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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
jafant's avatar
jafant
21,599 posts
 

dhite71

An Audiophile after my own heart. Next time I visit Memphis, we will have a meet-and-greet. You certainly had the best supporting cast (ARC and Transparent) around Wilson Audio loudspeakers. 

 

Happy Listening!

ghdprentice's avatar
ghdprentice
9,425 posts
 

Congrats on making your trip and getting your speakers. Your reaction sounds about right... grossly comparing before careful placement. It'll be interesting to hear your comments after you get your sliders. 

On the subject of PMs. I think Audiogon instituted a requirement of having a credit card on file to reply to PMs about a year ago. While I am not sure... I'm guessing that this requirement helps prevent folks or even AI from setting up multiple accounts. I would think it is security related. The on line environment is changing rapidly, especially with AI. 

dhite71 OP
454 posts
 

Happy Friday

I have had the Harbeth about 2 weeks now.  They are still very engaging and really impress me.  One really interesting factor that I have discovered is how they present my vinyl compared to streaming.  I have not invested as much in my streaming gear as my vinyl.  This is because I have not been able to appreciate the SQ difference going from a modest streamer to a high end model.  I have another thread on this so won’t go into detail on that, just that while I don’t have as much money invested across my digital front end compared to my analog, it sounds great.  In my experience, buying newly produced music on vinyl offers no SQ advantage over digital.  For example, Van Morrison’s latest album sounds exactly the same on both sources.  Where my vinyl does shine is on older music and some audiophile releases.  Back to the Harbeth, now digital sounds better than vinyl whether it is old or new vinyl.  The warmth that vinyl offers combined with the Harbeth sound(in my room)is too much and the midbass is bloated.  I did try moving everything out from the front wall about 2.5 feet(speakers and my seat).  This improved the sound and helped with the midbass bloat, but unfortunately is not realistic for my space.  I am not ready to abandon vinyl, but IF I was, these Harbeth would make that a much easier transition.  I have not moved my Wilsons back to see how I react to their sound and will likely do that this weekend.  

ghdprentice's avatar
ghdprentice
9,425 posts
 

Thanks for sharing. 

I look forward to hearing more when you swap back. I always find more obvious conformation when swapping back. 

dhite71 OP
454 posts
 

I still haven't swapped back to the Wilsons.  These Harbeth have been more enjoyable by far than any of the newer/bigger Wilsons I had.  Tonight I tried something for the excessive bass....rolled up some dish towels and plugged the ports.  Initial assessment is this was a success.  It clearly reduced the bass energy and cleaned up the sound.  I ordered some actual foam plugs off Amazon and also emailed Harbeth to get their blessing.  I don't believe there is any risk to do this, simply not likely recommended by Harbeth.  Assuming that there is no risk, I suspect that this is not recommended because you are expected to place them properly in an ideal space, but if your space is not ideal then it is a reasonable adjustment to tailor the sound.  My Hsu Research home theater sub has two ports and Dr. Hsu provided two plugs to make those adjustments.  At some point, I will move the Wilsons back but have just been enjoying these Harbeth.  

Also, I need to strike my comment above as upon further vinyl listening, I was incorrect, sometimes the Harbeth also sound better on vinyl.  

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