Harbeth M30 vs. Super HL5

LOL!!!!

I recently bought a pair of M30's ( 30th anniversary edition) from my local Harbeth dealer. Was able to compare with the 7ES-3s but not unfortunately the HL5s which the dealer told me they no longer held as they much preferred and the 30s in comparison. Certainly for myself there was a certain magically quality I heard in the 30s which was missing from the otherwise excellent 7ES-3S . I can only guess this may be due to the different tweeter and cabinet design that the 30s have in contrast to the 7ESs and HL5s .

Kensetsu - Have you compared both speakers? I'd be curious about your thoughts, if you were able to do that. (Not many folks have, as far as I can tell.)

As far as WAF goes, I'm allowing myself to get pulled into a partial kitchen remodel. Started as a floor replacement. Now it's turning into repainting the entire thing, cabinets an all. She knows what she's doing...

It's a 12 X 20 ish size with a large opening to an ajacent room front right and an entry and hall in back. I've never known how to define this situation, small room with room to breathe?

I found them too light in the bass but I'm used to a sub. I have a Velodyne DD12. I simply used the crossover in the pre amp at 40 Hz and brought the sub up gently until it blended. Sounds wonderful. I've had various smaller more detailed speakers Merlin, Joseph, Sonus, Coincident, Sivlerline and so on over the years. My first impression of the Harbeth is that it's a keeper at last. Comments above about warmth and coherence are consistent with my experience.

I'm thinking it may be a natural to work with a Rel sub bass system. My understanding is that initially Rel's focus was on just supplying the lowest octave or two for larger speakers. I will be doing some measuring tomorrow with the Velodyne system.

Hope any of this helps, I'm a little blurry after a long day.

Larry,
Seattle

Anybody ever consider using the Vandersteen 2Wq subwoofer. The propaganda that I've read suggests that they'll integrate seemlessly with just about anything.... including my ex mother-in-law. Anyone have any experiences that they'd like to share. By the way, I'm referring to experiences with the subwoofer.