Can the Harbeth 40.1's boggie ?????

...thank you for all of your responses. However, we are at a slippery slope in thinking that the best equipment for the 50% of the music I play needs to come from the era that this music was conceived. Does that mean I should have a Victrola for my older Big Band Music....I think not. I guess what was I was looking for by using those particular bands as an example, was can these speakers get out of their way ?...the answer is No. I wish that I could have listened to them more, but what dealer has a pair of Harbeth 40.1s hanging around to loan out - and believe me they are big and heavy. I am not about to at 53, scleep these things around.....switching cables is out as it took me about three years to put the Purist together and pay for them ..The 20th Anniversary's are not dark by any means but are more nuetral and natural sounding and did you look at the price of the 20th Anniversary's .....they are not cheap and once again getting too old to take a loss and start over. Moving the ASC's around does make the most sense...as the room could be over-damped as the Avalon's were soo fast - and ariculate. Now, the Harbeth 40.1's are detailed and quick ''in their own way ''.....they are a good speaker - they are just different. Maybe Paullb said it the best - they are British and they do emote that stiff upper lip in the way they present their music.....they to me are an enigma at this point in time. Now for a spot of tea...thanks again everyone.

Garebear... sorry the 40.1's are not working out for you. I've had mine for about 20 months and I love them. Suggest you experiment a bit more before giving up on them. I like them best with Mac tube gear... McIntosh MC 275 MKV with NOS Telefunken 12AX & AT7's to be specific. Seems that this is a speaker that some love and some hate... really boils down to personal preference I suppose.

Garebear, let me extrapolate on what I said above.

We're the same age and I suspect we have been audiophiles for most of our adult lives. I've come to the conclusion that for all practical purposes a single system cannot really do justice to all types of music. Specifically, I came to this conclusion after years of trying to get the classic Motown recordings to sound good. It was further reinforced when I started to get into 1920-30s recordings of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Patton and others. Rather than keep pouring money into a single system and trying to perfect the sound, I decided that I would get better results if I went with multiple systems. In practice I've been able to get better musical enjoyment and spend substantially less dollars by pursuing this strategy.

If you look at my system page compare the Upstairs Loft to the Basement system. The Basement system was my first attempt at going for a different sound. The Spendors are very similar to your Harbeth. It's a more relaxed sound than the Rowland/Gradient combo Upstairs. The third system is what really opened my eyes. It's a pair of EPIs (similar to Advents) and Sony electronics. They cost next to nothing, but on classic rock they are simply more enjoyable than either of the other two systems. Of the three systems one can make me get up and dance (well at least try) while the other two systems sound really good when I'm sitting in the sweet spot.

Maybe it's possible to spend some ungodly amount of money and time to put together a single system that does it all. My experience doesn't bear that out.

BTW, my 1920-30 recordings sound best on the higher resolution Rowland/Gradient system. Some of them are actually very good recordings.

IME the soft dome tweeters sound easy on the ears, but they don't boogie. The metal dome tweeters have come a long way, and the newest Beryllium tweeters don't sound harsh like older Aluminum and Titanium tweeters. They completely get out of their way in the music while providing fast and articulate sound. IMHO.