Spendor SP 100/R2 and Harbeth 40.1 - impressions?

I heard the Harbeth 40.1 with a Luxman 505u and was disappointed. The 505u was not up to the task of driving the 40.1. I've heard several OTHER Spendor speakers and the midrange tonality/texture(Quad like)impressed me. IMO Harbeth(in general) are warmer and less accurate, being more forgiving with source/amp which makes synergy nearly foolproof. Another issue is resale value which is probably better on the Harbeth, but IMO the Spendor 100R2 has a higher risk/reward factor.

Thanks Dayglow, you have voiced exactly what I was thinking!

The conventional wisdom is that Harbeth is less fussy/more forgiving and has better resale value, but every Spendor I've listened to seems to me to have better soul and musicality.

Your MBL amps should give excellent bass control adding speed and tightnesss while still retaining the sonic signature of the 100R2.

Thanks Dayglow. I've decided to go with the Spendors.

Good idea.

A quick update - am thoroughly enjoying the Spendors. Incredibly musical speakers that allow for hours of non-fatiguing listening.

Thanks to Dayglow and Dave_72. All the best guys...

I personally like the big Spendor speaker, although I have not heard it in direct comparison with the Harbeth. The primary concern with the SP100 is whether the bass response will overwhelm a room. I've heard it sound a bit upper-bass heavy in several rooms that were not small rooms at all.

I tend to prefer the classic Spendor line over the Harbeth line because I don't like the upper midrange emphasis of most Harbeth speakers. I don't mind the forward projection of the image that this creates; but, the slight burr or artificial edge this gives to the initial attack of instruments and voices is something that bothers me a little. Still, this is an issue of slight preference, the Harbeth's, particularly the 40.1, are very nice sounding speakers.

I have had Spendor SP100 speakers (not the R2) going on 13 years now, and I like them very much. I have only heard Harbeths at audio shows and even then never the 40.1, so I can't offer any comparative reactions, but I can say that Harbeths have always impressed me as being very natural and musical. They push the same buttons for me as my Spendors, and both stand out from nearly all other contemporary speakers as being much closer to live music, at least to my ears. The Spendor models have a reputation for being an easier load for tube amps, which is a big advantage in my book.

Having said all that, I must confess that nearly all my listening during the past year has been with my vintage speakers, not the Spendors. These use vintage drivers (15" Jensen and Altec compression driver in an Altec 32A horn) and a thoroughly modern crossover. This setup sounds quite different from the Spendors but both are very satisfying.

Thanks Larryi and Salectric.

Larryi - I too prefer the classic Spendor sound over Harbeth. I previously owned two Harbeths - the P3ESR and 30.1 but ended up selling both after about a year each. In both cases, their replacements were Spendors which I found more to my taste.

Salectric - yes Harbeths have a natural sound which is easy to like. It's a close call though, and for me, the choice is only obvious after very extended listening.

Good to hear that you like the big Spendors so much Classact. Two questions for you---What type of stand are you using? and what type of jumper wire are you using (assuming you aren't biwiring)?

I have both Sound Anchors and Skylan stands and they each have their advantages. With my SP100s, I have tri-wiring posts which means I need two pairs of jumper cables. I connect the speaker cable to the midrange posts and run jumpers from them to the woofer and tweeter posts.

Hi Salectric - I'm using fairly heavy, 2-pillar stands custom made by my Spendor dealer which are about 18 inches high and whose pillars are filled with Atacama's Atabites. I think these stands are modelled after Skylans.

I believe some people recommend using open frame stands but I don't know where to buy these; I'm quite happy with the ones I'm using though.

Yes you're right in assuming I'm not biwiring. I've removed the stock jumpers and am using Kimber jumpers, made out of 8TC cable with banana plug terminations.

Sorry correction to my most recent post - my stands have 4 pillars each, not 2.