ok so demo’d the Harbeth’s and here are my thoughts
Room was medium sized and treated well.
30.1 / C7s : Way too small for my space. Out of the running immediately .
SHL5+ - very nice , true , imaging was deep and my first reaction was this is a clean , non hyped even field of sound. I played about 15 tracks , varied styles ranging from hard rock /soft rock/ jazz .
Some sounded better than others ...initial impressions seem to lean that these Harbeth’s compliment softer music ...the heavier stuff sounded good but not quite as impactful as the spacious softer tracks....
The Highs : Were there and even . People wanting to hear that super crisp , shimmery high end will need EQ.
Mids - very even and accurate.
The Bottom was surprisingly good for a flat EQ/ no subs...for me in my space , not enough ...I’d need to supplement a sub.
The depth was quite extraordinary ...the spectrum was broad and sounded like nothing had artifacts. The cabinets are beautiful .
In conclusion , Me personally at this stage , I don’t think $7K is worth what I heard...however, if I happen to run across a new/used pair for quite a bit less... I might bite...good work Alan/ Harbeth , great speakers.