I worked my way up through the Harbeth range via a very co-operative dealer who has subsequently (and happily, apparently) resigned the agency and settled on the SHL5 models. I then borrowed a pair of 40.1 speakers. Big, big mistake bass-wise. I hoped for everything the SHL5s did, or better, plus more weight to bass. I did in fact get this but not in the way I expected.
The bass bump I experienced made the 40.1 sound like an entirely disconnected cinema subwoofer. Yes, the integration of the mid and top was magnificent and other than the Vandersteen 7 probably as good as I have ever heard from cones. But to me, in my room, using various transistor amps and at the volume I listen to, I just didnt get it. I tried various cables, stands, hoped for divine intervention and so on, to no avail. A miserable experience. So I went back to the SHL5 with an Underdog subwoofer. Absolute bliss for a fraction of the 40.1 offering.
The bass bump I experienced made the 40.1 sound like an entirely disconnected cinema subwoofer. Yes, the integration of the mid and top was magnificent and other than the Vandersteen 7 probably as good as I have ever heard from cones. But to me, in my room, using various transistor amps and at the volume I listen to, I just didnt get it. I tried various cables, stands, hoped for divine intervention and so on, to no avail. A miserable experience. So I went back to the SHL5 with an Underdog subwoofer. Absolute bliss for a fraction of the 40.1 offering.