1. Home
  2. speakers
  3. 197398-93199

I haven't been this excited in a while!

I have been growing my system for 8 years going through 8 preamps, 6 amps, 5 phonostages, 8 DACs, 8 streamers, 6 turntables and 7 sets of speakers.  Lots of long drives pulling a U-Haul haha.  I live in Memphis and have been to Dallas, Bethesda, DC, Jersey, Charlotte and Asheville.  

My Wilson Sophia 1 have been the speaker that keeps making the most musical sound in my system through all the electronic upgrades.  Other Wilson(Yvette/Sasha DAW/Alexia 1) had an overly bright/harsh sound that I could not enjoy.  EgglestonWorks Viginti and Focal 1038Be did the same.  I often have an experience with gear that doesn't fit the mould of what is expected.  Wilson and dealers all were in disbelief that my inverted metal dome tweeters in the Sophias play smoother than the soft-dome, but it wasn't just me...had a couple local audiophile friends over and I will never forget, one used the expression that they make you want to run out of the room.

A few weeks ago a friend  let me listen to his Harbeth Compact 7ES-2s and I was blown away.  All the assessments and reviews were spot on.  They were so musical and natural sounding.  This medium sized speaker was also super impressive in how the bass filled my large space.  

I started looking for some older model 40s and am going in about a week to pick up my M40.1s.  I was never a huge fan of their aesthetics with the old school box design.  I do love wood however it may be used in a home and with that sound they are looking more and more beautiful to me.  

Sonus Faber have a similar reputation and with their sleeker and more modern design, I had thought they would be my next contender but at the price point and the reviews of these 40.1s, as I said...I am just giddy over getting them home and seeing how they can perform.

I listen to all genres of music and will report back in a couple weeks on how things work out.  I was curious of others that are new to the Harbeth sound.

Cheers,
Dana

dhite71
leorun
7 posts
 

Hi Dana, I'm new to Harbeth also. I installed SHL5+XD.2's one week ago. Like you, I found the Harbeth sound to be exactly as described in all of the write-ups. I retired my Thiel 2.3's. To my ear, the Thiel's lacked the natural tone and musical flow I find with the Harbeths. I listen to solo cello a lot, and can envisage the arm and finger movement of the cellist thru the Harbeths. 
My small room (11'x12') is heavily treated like yours. I drive the Harbeths with a Luxman 507Z integrated. I listen exclusively to classical. 
I've been experimenting with speaker placement, starting with recommendations from Harbeth's "User Guide", which is online. So far, the recommended distance from sidewalls and front wall is working well, as is the longer distance from the seating position relative to the distance between speakers. I initially tried Harbeth's recommendation to toe-in the speakers slightly. I switched from that to straight on which gave me a more open sound and better soundstage. That may be due to my small room size. 
I'm confident you'll enjoy your 40's. Thank you for your post. 
Leo

hjdca's avatar
hjdca
248 posts
 

@dhite71 

Congrats on your Harbeth purchase !   I am sure they will sound great.  They measure well and have big, solid bass.   I run a pair of Wilson Watt Puppy 8 and my brother runs a pair of Wilson Sophia 2.  Both of us power them with tube amps.  Mine with a pair of monoblocked McIntosh Mc275, and he uses a Music Reference RM-9 Mk.2.  We both are very much attached to the sound and dynamics of our Wilson speakers and much appreciate the sound of the titanium tweeter.  It would be great to hear from you how your new Harbeth compares to your Wilson Sophia.  I am not sure what amp you are using, but, we are very partial to powerful tube amps with our Wilsons.  

dhite71 OP
454 posts
 

@hjdca 

I have the Audio Research REF 160M MkII mono amps

How would you compare the W/P 8 to the Sophia 2?  

dhite71 OP
454 posts
 

@leorun 

Thanks for sharing, Leo, and glad they are working out so well in your system.  I had read about what you mention regarding the spacing and toe-in.  I have some flexibility for both of those but my rear and side walls are pretty much what they are so I have to hope for the best.  

I tried some Magnepan 3.7i last year and oh boy was that a mess!  They did not work at all!!  

yoyoyaya's avatar
yoyoyaya
1,064 posts
 

@OP The Sophia and the Maxx were voiced differently to the other contemporary Wilson speakers so your observations are absolutely correct.

I think it is very wise to hang on to them, even if you are making a change.

The 3 and 5 series Harbeths are very nice speakers. The 40s somewhat show up the limitations of using a large conventional box.

It will be interesting to see how they perform in your home environment.

More to discover