Interesting discussion. I have a couple of comments:
1) I don’t think Harbeth speakers are popular due to effective marketing or just because Stereophile highly rated them. Anyone who has ever relied on someone else’s ear to guide them most likely had been disappointed.
2) they can’t rock. That is false. I listen to a lot of good rock, Yes, Steely Dan, Gregg Allman, Mott the Hoople and many others. They sound realistic and great. They may not add artifacts like ear bleeding treble or artificial bass, but they are extremely realistic and faithful to the recording.
3) There is no “best” speaker in and of itself. You have to take so many their things (room, personal tastes, equipment, budget..) into account
so I think we are trying to answer an unanswerable question...like how many feet is yellow.
i can say that in my room, with my tastes, a Rega vinyl front end, with Exposure electronics make my Harbeth 30.1s sing
two last things. I have heard it said that Harbeth speakers are what people choose when they are tied to listening to speakers. That is me. And secondly, with the Rega/Exposure/Harbeth set up. I spend a whole lot more time listening to music, and not my system
Good luck on the search. That is half if the fun.
1) I don’t think Harbeth speakers are popular due to effective marketing or just because Stereophile highly rated them. Anyone who has ever relied on someone else’s ear to guide them most likely had been disappointed.
2) they can’t rock. That is false. I listen to a lot of good rock, Yes, Steely Dan, Gregg Allman, Mott the Hoople and many others. They sound realistic and great. They may not add artifacts like ear bleeding treble or artificial bass, but they are extremely realistic and faithful to the recording.
3) There is no “best” speaker in and of itself. You have to take so many their things (room, personal tastes, equipment, budget..) into account
so I think we are trying to answer an unanswerable question...like how many feet is yellow.
i can say that in my room, with my tastes, a Rega vinyl front end, with Exposure electronics make my Harbeth 30.1s sing
two last things. I have heard it said that Harbeth speakers are what people choose when they are tied to listening to speakers. That is me. And secondly, with the Rega/Exposure/Harbeth set up. I spend a whole lot more time listening to music, and not my system
Good luck on the search. That is half if the fun.