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Zu or Harbeth

Hello Gentlemen,

I soon may be in the market for some new speakers. I currently have a pair of Vandersteen 3a's ( my "waterproof" digital camera got soaked, so I haven't updated my system photos for a while) and I really enjoy the sound. That said, I am sure there are better speakers out there.

The Harbeth 40.1 has been on the top of my list since the beginning, but lately I have been looking at the Zu Definitions and/or Presence. At this point in time I am only interested in speakers from these 2 companies for various reasons, esthetics being one of them.

I have read all the reviews for each of the speakers and would love to hear from anyone who owns/has owned these speakers.

My room is about 16'x25' with an a-frame ceiling with a 20'peak.
Also I have a Mcintosh MC 2500 beast of an amplifier, which I love, and have no plans on upgrading, not sure how this would mate with the Zu's.

I also plan on buying used.

Thank you in advance.
hanaleimike
pdreher's avatar
pdreher
1,213 posts
 
Samhar - I'd say the 40.1's excel in being very well balanced speakers, in that they are good at everything... and I would describe their sound as palpable, organic, rich (without sounding syrupy) and full bodied. Micro dynamics and decay are excellent. I find them to be very musical and they just "sound right" to my ears. Definitely a different sound that the Dynaudio Confidence series, of which I owned both the C2's & C4's. Think of the Dyn Confidence series as a high performance Porsche, whereas the Harbeth 40.1's are comparable to a Mercedes luxury touring sedan.

Oh... the inner detail is just right for me, without any listener fatigue.
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
Hanaleimike/Tvad- That's what I got from the context but wanted to make sure I had missed anything and make sure Mike has the 3As. The 3A sigs are a much better speaker, but I would still expect them to sound much more like the Harbeths and #as, while the Zus would be quite a bit different. FWIW, for a total investment of just over $2K, you could have the speakers upgraded to 3A sigs AND get a pair of used 2WQ subs, if you want more bass. The 2WQ is a GREAT sub and mates seamlessly w the Vandy speakers. I had to turn mine off to make sure they were on.
samhar
1,048 posts
 
Pdreher thank you for the response.
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