People That Have Upgraded From Harbeth 30.1s....

I was also wondering which post inspired the rant, but I agree with jethro1964. I own and enjoy Harbeths, but I simply can’t understand why Mr. Shaw sidesteps the amplification thing. To say any well designed amp over 50 (or whatever) watts will give you great sound does not make sense to me. It’s a very well designed speaker, and it will easily allow someone to hear the flaws in a mediocre amp.

Probably because he knows something about Speakers and electronics ;-)

He wanted to design a robust speaker, not too hard to drive, that would sound good with any competently designed amplifier. And you can find competently designed amplifiers for pretty cheap.

Personally I’ve found it to be the case: Harbeth speakers seem especially "amplifier agnostic" - I’ve heard them with a range of amps, from tube to modest solid state to more expensive, and they always sounded good, with the same nice qualities. I’m a bit of a tube-amp-head and I find the Harbeths sound smooth and full no matter what they are powered with.

Even though the 7es3 is less expensive than the 30.1 to my ears the 7es3 sounds better. More bass, and bigger image. The 30.1 are great speakers but sound much smaller the the 7es3. I went to my local dealer to listen to the 30.1 but ended up with 7es3. My listening room is 19'x13', and needed a larger speaker.

FYI, my room is even larger. I had both speakers here at the same time and much preferred the 30.1s.... but all of our ears are different!

I'm not surprised dhcod, the 30.1 is a fantastic speaker.  My preference tends towards a mellow sound and the 7es3 to my ears offers that.  I did not have the luxury of auditioning both speakers in my home, only an afternoon at the dealer.  Comparing them side by side in your listening room what differences did you notice?

The sound of 30.1 is just more refined. It handles delicate things better. Bass is less but it is punchy. The 30.1 tweeter is a tough to beat. I'm considering trying at home a set of Raidho C1.1s that my dealer has.

If you like your speakers to make music, as opposed to just playing the notes, Harbeths are one of the better choices. Some people want their speakers to give them audio thrills; others prefer to listen to music.