Garebear-Going from an Avalon to Harbeth must have been an adjustment! Did you feel you had the right amp synergy with the 40.1? The current Spendor 100R2 has won a "speaker of the year" award in Japan. The award might not mean much but i'm sure the current speaker is a solid improvement over the original SP100. Not so sure the KEF 205/2 is that easy to drive. Both the VA Imperial and ProAc D40R look interesting.
Harbeth M40.1 vs. KEF 205/2 vs. Spendor SP100R2
Three UK built speakers that offer near state of the art sound and are "relatively" affordable to many of us on Audiogon. My experience with the 3 models is limited so your opinions will be interesting and valued. My most recent demo was the Harbeth 40.1. My opinion was left incomplete due to the amp driving it. A Luxman 505u was used to drive the big Harbeth making them a little slow and soft. IMO more power and refinement is needed for the 40.1 The KEF I heard was the original 205 with the super tweeter. Let me just say it is one of the best box speakers i've heard. Maybe it was the magical synergy of the MAC 352 amp or the unknown(can't recall)cables? From what i've read the current 205/2 is not as amp or cable sensitive. I've heard several Spendor speakers but NOT the 100R2. What impressed me most with the various Spendor models was the "Quad" like tonality without the excessive warmth of some other British speakers. I would like to hear your comments regarding these iconic loudspeakers. As always I appreciate your comments.
Evan
Evan