.3, I would expect that there would be plenty of bass, even with greater, or *true* decoupling. |
What you seem to be reporting is that the TTs are much better at isolating the speakers than your home made ones, and that I don't doubt. But no, they don't decouple them, let alone "completely". And neither do spikes! In fact, spikes couple stands to the floor, despite any marketing claims to the contrary. That doesn't mean that the TT stands, or well-designed spikes, cannot improve the sound of systems – of course they can. But they don't "decouple"! The closest that you can get to decoupling would be damped springs, such as Townshend products, or Isoacoustic Gaia, etc. You may think that I am being pedantic, but the TTs don't come close to decoupling. I originally used high-quality spikes and pucks on my current speakers, and they sounded very good, When I switched to the Gaias, which are designed to decouple (though not 100%), the sound improved significantly.
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For those interested, here is a link to a video of some relevant observations and measurements, comparing spikes and isolation bases. It was produced by the Swiss company Credo Audio. spikes vs. decoupling platforms Their conclusions are consistent with the experience of most users of damped spring products, namely faster decays, and a reduction in smearing, resulting in clearer sound. |
You are very welcome, and well done! 👍 I really wasn’t trying to push you into anything, but your open mind and perseverance have apparently paid off. And your relatively simple solution seems very clever! It’s interesting how systems can sound so good when you don’t know that you are missing anything, but then a small tweak may make a noticeable difference. It took me a long time to take vibration control seriously, as for decades I hadn’t ventured beyond inexpensive Herbie’s Tenderfeet on a few components, and with only some modestly positive results. But as I upgraded my system substantially over the past couple of years, and moved into a newly renovated home, I was tempted to try to refine the sound further, and did a fair amount of research on various well-regarded devices. The first that I bought was a set of Stillpoints Ultra SS V2, to try under my amp. I did this partly because it sits not on a dedicated stand, but rather in the middle of a (low) sideboard between my speakers. Note that I have never used any such devices under an amp previously, but lo and behold, there was a very audible difference with the Stillpoints. I do not assume that the Stillpoints are necessarily superior to other similarly well-designed devices, as I haven’t compared them, but decoupling (to some degree) my amp from the furniture had a very positive impact, not least of which being a tightening up of the bass. I frankly have no idea why vibration control would be effective under an amp, but it certainly was in this instance. After that experience, I bought a set of Stillpoints ultra minis, and tried them under my DAC. If there was a positive change, it must have been quite subtle, and the explanation is likely that the DAC sits on a Quadraspire rack, which does, at least, provide some vibration control on its own. Or perhaps vibration control under a DAC is less important. Finally, I chose to replace the spikes with IsoAcoustics Gaias on my stand mounted speakers, and, like the experience with the amp, the results exceeded my expectations. None of the brands/models of VC devices that I recently acquired are cheap, even used, but within the context of the value of my system, and given the improvements in sound, I would say that they represent excellent value. So, congratulations on having taken a big step in the decoupling direction! 😀 It is very satisfying when one is able to squeeze the best out of high-class components.
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Interesting! I see what you are saying, and while it may seem a bit counter-intuitive, given the "play" in speakers that are placed on that type of (damped spring) devices, the sound is cleaner, as vibrations that would otherwise pass through coupling devices (e.g. spikes), both to and from the floor, are largely eliminated. So, the speakers are able to perform closer to their full potential.
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