I’ve audioned both HARBETH and SPENDOR as both fine contenders. I can supply personal experiences with HARBETH that I selected as the best-of-breed in MY SYSTEM ( emphasis added)
May I suggest that you incorporate the following bits in your own bespoke decision tree,
- This binary bake-off choice has been initially highlighted before in the AGON link at the very bottom below. Check it out first.
- I will defer many detailed personal opinions until later if necessary, other than the major checkpoints met in my decision-tree experience.
- Your choice of amp and cables may dictate which one you favour. As a current owner, I don’t drink even any of Alan Shaw’s KoolAid and mantra, that HARBETHs are agnostic toward amps and cables. The better their build and performance they exhibit , the better the audio presentation,(Hint: I run them through a premium hi-end amp (REGA OSIRIS) and upgraded the cables array after numerous bake-offs to CARDAS CLEAR.)
HINT: If you looking for the HARBETHs to somehow deliver an “A-HA moment” in isolation to the influences of your entire system, then look elsewhere. They will expose all the warts in your system, The philosophy is clear. A good and still affordable speaker with decent amplification makes more sense than an expensive speaker with a cheap amp and source.Is that in your budget?
- They are very different designs and builds, HARBETHs have a purposeful unique thin-walled cabinet design that permits the speaker to “”resonate” like a fine music instrument. The SPENDOR design is in the common thicker braced cabinet wall manner,
With that, (I) HARBETH recommends, AND (II) both dealer/owner experiences strongly support the exceptional TonTräger speaker stands with their bespoke “airy” design and build. The TT’s assist in the HARBETH sonic signature delivery without “dumbing them down” thst most other heavy mass speaker stands can do. The TonTragers indeed will cost you a pretty supplemental penny , but they do maximize the HARBETH performance. Is that in your budget?
- HARBETHs have one of the very best and clearly superior FLAT frequency performance across the WHOLE frequency range. This is RARE. Their silky midrange is legendary as an industry leader. Given that 90% of your music is delivered in the midrange (and some in the very upper bass), then if you get the midrange “right”, then everything falls into place. BUT if you get it “wrong”, then “…All the King’s horses, and all the King’s men ….”
(2) IMO a much better and graphic A-B comparison in your HARBETH-SPENDOR direct bake-off comparison would involve a step-up to the current model HARBETH 40.3XD with its very latest upgraded components .
https://www.tonepublications.com/review/the-harbeth-40-3-xd-speakers/
Harbeth 40.2 OR Spendor Classic 100 OR ??