Vandersteen 3a signature vs Harbeth 30.2 anniversary

I think the Harbeth's you heard were my SHL5+'s in eucalyptus that JohnnyR sold for me so I could buy the Treo CT's. As far as I know they are the only Harbeth's John has had on display in quite a while.

When you heard the Treo's did he have the Aesthetix Mimas or the Belles integrated amp powering them? I can tell you that the Mimas sounds dramatically better than the Belles though, at their price points, the Belles amps are hard to beat.

From what I can find the pricing on the Harbeth M40's is somewhere around $10K used though you might find some a bit cheaper. I might suggest that you look into the Vandersteen Quatro CT's as well. They can be found occasionally in the $10-$12K range like the M40's. IMHO they are the sweet spot in the Vandersteen line.

I have owned a few Harbeth's, 40's, SHL5 and SHL5+ and a few Vandersteen's, 3A's, 5's, Quatro's (cloth) and currently Treo CT's. Like jjss49 I never warmed up to the M30's. I have moved back and forth between these two brands for the last 30 years as I have moved back and forth to Italy and had to sell my system each time. I ran my 3A's and 5's with Quicksilver V4's and a PSE HL-1 preamp and found the midrange to be a particular strength. I always liked the 3's with tubes better than SS. YMMV and only you will know what you prefer. 

My decision to move back to Vandersteen was due to the fact that all of the updates to the Harbeth's  created more accurate speakers that became less enjoyable to listen to. With each update of the Harbeth's I found I was not as engaged with the music and listened to my system less often. Just my opinion. The Harbeth's still are the best speakers I have heard for low volume listening. I haven't heard the latest Monitor 40.3 XD but I will admit that I miss the original 40's as they were extremely musical and involving. Also, I know that many Harbeth owners use tubes to power them. I tried multiple tube amplifiers with the various Harbeth's I have owned and they never sounded right to me. IMHO you need a SS amp to hear what the Harbeth's are capable of. I always used a tube preamp though. Now I have moved on to a hybrid integrated, the Aesthetix Mimas which sounded great with my SHL5+'s. 

Moving on from the 3A's I think the Treo CT's would be a better choice than going to the M30's. Depending on your room size either the C7's, the SHL5 or Monitor 40 if you go with Harbeth's. One other thing to consider is to add a pair of subs to the 3A's if you have the room. Somehow the subs will improve the overall performance of the 3A's.

I might suggest reaching out to JohnnyR at the Audio Connection in Verona, NJ who is a dealer for both and who sold me all of the above mentioned speakers. He can offer some insight on both speakers. Good Luck!

John has a Sub3 hooked up to the Treo's now.