Great review! Thanks for putting in the time. The Monitor 30 and C7 were compared a while ago by Bob Neill at enjoythemusic.com and I'm not sure whether your review or that one is more thorough and enjoyable to read. Perhaps a second career in the making? If you haven't already, I'm sure the Harbeth Smart Groups site would enjoy your commentary.
I'll add just a few thoughts as a committed Harbeth lover and owner of the C7's. To preface, I must say that I have never heard the Monitor 30. That being said, you may want to hold your marriage proposal until you have heard the Super HL5. Let me explain by comparing the sound of the HL5 with the C7 (and the comments you have made about that model). First, your experience with the C7's matches up pretty closely with my own. I have been in audio for over 20 years now and have owned (and heard) my share of loudspeakers--many costing several times that of the C7's. All things considered, the C7's are the best speaker I have ever owned. They are unfailingly musical in a way that MOST other loudspeakers are not. They are not for audiophiles who listen to "sounds", but are for people who listen to music. That being said, as you say, they are not perfect--though some of the nits you cite may have to do with other factors as I shall explain.
I do not hear the same bass anomolies with the C7 that you do (or that your measuring equipment reports). I find the bass to be somewhat of the classic British style--warm, realtively full for a smallish box, tuneful, but lacking the weight and slam of larger systems. It also gets a little congested when pressed. Though I tried a subwoofer for a time (a Rel Stadium II) changing to more powerful electronics gave me most of what I wanted in terms of fuller frequency response and slam without the associated drawbacks of a sub. Still, I would agree, the bass of the C7 is a little lightweight (certainly not full range) and, because it leans toward fullness rather than tightness, can lack that last degree of definition. However, the HL5 is a different story altogether. Others in the Smartgroup have said, and I agree, that the 8" Radial driver thrives in the larger box that the HL5 provides. Here the bass goes deeper--nearly as deep as you want to go if you are a music lover and not out to impress friends with demonstration discs. It is also more tuneful with greater presence and slam. I suspect that part of what you heard and didn't like in the bass region on the C7 has to do with placement and stand height. The Harbeth's are intended for use in a "free space" application and they mean it. I would argue that moving your C7's out from the rear wall another foot and making sure that they are not in the corners of the room would have alievated the dips and peaks you heard in the bass range. This suggestion, combined with lower stands--mine elevate the speakers 20" from the floor to your 24"-- would give you demonstrably better sound. I know this because I had the C7 on 24" stands for a while before having Target custom make a pair for me. I found the bass with the 24" stands thinner to be sure. Not that the Harbeths are all that picky when it comes to stands (or much else). It's just that a lower stand and more in room placement will yield better results throughout, and particularly in the bass region. To return to an earlier point, I would agree that electronics matter. The Harbeth's like power. I, too, ran Naim electronics for a good long while (a 35wpc amp). But when I stepped up to 100wpc the difference was remarkable. Also, the Naim stuff is harmonically lean. A touch of tubes from a preamp combined with sufficient solid state punch in the amp seems a good match here. The sound with the more powerful setup became more dynamic, rythmically coherent and texturally sublime.
With regard to presentation I would again agree with your review. The C7's are midhall for sure. That is what I absolutely LOVE about them. Far too many speakers throw everything in your face. If you like that--and your comments about the Monitor 30 suggest that you do--that is fine. But if you want to retain the strengths of the C7 and simply improve upon the slight weaknesses of this design then try the HL5. It has the same presentation as the C7. Laid back and musical. The persepective, like the C7, is midhall. The main difference is that the soundstage is much larger and more expansive. Both speakers image well but the HL5 presents the recording space and the musicians within in a more lifelike fashion. The space and images on the C7 are slightly compressed and diminished. Also, you mentioned a slight degree of "grunge" in the midrange. If you had said this BEFORE I had heard the HL5 I would have vehemently disagreed. However, the thing that most struck me in my 2 hour long direct comparison was that the C7's sounded signficantly "grainier" through the mids. I know, I know--the Harbeth midrange is supposed to be unsurpassed. It is. On all their products, including the C7. I haven't found ANYTHING better--except the HL5, which is extraordinary in this regard. So, to conclude, if you like the C7 but want better bass (deeper, tighter, more tuneful), a purer midrange presentation (less grain), a more extended treble (the supertweeter provides slightly more air and transparancy), yet a midhall persepective that draws you into the music rather than drops it on your lap, I would recommend that you listen to the HL 5 (if you haven't already) along side the Monitor 30. The price is roughly the same and, though I haven't heard the 30, based on what I have read the HL5 would certainly be my choice between the two. Perhaps Drubin will chime in as he owns them!
