Speakers free of grain, glare and steel?
I have Harbeths (SHL5s), (old) Ohm Walsh 4s, had Aerial 10Ts, and had Von Schweikerts. My Harbeths can actually ring a bit at the wrong height/angle. I need to place them lower than is advised. You need to be a little careful with SHL5s to get them right. I kind of think the SHL5s need some tubes up front (I have a tube pre & a solid state amp). My Aerials also were smooth but with can shriek with some recordings. (Diana Ross, especially). My Ohms are certainly smooth, but have mid-fi resolution (they are from 1985, though). Not really competitive here. Von Schweikerts I think are the winner here, with never a sour note in the midrange up to the highest highs, and I always thought (in mine & others in shows) the finest percussion out there. No fatigue. They can have boomy bass if not positioned well or in too small a room, so I think that's the area to concentrate on with VSR. But I think vocals, strings, woodwinds, brass and piano are truly superb on the VSRs I have heard over the years, consistently. So I think they would meet your needs if you can find one (maybe on audiogon) that you can afford. I kind of feel Von Schweikert is the opposite of Wilson sound, where Wilson has great controlled transparent detailed bass but can have scratchy highs on some recordings, and VSR have great mids-highs, natural and silky but resolved, but sometimes boom a bit and need some care & feeding in this area (which can be done--I've heard it several times). |
If you want some good information on Harbeth and Spendor try here:http://www.regonaudio.com/. Also, here is a Spendor 1/2 review I found to be quite a good read: http://www.electrafidelity.com/spendor-12-by-herb-reichert/. I can't speak to Hareth as much, or the post classic series Spendors, but what I can tell you is the three pair of classic series I have owned all had outstanding mid-range and smooth top end. Are they the last word in bass, no, but you'd be surprised how good the bass is if you could focus your attention away from the mid-range long enough to listen to it more closely. Some say Spendor speakers, especially the older ones, are polite. I say they look polite but are quite naughty actually;) Looks are deceiving and so is the Spendor sound. In my experience they are more neutral than Harbeth or most of the British boxes out there. Used prices make them are bargain. |
You need not consider older OHMs from the 80s. Series 2, 3 or current X000 series are the ones to consider. They also will cost more. These are much more refined balanced and detailed in line with other better modern designs but no OHM Walshes including the originals possess the negative characteristics you seek to avoid. |
