Harbeth - Audio Research?

I was having a problem similar to yours (reported in other threads)...I was using Vandersteen 3A sigs, which are very nice speakers, but they tell you everything that is wrong with the recording, and I just became terribly fatigued by it. I bought some Harbeth M30's and was greatly relieved. The midrange was much richer than the Vandersteens, which, because I listen to a fair bit of classical music, was quite wonderful. And voices...uhmm, very lovely. However, they are monitor speakers, and are, themselves fairly revealing. I eventually switched to Compact 7's, which are probably a bit more pleasant all around--BUT, I would read the series of reviews of 4 of the Harbeth speakers by Paul Szabady w/ Stereo Times online. In the end, he preferred the HL5, and I think that's probably the way to go.

As it happens, I used an ARC VT100 mkiii with both pairs of Harbeths. It was a fine combination.

As always, if you can try beforehand, do. But I think it is rather rare that someone doesn't like the HL5's. I should add that, with the M30's and the C7's, I concluded that I liked having a modest subwoofer. (I just use a single Essex.) I don't think you'd need that with the HL5's

Pubul57 - I think the Vandersteen 3A sigs are very good for certain things, and can be tempered depending upon what's running them. I get listener's fatigue all too easily, and I think most equipment sounds too bright. I went to the RMAF and, frankly, liked very little of what I heard. My ears seem to have some kind of sensitivity in the high frequency range. Plus, I listen to a lot of orchestral music, which is often not really that well-recorded. Massed strings are awfully hard to record, and are often miked too closely, so that if what you want is a Carnegie Hall type sound, you're in trouble. That's a lot of my problem.