2. speakers
  3. 148162-2581

Organic, musical and natural sounding speakers up to $12K

Getting a new place next year. Living room will be approx 12-14ft x 16-18ft x 10ft.

Getting a new system and am starting with speakers. Brands I have shortlisted (recommended from magazines and forums) are:

1) Audionote J or E
2) Spendor (model ?)
3) Harbeth (model ? - perhaps 30.2/40.1 or ?)
4) Devore (0/93 or 0/96?)

I auditioned Audionote and Harbeth briefly a few years ago. If I recall, Audionote was organic, musical and natural. Harbeth SHL5 plus was natural and musical...but don’t remember if they were more organic than the Audionotes.

HF extension/air is definitely not a priority for I find it often translates to tizz to my ears. I love a large soundstage - big full sound!

With the 4 brands, am I heading in the right direction? Any feedback from users would be greatly appreciated. I am open to other brands too.

Thanks.




pc123v
timo62
278 posts
 
You should really give a listen to the speakers you are mentioning. Start to narrow down your candidates for speakers. You never really will not know until you try listening to them. Everyone has different ears.

Try the Audio Note AN-E LX if you can with he copper wiring , will more than likely give you a warmer presentation. Audio Note speakers do not necessarily have to be corner loaded , but they do need to be close to the wall. That can be a nice feature depending on your room , so you do not have to have your speakers in the middle of the room. When set up right , can be very musical and organic , with really nice detailed bass

The Harbeth 40.2 speaker diffently fall into the category you are looking for also. The 40.2 version are more room friendlier than the 40.1 version. The 40.1 will require a little more room space to dial in the bass.

I prefer a warmer sound also and have tinnitus and I own the Harbeth 40.2 speaker. Prior to the 40.2 I owned the Harbeth 30.1 and The Audio Note AN-E LX before that.







pc123v OP
85 posts
 
Thanks yeti42 and timo62.

@yeti42 ... may I know which models of the E you have listened to and what you think of them? I wouldn’t mind an "euphonic and colored" presentation if it doesn’t fatigue. Tizz and fatigue will make my tinnitus worse.

@timo62 ... I was thinking of the AN E/LX too. I may have demoed it before. Not sure though as it was a few years ago. I am after a warm sound too, however, the top end has to be smooth and edge free. Hope I can assemble a system with those attributes. Can't afford to make mistakes, again :).  Just started my search last week.

Thanks again everyone.



keithr
1,304 posts
 
I prefer Spendor and Devore to Audio Note/Harbeth. More alive and dynamic sounding. 
timo62
278 posts
 
PC123v , 

Just take your time and listen to what feels right to you. 

Everything in your system will contribute to the final sound including your listening room.

pdreher's avatar
pdreher
1,184 posts
 
I've owned Harbeth SHL5's and currently own my 2nd pair of 40.1's.   In my experience, the two speakers don't have much in common.  The SHL5's lack the warmth and organic, full bodied musicality that the 40.1's excel in.   The original poster should not let their experience with SHL5's taint their perception of how 40.1's would sound.   

Both the 40.1 and 40.2 are relatively easy loads, so unless you have a huge room and listen at high volume, you'll be fine with any high quality amplifier in the 70 to 150 WPC range.  I strongly prefer tube amps, but have had success driving 40.1's with all of the following amps:
  • Music Reference RM9 MK2 (current amp)
  • VAC 70/70 Signature
  • McIntosh MC275 MKV
  • VAC Phi 200
  • Plinius SA-102
  • Bryston 4BSt


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