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Harbeth 40.2 OR Spendor Classic 100 OR ??

I'm midway through the quest for the next set of speakers, and the purpose of this thread is just to check if there are any makes/models out there that I should be taking into consideration, but are not currently on my radar.

My current two finalists are as above, Harbeth 40.2 and Spendor Classic 100.

Both of these have displaced my previous "fav", the Vienna Acoustics Liszt.

In various auditionings, I've also been impressed by Audio Note AN-E and Shahinian Oberlisk. I know both of these models are "divergent", but I mention them not because they're also real contenders, but because I was really impressed by the timbral presentation of the AN--as natural as I've heard, and the spatial presentation of the Shahinian--as, well, spacious as I've heard..  At the same time, they both have drawbacks that rule them out for me.

I hope this list gives some idea of where my acoustic tastes align.  Is there anything else out there I should listen to?  I have heard Spendor D7 and ProAc D30, and extrapolating from them, ruled out their corresponding larger models.  I've also heard Devore O/93, and again preferred Harbeth, Spendor, as well as AN (his inspiration).

I'm not really interested in suggestions from the "usual suspects" pool--you know, Vandersteen, Magico, Focal, Revel, B&W, PSB, Monitor Audio, Dynaudio, etc.

BTW, to be driven by Belles Aria monoblocks in what I would describe as a medium-sized room wherein placement would allow for a good 3' away from front and both side walls.

128x128twoleftears
salectric
747 posts
 
I owned SP-100 speakers for nearly 20 years and found them very satisfying on a wide range of music.  They are truly a "music lover's speaker."  I seriously considered some of the speakers on your list as possible replacements for the Spendors including the Devore O/96, Audio Note E, and Harbeth 40.2, as well as the Daedalus speakers mentioned by another poster.  Of those the Harbeth 40.2 was the most satisfying to my ears and would probably have been a worthwhile improvement over the SP-100 but not by a substantial margin.  

I ended up going with a custom open-baffle speaker using vintage drivers, but I suspect I would have been very happy with the Harbeth as well.
mindlessminion
99 posts
 
@salectric for the sp-100 how many feet do you recommend between them and the rear wall?  
salectric
747 posts
 
I am sure the room placement will vary depending on the particular room.  My room is 14.5' x 20 x 8, and I had the Spendors along the shorter wall roughly 5' from the rear wall and 2.5' from the side walls.
salectric
747 posts
 
It's important to use the Spendors on the Sound Anchor stands designed for them.  I also tried Skylan stands and several homemade stands, but none of them sounded as good to my ears as the Sound Anchors.
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears OP
5,313 posts
 

Thanks to all.  With the Daedalus, I guess we're talking the Argos or the Ulysses, right?  I've read about them but never been able to listen.  They have quite a following on Audio Circle.  I think I saw they were coming to the Capital AudioFest in November.  Hmmm.

@larryi Good question.  As far as I can tell, this: not only do I not like speakers that are generally acknowledged to hew to the brighter side of the spectrum, but I have recently found that I'm not too keen on brands that have traditionally been middle of the road or even more forgiving, but which in recent models have, to my ears, tended to try to "modernize" their sound.  The D7 and D30 would be good examples of that tendency.

I gather the 40.2 tames some of the potential bass boominess of the 40.1, and honestly, in my room, I've never been able to produce an excess of bass--quite the reverse.

I'm far from dissatisfied with my current PMC Twenty.24's, but there's always that itch to be scratched: more holographic, more natural, a bit more bass...

This has been very helpful so far; keep the suggestions coming...

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