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Harbeth 30.1 ? The Ultimate Speaker under $5K ?

I have been on a mission lately to find the best speakers within my budget - under $5K ...I am definitely an audio freak and my sound engineer in LA told me we went to a HiFi convention of sorts in Newport and heard every high end boutique speaker there is and hands down the Harbeth 30.1 was the best...thought it was a live band as he turned the corner into room ! 


Local hiFi high end shops always push whatever they deal....guy near me recommends Paradigm Prestige 95s but the seem more for home theatre use...here's my profile: 

I listen MOSTLY to LPs (stream on occasion with Audioengine B1)
Marantz PM-11S1 Mono Block Amp
Sony STR-V7 Amp
Technics SL-15 
1 SVS SB1000 Sub (if necessary) 
My listening room : is approximately 15 feet from Hifi to sitting position, wood floors , pitched ceiling about 10-15 feet in spots ...entire room approx 30 feet across . I consider it a VERY live, reflective space. 

I am a drummer so I love fat , tight kick drum. Rock i.e.: Rush , Prince, old 70s / 80s fusion/Jazz  
I listen to all different volume levels, sometimes low, sometimes I turn up music very loud and crappy speakers always seem to lose definition at high volume . 

I currently have some NHTs 2.3 & Infinity IL60s for surround....

Is the Harbeth 30.1 too small of a speaker for my spot?  what do you guys recommend! Thank You !
128x128tommypenngotti
dodgealum's avatar
dodgealum
1,404 posts
 
Agree with concerns about room size and distance from speakers to listening position. Your room dimensions, construction etc. suggest that a home audition is mandatory. Your room will likely present significant challenges in putting together a satisfying system. How you address these challenges (treatments, equalization, furnishings, speaker selection, etc) will have a big impact on the quality of your experience. The Harbeth's are great but they are not miracle speakers. I would not consider putting the 30.1s in a room any larger than 20 X 25 X 9. Maybe a used pair of Monitor 40s can be had within your budget. A much better choice for a large room.
mofojo
2,297 posts
 
You need big speakers that can play loud with authority. That’s a pretty cavernous room. 

shadorne's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
shadorne
7,477 posts
 
Used ATC 100A but you need to be lucky to find a pair for that price. At least you are in LA so they are easier to find there.
donvito101
278 posts
 
You might want to check out the Vandersteen 3A. It will fit nice in a large room!
http://vandersteen.com/products/model-3a-signature
prof
3,473 posts
 

@tommypenngotti


I am a drummer so I love fat , tight kick drum. Rock i.e.: Rush , Prince, old 70s / 80s fusion/Jazz


Like another poster, this immediately made me think you are an ideal customer for the Devore 0/93 speakers (which I’ve been auditioning).They have a big fat, but controlled, punchy bass. Their sound is bigger and richer than most speakers, and their top end captures the tone of drum cymbals with particular accuracy. Having auditioned a great many speakers in the past couple years, no speaker has recreated drums as believably to my ears, or has made whatever the drummer is doing so pertinent in a song, as the Devore 0/93 (and 0/96) speakers.

They are very harbeth-like in sound, but more dynamic and expressive and can do BIG SOUND. The blew me away playing Rush (I’m a Rush fan).

You’d have to find them second hand, though, to have any hope to be within your budget.

That said, if you really like the Harbeth speakers, you might consider their C7ES-3. It’s a bit larger than the 30s, with lower richer bass, and so it will do drums even better than the 30s in terms of impact and depth. They give up a bit of refinement to the 30s, but they still have that gorgeous Harbeth midrange. (I’d suggest even the Harbeth Super HL5 plus, which combines the best of the 30s and the C7ES-3, with even more extended and accurate high frequencies, but that may be moving out of your budget).

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