Has anyone switched from Dynaudio to Harbeth

I haven't switched from one to the other, but I auditioned both brands when I was last in the market for speakers. After listening to Dynas, both some Focus models and the Contour 3.4, for several hours at a dealer's, I thought they sounded very good. I then auditioned some Harbeths with the same recordings, and I thought they sounded beautiful. So I bought the Harbeths (M30s), and have enjoyed them very much.

My impressions of the respective sounds were, I think, similar to yours. I remember thinking the Dynas' sound to be "clean" and "precise," and I found the Harbeths to be "whole" and "rounded". I think Harbeth PR would call them "natural". After listening for that extended time to the Dynas, I was a bit concerned about listener fatigue, but the Harbeths did not produce that reaction at all.

I've been pleased that the Harbeths make my older, more poorly-recorded, discs sound enjoyable, in contrast to my previous speakers, ADS-710s, on which those discs were barely listenable. I had always considered the ADS-710s to be fairly forgiving, so I had a bit of concern about the Dynas in that respect as well. It is also possible that I preferred the Harbeths because they were less of a change from the ADS sound (which I had for a very long time) than the Dynas were.

YMMV, of course. Good luck in your search.

Jim Crane

The Harbeths have a livelier sound that the Dynaudios, this is due to the construction differences between the two designs, most of the the Harbeth cabinets are designed to resonate in tune to the music while Dynaudio is trying to make their cabinets as rigid as possible.

The Dynaudio's are more neutral the Harbeths are perhaps a bit more colored but they can be very engaging.

I've owned 5 pairs of Dynaudio speakers, from the Audience 42's, to the Contour 1.3SE's to the Confidence C4. About 2 years ago, I sold my Dyn C4's and tried the Harbeth M-40.1's and even though they retail for approx. 40% less than the Dyn C4's, I have zero regrets, as the Harbeth sound is what I prefer.

While I like Dynaudio speakers and still own two pairs from their Audience line in secondary systems, I've found my Harbeth's to sound more organic, full bodied and realistic... I just like them a lot more. They are also not fatiguing, unlike Dynaudio can be (IME)... and they sound great at low volume, which is definitely not a strong suit of Dynaudio, as I've found they need to be turned up loud to sound their best.

IMO ,I would move up the Dynaudio line.The 3.4s are not that great to begin with,lacking alot so maybe check out the C1s.I think you will love them if you like the 3.4.The comparison Dyn/Harbeth is really not a fair fight.Again this is just my opinion but Harbeths are colored (and as stated above "rounded") thats why bad recordings maybe sound better.If a recording is bad I want to hear that!I dont want a speaker that puts a different spin on something.

Yeah, I went from Kharma 3.2s to Harbeth SHL5s and I have to say there is a level of detail missing from the Harbeths
that I miss. But the Kharma highs were too hard to take with non-classical music. Maybe there's a happy medium out there somewhere...

I disagree with Missioncoonery. I have music I like is is not the best production. If the recording is bad, I don't want to hear how bad it is, I wan't to be able to enjoy it. So if your priorities are to have a system that makes you enjoy your music, looks like Harbeth is the way to go. If you have a system where you want completely revealing, then maybe the Dyns. good luck.

I've made a comparison Contour S 1.4 vs. Harbeth Super SHL5 and I definitly prefer the Contours. Maybe for people that listen especially vocals Harbeth may be regarded as interesting ; IMO Contour is a fantastic allrounder.

I switched from Harbeth to Dynaudio, but I could see going the other way, too.

I have both Contour S 1.4 and Harbeth Super SHL5.Harbeth Shl5 are on higher level as speaker,very engaging,have cleaner midrange,more details in midrange,bass,presents bigger scale of music.Contour have more details in high frequencies.Let say dyn are more boring,relaxing ,I use them when I want take a nap :)