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Devore or Harbeths to replace my ESL63s?

I'm on the last stages of a speaker quest that has been quite difficult. For the last year I've had ESL 63s in a smallish room (14'8 x 11'10). I've got them to work extremely well for small scale ensembles, particularly jazz, and they also sound great with electronic music. But I can't give them enough space to image an orchestra, and they don't really rock (at least without Gradient sub-woofers, but that's another story...)

So after a long search, it's come down to either Harbeth or Devore for replacements. These have been my favourite contemporary speakers for years, so basically I've just spent a long time finding out what I already knew.

I previously owned Compact 7ES3 and enjoyed them, but found them unrefined in the soprano regio, and slightly muddy around the port output. The Monitor 30.1 is considerably smoother in the high frequencies and I find it a beautifully balanced speaker. It is the perfect size for my room, with one failing. It lacks the half octave of bass needed to give kick drums any force. I tried the new SHL5+ in my room but they are just too big for my room, sadly.

A friend of mine owns some Devore Nines. Very few people have Devores in the UK, but he has a fantastic system with VTL 2.5/150. It used to be that when I heard his system I would find the Compact 7s unlistenable for a couple of days. That changed with the ESL63s, but the Quads have an uneven combination of great strengths and severe limits in a small room.

So it's come down to either Harbeth M30.1, Devore Super 8, or Devore 88.

I have a second hand pair of the Super 8s at home at the moment. They are beautifully organic and draw you in to their world gradually. Other speakers I have at home have more immediate and crisp micro-detail (Harbeth P3ESR for example), but the Super 8s seem to put a root into the ground and claim the room as the proper place for their music making. Relax, they say, don't worry about the details, we will sort out your musical life.

I have only two reservations; first, they are quite lean in the mid-bass, especially in comparison to my friend's Nines, and this presents some limits with rock and electronic. Second, my system is optimised for Harbeths (and then for ESLs), and Devores would probably work better with lower powered, very refined valve amps. I don't get the same clarity that I get with Harbeths in my system.

I also have an option on some second hand 88s, but I have never heard them and I would have to buy blind. That is generally against my religion.

I guess the key question is; do I go with what I know (Monitor 30.1) or look to optimise my system gradually for the newcomers (Devore Super 8 or 88).

I'd be grateful for any thoughts from anyone who has compared the M30.1 with Devores in the same room, since that is what I can't do at the moment.

(My system details: the amps are Unison Research Unico Pre/DM. The sources are a Fletcher Omega Point 5/Audio Note Arm/Nagaoka MP500, Trichord Diablo/NCPSU). Audio Synthesis DAX Discrete with AS modded CD Transport.)
andreweast
jmlm
41 posts
 
I have heard the Devore Super 8s sound lovely with warm sounding Leben electronics, but the 88 is also a little lean IMHO. Dynaudio Focus 260 by comparison had a more even tonal balance but lacked the quickness of the Devores. Harbeths with the Leben had a lush, romantic presentation when auditioned at a local retailer a
few years ago.
fjn04
1,561 posts
 
"I was between Devore O'96's and the Harbeth 30.1. As I run an all Shindo front end I went with the O/96's as they are more efficient and John Devore uses Shindo (and others) to voice his speakers. It's an amazing combo for me. If i had a solid state rig I'd probably lean towards the Harbeths."
+1- Both nice speakers, but should be thought out as a system.
Mcslipp- off subject, but which Shindo are ya running there?
mbovaird
140 posts
 
Having heard all three of your finalists, I would definitely go with the Harbeth 30.1's. They sound terrific with either tubes or solid state. They are extremely musical with an overall wonderful warm tone. And, I find that whenever I'm listening to the Harbeth's, the time just passes. You will spend hours of fatigue free listening.
andreweast OP
30 posts
 
I am pretty close to deciding on the M30.1 now after some experiments today. I'm currently listening to my P3ESR and they sound great, so I'm looking forward to going back to a mid sized Harbeth. I've got some old HL5 upstairs in a larger room so it will be a nice little family if I have the M30.1 too.

I finally decided against the Devore Super 8, since although I do love Devores I realise I would have to retune my system quite seriously, and anyway I find the mid bass too lean.

A friend brought around a VTL IT85 today - a cute little integrated with good tonal qualities. I switched from my Unico Pre/DM to the VTL with the Devores and it was immediately clear that the Devores like a pure valve amp. They were ok with the Unicos, but I have a feeling they don't have the greatest synergy with mosfets, for some reason.

However even with the IT85 I was not getting anything like the clarity and scale my friend has with his Nines and VTL 2.5/150. And I was not getting anything like the bass of the Nines. So I realised that there was no point trying to go half way towards my friend's excellent system. That is an organic whole that he has worked towards for years. Every part is essential. The Super 8s are not the Nines - those side firing bas drivers really do bring another dimension.

My system is tuned towards Harbeths, and I know my amps have a great synergy with them. I've tried a lot, and Crofts are another favouritet; Harbeths love mosfet/valve hybrids). I put the VTL integrated on the P3ESR this afternoon and it was fine, but I was missing something - both presence and scale. With the Unico amps back it was all there. So the Devores got greater warmth and presence from the VTL and the Harbeths got greater warmth and presence from the Unison Research.

As always, synergy is the law.

I feel like I've come to the end of a long and very complicated but circular journey, with a hell of a lot of time wasted. But that's ok, it will be good to get back home.
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,486 posts
 
Sounds like you have made the right choice. I have owned both the P3ESR and the Compact 7. In my room the P3's where so much better . The M30 should be outstanding.
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