I bought some Harbeth 30.1 for $1800 used a few months ago. For the type of music you listen to I feel they are pretty close to top of the heap. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard Totems. If all I listened to was acoustic music I would have never sold them. They did ok on rock but definitely not made for that kind of thing.
New speakers for $5000
I’m looking for new speakers for about $5,000. My integrated amp is a Luxman 505z and I have a Rel s/812. The source is an Innuous Pulse with the LPSU and a Chord dac. The room is about 12 by 16. I like acoustic, blues and jazz. I was thinking about the Harbeth Compact 7Es 3 xd 2 or the Totem Forest. I’d grateful for any input. Thanks.
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Your budget will easily get you a pair of gently used Harbeth M30.2Xd’s,which are superior to the C7 Es3Xd in every manner..The C7 is too warm,almost veiled compared to the M30.2,which has better clarity,tighter,more textured bass(although not quite as deep) & more nuanced highs,which I found to be slightly etched on the C7 due to that aluminum tweeter.. |
Crutchfield has revel 226Bes on sale and these Triangle Duetto Magellan 40th Anniversary Are under 5k, without stands. Might be great with the Luxman. |
Fully agree with @freediver. The M30.2 or .3 are perfect for jazz, blues and vocals. Had a pair for 5 years and compared them to the C7 and the SHL5. They are one of the best stand mount speakers under 10k$. The Totem are also a good choice but with a different sound signature. If you go the Harbeth route, I suggest the Ton Trager stands. Tried different stands and this is the only one that maximizes full cabinet resonance of the Harbeth design. A match made in heaven IMHO. Good luck and keep us posted. |
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