Comparison of Devore silverbacks vs harbeth 40.1

I wonder if there isn't something going on elsewhere in your signal chain or/and room interface. While I've never directly compared the M40.1 with the Silverbacks I did audition both when I was in the market for speakers. I heard the Silverbacks at In Living Stereo with Shindo electronics and did not perceive them as lacking fullness. Nor did I find them fatiguing or unforgiving. That being said, the Harbeth's are certainly full sounding and never grate. However, you may have trouble getting the most out of them given the size of your room and the placement limitations you describe. I certainly prefered the 40.1's to the Silverbacks during my search FWIW. One speaker you may want to consider is the Daedalus Athena. It is far more efficient than either of the above, will mate nicely with your electronics, is better proportioned for your room than either the DeVore's or the Harbeth's, will allow placement closer to the rear wall and need less room to breath in general and are less expensive then both. Yes, I'm a Daedalus fan but have no commercial affiliation--I just think the Athena's are something you may want to explore given your post, gear and space limitations.

While the 40.1 definitely fit the bill in regards to sounding full bodied and forgiving, I'm not sure they'd be optimal for you given your limited placement considerations. I'd be concerned the bass would be over-emphasized and they'd sound boomy. If you can be flexible with speaker placement, I think they'd be a good fit for what you are looking for. I love mine and drive them effectively with a VAC 30/30 in a 15' x 21' room.

I have no experience with the Daedalus, but they do sound intriguing and have a very loyal following... but you'd have to buy new, as it's very rare that they come avaialable on the used market.

I went and listened to the harbeth hl5 recently, my quest was to listen to the 40.1.That said I really enjoyed the harbeth sound,but the silverbacks are in a totally different league with regards to detail and imaging and getting into the soul of the recording.Thank you for your responses and starting to play around with positioning the speakers again to get a little more warmth/ bass. Devore is truly a great designer.

I did the same comparison and ended up with Harbeth's but that's what worked for my room and my ears. If I ever get to start a second system (or have room for it), I would build it around Devore's. No doubt some amazing speakers.