I'll add just a few thoughts as a committed Harbeth lover and owner of the C7's. To preface, I must say that I have never heard the Monitor 30. That being said, you may want to hold your marriage proposal until you have heard the Super HL5. Let me explain by comparing the sound of the HL5 with the C7 (and the comments you have made about that model). First, your experience with the C7's matches up pretty closely with my own. I have been in audio for over 20 years now and have owned (and heard) my share of loudspeakers--many costing several times that of the C7's. All things considered, the C7's are the best speaker I have ever owned. They are unfailingly musical in a way that MOST other loudspeakers are not. They are not for audiophiles who listen to "sounds", but are for people who listen to music. That being said, as you say, they are not perfect--though some of the nits you cite may have to do with other factors as I shall explain.
I do not hear the same bass anomolies with the C7 that you do (or that your measuring equipment reports). I find the bass to be somewhat of the classic British style--warm, realtively full for a smallish box, tuneful, but lacking the weight and slam of larger systems. It also gets a little congested when pressed. Though I tried a subwoofer for a time (a Rel Stadium II) changing to more powerful electronics gave me most of what I wanted in terms of fuller frequency response and slam without the associated drawbacks of a sub. Still, I would agree, the bass of the C7 is a little lightweight (certainly not full range) and, because it leans toward fullness rather than tightness, can lack that last degree of definition. However, the HL5 is a different story altogether. Others in the Smartgroup have said, and I agree, that the 8" Radial driver thrives in the larger box that the HL5 provides. Here the bass goes deeper--nearly as deep as you want to go if you are a music lover and not out to impress friends with demonstration discs. It is also more tuneful with greater presence and slam. I suspect that part of what you heard and didn't like in the bass region on the C7 has to do with placement and stand height. The Harbeth's are intended for use in a "free space" application and they mean it. I would argue that moving your C7's out from the rear wall another foot and making sure that they are not in the corners of the room would have alievated the dips and peaks you heard in the bass range. This suggestion, combined with lower stands--mine elevate the speakers 20" from the floor to your 24"-- would give you demonstrably better sound. I know this because I had the C7 on 24" stands for a while before having Target custom make a pair for me. I found the bass with the 24" stands thinner to be sure. Not that the Harbeths are all that picky when it comes to stands (or much else). It's just that a lower stand and more in room placement will yield better results throughout, and particularly in the bass region. To return to an earlier point, I would agree that electronics matter. The Harbeth's like power. I, too, ran Naim electronics for a good long while (a 35wpc amp). But when I stepped up to 100wpc the difference was remarkable. Also, the Naim stuff is harmonically lean. A touch of tubes from a preamp combined with sufficient solid state punch in the amp seems a good match here. The sound with the more powerful setup became more dynamic, rythmically coherent and texturally sublime.
With regard to presentation I would again agree with your review. The C7's are midhall for sure. That is what I absolutely LOVE about them. Far too many speakers throw everything in your face. If you like that--and your comments about the Monitor 30 suggest that you do--that is fine. But if you want to retain the strengths of the C7 and simply improve upon the slight weaknesses of this design then try the HL5. It has the same presentation as the C7. Laid back and musical. The persepective, like the C7, is midhall. The main difference is that the soundstage is much larger and more expansive. Both speakers image well but the HL5 presents the recording space and the musicians within in a more lifelike fashion. The space and images on the C7 are slightly compressed and diminished. Also, you mentioned a slight degree of "grunge" in the midrange. If you had said this BEFORE I had heard the HL5 I would have vehemently disagreed. However, the thing that most struck me in my 2 hour long direct comparison was that the C7's sounded signficantly "grainier" through the mids. I know, I know--the Harbeth midrange is supposed to be unsurpassed. It is. On all their products, including the C7. I haven't found ANYTHING better--except the HL5, which is extraordinary in this regard. So, to conclude, if you like the C7 but want better bass (deeper, tighter, more tuneful), a purer midrange presentation (less grain), a more extended treble (the supertweeter provides slightly more air and transparancy), yet a midhall persepective that draws you into the music rather than drops it on your lap, I would recommend that you listen to the HL 5 (if you haven't already) along side the Monitor 30. The price is roughly the same and, though I haven't heard the 30, based on what I have read the HL5 would certainly be my choice between the two. Perhaps Drubin will chime in as he owns them!