Harbeth 40.3's. Should I buy them?


I've owned a lot of speakers. I've just finished auditioning a pair of Alta Audio Alec's. Not good at all in my system. I own a pair of Spatial X3 open baffle speakers. I really like them and my wife doesn't. I recently bought a pair of Buchardt S400 MKII's for a second system. I say second system because I have a dedicated 2 channel room 15' x 19'. Upstairs in a much larger room, the Buchardt's were anemic, fine, 2 Adam subs solved the anemia. Then just for the heck of it (and because audio is a hobby) I moved the Buchardt monitors downstairs in the 'big guys' room. The Buchardt's loved that room and my wife loved the Buchardt's except they are to small for the listening room and our listening tastes.

I'm tired of buying and selling speakers. I've been to a hundred audio shows and have "favorites". Harbeth have always sounded great, not a show stopper, but, at shows, they've been totally inoffensive, warm and engaging in the same way I like Audio Notes AN-e.
We play all types of music. My wife especially likes classical, leaning towards female singers but too, she'll rock out on Led Zeppelin, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Keyes, Journey, you get the idea. Me, classic rock but anything that soothes my soul works. I like to play loud. My wife - louder, but not teenager loud.

We have an awesome front end to work with. Allnic T2000 30th integrated (60wpc in triode 150wpc in pentode), Allnic H5500 phono and Allnic D10000 DAC.

Why wouldn't we happy with this speaker?

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You mentioned Audio Note speakers, I just upgraded to the AN-E LX HE Signature and I couldn’t be happier. I found them to be more musically and emotionally engaging than Harbeth. Placement is very important with AN speakers which is something to be considered. Enjoy the hunt. 

Thanks for the great responses. 

Allow me to expand on where I'm at with this purchase. For starters, the 40.3 XD is $13.6 used. Now it doesn't matter the price if they won't work in my room, with my electronics and the music we enjoy.

Listening to speakers for going on 6 decades, ya think I would have this figured out by now? And while I'm writing this on my iMac, behind it sits a pair of Spatial X3's that are currently for sale. Great speakers, open baffle (not my first OB speaker) with built-in subs. There's been one problem with these speakers. My wife admitted to me after I - on a whim - dropped a pair of Buchardt S400 MK II's into the audio room. She loved it and I was very impressed. Of course, the Buchardt's were being fed some very expensive gear, heck, the DAC costs nearly 10 times the speakers! 

My room is 15' X 19' with 7.5 ft ceiling. The back wall is nothing but built-in shelves with vinyl sitting in them. Bass traps on the front wall as well as acoustical treatments. Rock wool in one wall, an epic failure of the contractor who turned out to know nothing about building homes nor did he care.

My wife doesn't care what the speakers look like, she cares about what they sound like. If she plays a track and there's distortion, she'll tell you. If she doesn't get goosebumps with certain types of music, she'll tell you. If she can't play it loud, she'll tell you. She's brutal at audio shows. I'm not trading her in.

Seems like most if not all refer to the Harbeths as near-field speakers. Although we have great affection, I'm not sure if I want our heads to be stapled together although, in truth, they often are. Such is the stereo experience.

I think gimmer has good insight as he'd know just how powerful the T2000 is but still feels that solid state if best used with the 40.3's? Not everyone I've talked to felt that way but the general consensus is solid state is preferable. 

And as deadhead said, I'd probably add a sub for foundation, but now I'm getting ahead of myself.

It's sounding like I need to move away from this purchase.

 

7.5' ceilings are somewhat low. I would be interested in the room's contribution or detrimental effects on your sound. I would certainly have something happening on the floor and/or ceiling and at first and distal reflection points on the side to make sure that any speaker sounds its best.

Have you heard Apertura speakers? I found them pretty magical.

 

I haven't found our audio room to pose any problems at all. That being said, I would like to REW to see if there are any serious nasties going on.

I've had 4 different pairs of speakers in that room.

Usher Tower XL

Spatial X3

Buchardt S400 MK II

Alta Audio Alec SE

The only speaker that did not work were the Alec's and I doubt it was the room.

Those are bad-ass looking speakers.

 

Since you are buying them used, why not give them a try? If they don’t work in your room you can resell them. If you were buying them new that would be a different story! BTW, I have owned many Harbeth models and always enjoyed them! The price of that speaker is over 24 grand and you can get them for 13 grand used . Go for it!