Harbeth 40.3 XD versus Harbeth 40.2

I hear ya Rox, The 40 series were way too big for the room so I opted for a pair of SHL5+'s and have them sitting on B&W 8"subs. I think the sound quality, especially mid range drivers are phenomenal.
Not sure that the price jump from the 5's to the 40's really makes sense. 6K too 18K is a big jump.

When I picked my P3ESR from dealer and walked into room where he had the 40.2 I had no idea how big those boxes were. You can't tell from photos. They look like wine fridges 🙊

I agree with Pdreher, I’m listening to the XDs right now, and really is hard to notice much improvement from my actual 40.2s,

My take is that the difference is so small it's not necessary to upgrade.  The only reason to buy the 40.3XD is if you don't already own the 40 series speakers.  That said, this hobby does not always bring out the most conservative decision making in many of us.  If you have the upgrade bug I will certainly not try to talk you out of it.  If you do decide to upgrade I would love to hear your impressions.  I personally don't hear much difference.  
Happy listening!
Peter

I read on the  Harbeth forum basically that in the SHL5 + and the 40.2 Anniversary they are essentially the exact speaker, but since they are no longer in their Anniversary year they are renaming them the .3 XD. There were bigger changes to the crossover to the smaller speakers but those changes occurred already in the top 2 speakers for the 40th Anniversary. I own the SHL5+ 40th Anniversary. In my 12.5’ x 16’ x 12th room they sit on the long wall 7’ apart and about 8.5’ from my chair pointing at my shoulders. They completely disappear. I run a REL T7i sub crossed at 40Hz. I’d love the 40.3 but I think it’d overpower my room, though Alan Shaw uses them in an even smaller room.