ok, speaker search = over
Today I drove down with my amp and some CD’s to the Harbeth/Audio Note dealer and heard the C7es3, M30.1 and Audio Note AN-E (not sure which level).
They all sounded really nice with the Job INtegrated but the real standout for me was the C7es3. Absolutely amazing synergy with the Job. Shocked me really since I had heard them at a store in Chicago with Cary separates driving them and the results were not great. This was like a whole different universe, bass was full but fast and articulate. Tonality of instruments and voices was spot on - never heard such realistic brass section tones from a big band recording. Image depth was amazing as was width.
We put the M30.1 in there to compare and they had their own sort of magic, but with my amp the C7 were overall better by a fair margin. They sounded more full range, fuller and more effortless dynamically. Imaging had more depth as well.
The AN-E sounded wonderful as well but I only heard them briefly as I found out they were the 2nd from the top level and were crazy expensive when new. The dealer assured me that the $7500 pair sound very similar. He also had a pair of AN-J there that I didn’t hear - I might ask to hear them just to make sure when I go back to pick up the C7es3. EIther way, I’m very excited to bring them home in a couple weeks when the money comes in. I really can’t imagine a much better marriage between amp and speaker to my ears.