speaker endgame upgrade recommendations coming from Harbeth C7ES-3 XD2?
Hello All,
After a few years now of going through a number of speakers I took a chance on some Harbeth Compacts and they have resonated me to a significant degree above and beyond anything I have owned recently,
my recent speakers include B&W 805 D4, Kef LS50 Metas, Totem element Fire V2, Dynaudio Heritage Specials, Dynaudio Special 40s, Wharfedale Elysians
The Harbeths to me sound far more musical, extremely so, vocals are truly lifelike to me and they just sound better to my ears than the others by a big margin
With that said, and now having somewhat of a baseline I want to see if I can get into an endgame set of speakers 20K price range that provide a significant upgrade
I suspect that larger Harbeths may just give me more of the same?
I was thinking Tannoys, Fyne Classic Series, even maybe Klipsch Heritage, Devore O/96, a friend also recommended active ATC's and Dynaudio Confidence
Im no longer concerned with may of the attributes people chase in high end speakers, I just want something fun and musical to which the juice would be worth the squeeze dollarwise when upgrading
appreciate suggestions
thanks
The drivers on this cone-based speaker are unique and, in my opinion, better than Beryllium based drivers. Same detail but no harshness. It is my end game speaker so much so that I tossed the shipping boxes a few years ago. Yamaha NS-5000PNST 3-Way Bookshelf Speakers with Stands | Hi-Fi Heaven Yamaha NS-5000PNST 3-Way Bookshelf Speakers with Stands | Hi-Fi Heaven Spend the saved money on a top-class powerful amp for these speakers.
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I had a pair of Harbeth 30.2 XDs for a number of years, but ultimately upgraded to Joseph Audio Perspective Graphens. I am fairly sure the Joseph's are in your price range. While the Harberths produced the kind of accuracy and transparency I value, the Perspectives take both of those to the next level. They are considerably larger than the Harberths and the resulting bass performance is notable. But for me, it is the fluidity and detail that have made the difference. The good news is that in the $20k price range, you have an enormous range of options, probably too many if I am being honest. Hearing more about what you listen to and source would be helpful, but in the end you will want to spend some time listening in person. Good luck with your search! |
As you already discovered, the best option is to demo yourself as sonic preferences are personally subjective. 20k is a substantial amount to spend. Also, depending on the design, tube amplification is usually more musical than SS. Since you like Harbeth, climbing to the 40 would be a good bet. Since Fyne was started my ex-Tannoy engineers seeking to be unshackled, I consider their offerings to be superior to Tannoys. At AXPONA 2022, the Fyne Audio F703SP sounded great - I could live with their sound. Demoing several Tannoy models I didn’t care for the sound, sounded subpar to modern offerings at audio shows and stores. Volti Audio speakers are superior to Klipsch Heritage as Greg Robert’s designs his speaker to complete directly with Klipsch. Both brands are highly efficient, usually low watt tube amps are used with them. The Volti Razz sounded clear, clean, and effortless at many audio shows. I own the Volti Rival. I choose the 100db Rival to investigate tube sonic magic starting with flea watt SET Amps. While not sterile, both are more neutral than the more musical Harbeths. Amplifier low power requirements should be considered. The Devore O/96 and the Fleetwood DeVille are the most musical speakers I’ve ever demoed at many audio shows and audio stores. If maximum musicality is your goal, then I would go with the O/96 as maybe the safer bet as many more are sold. The O Bronze is a significant sonic step up, but at 30k out of your budget.They are efficient are are typically matched with tube amplifiers. I hoping to acquire the musical O/96 to compare to my more neutral Volti Rival during my low watt tube amp adventures - what fun! ATC sounded great at audio shows. I’m not familiar with Dynaudio Sonics, maybe I don’t recall as there are many great sounding speakers (do things well) at audio shows, but I’m searching for Sonics that subjectively resonates with me. Good luck. |
@audiocanada similar journey; rolled through many, many Dynaudio speakers then Harbeth; shl5xd, c7es3xd, m40.2,m40.3; love love love the strengths of Harbeth; agree with your summary. Discovered ATC- try SCM40 or SCM50; incredible midrange- I feel the ATC 3” midrange driver and over all crossover design yields a midrange that does Harbeth better than Harbeth. Insane, uncanny see thru transparency that lives and breathes. Then there is the dynamic performance and truthfulness to tonality and near faultless broad band performance that easily blows past what Harbeth can do; I love Harbeth, don’t get me wrong, but the ATCs build on what we like about Harbeth, and keep extending it across the range. They are the most natural wide band performing speaker I’ve heard / owned. |
