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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?

128x128desalvo55
desalvo55's avatar
desalvo55 OP
252 posts
 

I would have 14 days to return them. I would lose on shipping costs, that's it.

Yes, I'm often losing my ass on audio purchases, even used, but I'm gaining experience and knowledge (like I know anything after 57 years in this hobby).

My room was built for audio. Size does not matter. 

The reason this speaker had piqued my interest was that it's a Harbeth, and seemingly a good deal if of course it worked and sounded amazing. It has to sound... amazing.

yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,464 posts
 

@grislybutter

Are you sayin’ that you take that much loss on something that you bought new or used? I can see that on a new product but not used!

grislybutter
2,234 posts
 

"size does not matter"

OK, I am confused :)

while I know even less than you do (waaaay less) it seems that unless you can pull the speakers "far" out from the wall and still have 9+ feet in between from them, they will be too big 

Also, matching them with a sub would be very shaky. 

The only solution, to keep both your wife and the speakers happy is to destroy the room and rebuild it around the speakers :)

grislybutter
2,234 posts
 

@yogiboy 

yes. E.g. I bought new LSA speakers for $1400, and sold them for $700 in 3 months. I guess I need to buy what people want. I am trying to learn it. I am probably spending 30-60 minutes a day looking at ads and prices and supply - looking for what I need and what are items in demand.

yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,464 posts
 

@grislybutter

Like I said, you take a big hit if you buy new and then sell it. That’s why I only buy used. The last speaker I bought new I was lucky to get 50% of what I paid!

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