Zu or Harbeth

Both the Harbeths and either Zu model are excellent speakers. You have more than enough power to drive any of the three speakers well, so you're not practically limited. I've heard the Harbeths, know the importer and own Zu, as a matter of background.

Harbeths are the kind of speaker I spent decades owning; tonally neutral, smooth, conservative in their presentation. All of this is to the good and by any measure the Harbeth 40.1 is a musically sincere speaker. Zu Definitions (or Presence, in lesser doses) deliver the tonal neutrality needed for credibility to a "neutral junkie" but deliver speed and tone density the Harbeth can't match. Similarly, the Zu speakers will be dynamically effervescent compared to the Harbeth's more reserved nature, and Definitions in particular will scale up to the sonic space of your large room.

Some people might hear the Harbeth as the slightly more frequency-accurate speaker, but this comes at penalty of crossover characteristics. Where Zu leaps ahead is in dynamic fidelity and the ability to recreate a better representation of the transient aliveness of real instruments. The powered sub-bass arrays in Def 2 and Presence are a bonus underpinning the music with a convincing foundation.

While Zu Defs and Presence have 101db/w/m efficiency ratings, unlike most full range driver speakers in that efficiency league, power handling is robust. You can use Definition with dreadnought amps without fear.

Phil

Phil, does your Zu assessment pertain to the Essences as well? Maybe when the Zu boys make their new statement speaker then it'll really be something.

I think this a really hard recommendation to make beucase they sound so completely different that it should be easy for you to detemrine which approach you like. The differences are not hair splitting, and it really is a personal preference. I would undoubtedly choose the Harbeth over the Zu, which doesn't mean it is better. I suspect Mac and Harbeth would make a very good combination.

Based on what I heard at RMAF this year, I would say that the comments above are pretty much on-mark. Their presentation (good term) IS quite different. The Harbeths would most likely be more forgiving of upstream problems; the Zus definitely have more jump and as Ryder said, the PMCs that I heard at RMAF fall somewhere in the middle.

Thanks for all the replies. I will try to address all the posts. In regards to the forward/recessed presentation, I like the images to be in realistic positions as they were recorded, not hovering ghosts 4ft infront of my face, but not so far back that I want to move closer to the stage. It has been my experience that this can be somewhat addressed by placement.
Much of the music I listen to is intimately recorded acoustic and electric folk rock, beard rock stuff. I try to place myself at the small bar room, or studio as opposed to recreating the stadium sound.
I do not listen overly loud, but as a player of music myself, if it's not loud enough, the illusion is shot. I like /need realistic sound levels.
I really enjoy the bass the Vandersteen's produce. Their specs are 26-30 hz. The Harbeths are only 38hz. Zu's 16hz, I don't listen to boom boom music, but that bottom end really helps create a space, and I'd miss it if it were gone. That said, my old Spendor sp1/2e's sounded much lower then their specs when paired with good amplification, and the 40.1's have a 12" woofer???

I do agreee that the Harbeths would blend quite well esthetically as the Spendors did. I prefer the wood box look to most speakers out there, but the Zu presence in red with black trim, not the silver, would fit nicely as well. The Vandersteens are the ugliest speakers ever, but were a local steal, and sounded better then the Spendors in my room, but I won't miss looking at them when they're gone.
I am not a detail junkie, I am a trick my brain into thinking it's real junkie, and too much detail does not achieve this. I need enough detail, but most importantly weight and tonal accuracy. If there is a guitar at the back of the room, I don't want to hear the frets buzzing from my chair, I want to hear the wood. I want a real natural sound, and I have heard both of these speakers described as having such a sound.

Lastly, obviously it would be better to listen to them myself, but I live on a tiny rock in the middle of the blue pacific, and while it has it's perks, Hi-Fi ain't one of them. I know of only 2 other systems on the whole island. Neither have Harbeths or Zu's. I appreciate all the posts and you may have talked me into a weekend trip to San Francisco to hear some speakers, and live music. Many good points with much to consider.

Thanks again,