Spendor, Harbeth...why so hot ?


I never had chance to listen them and compaire. But it appear that these speakers have very vocal crowd praising them. What are the advantages of these speakers versus equvalent B&W or Dynaudio? How they sound?
tinfoil26929
I recently heard the latest Harbeth standmount. For neutral accuracy, mid-range beauty and perfection of the human voice (the real speaker test) I have not heard anything to compare under $10,000.
I am hoping that Harbeth Monitor 40 will be on display at the Hi-Fi show next month. I have wanted to hear them ever since Robert Greene's review in TAS. I should add, however, that I bought a pair or Spendor SP-1/2's after reading his review and have recently sold them. In my room and system, I felt they were highly overrated. -Dan
I've listened to the Spendor(small ones-retail about $800) I was impressed. They were hooked to a passion tube amp and the music was very pleasing. Would not go loud but sure sounded nice. Best mini monitor I ever heard.
I had a the Spendor 1/2's hooked to my system for a short time also, very short, like an hour maybe. I admit they were not set in any optimum position or on any great stands, but just as Dan stated, I thought they were overrated, they did nothing for me.
I am not surprised at some of your negative experiences. The "natural" voicing I commented on is not for everyone. With so many speakers that have a "forward" flavoring in use today, the initial impression can be that this sound is a bit dead, flat, or leaving detail behind. (I never found my C7ES that way, even right out of the box.) It may take several days of listening to really appreciate what is happening with the BBC monitors. This sound is not for everyone...say if, during a concerto, it is really fun for you to hear someone in the third row break wind, there are better choices. With the Harbeth C7ES, I giggle because I can smell it, it becomes that real. [:)]

I'm sure plenty of people who don't like this style speaker have built some wonderful sytems that I would enjoy. To each his own.

Take care,

Charlie