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Thought My Harbeth M40.1's Were Forever Speakers - Guess Not

I've owned my Harbeth 40.1's for about 4 years and absolutely LOVE them.  
The only speakers I've considered replacing them with are the 40.2's, and while I've dreamed of getting a pair, I really never felt like I needed anything more than the 40.1's.  They are SO good!
Well, after a great year for my business along with a great opportunity to buy a pair of 40.2 Anniversary model speakers, I've decided to pull the trigger.  
I'm posting this mostly because I can hardly contain my excitement and wanted to share it with you, but I'm also looking for feedback from others who've made this same move.  
Everything I've read about the 40.2 model has been overwhelmingly good.  I do not expect to be disappointed.  
Thanks!


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twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,313 posts
 
"Drier bass" sounds kinda bad until you ask yourself whether you want wet bass.  Your precis is a classic example of selective quotation.  AS wanted to make the 40.2's more room-friendly, i.e., make them perform well in a larger range of environments, w.r.t. positioning, size of room, and acoustic environment, something that he achieved handily.
cd318
2,636 posts
 
@twoleftears ,

"Your precis is a classic example of selective quotation."


"Selective quotation"?

Don't you think that's a little unfair seeing as how I've presented the whole interview in full?

Perhaps a more pertinent question might be as why do you feel that "Drier bass" sounds kinda bad?

Besides, I was hoping to address the question posted by @mapman earlier.

Who better to answer that than the designer himself?
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,860 posts
 
Good stuff. Thanks @cd318
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,313 posts
 
@cd318  Yes.  When your "gist" of these two sentences:

"the bass has been progressively optimized, that is, made drier, for those less damped acoustics. So the 40.2 is better balanced for the majority of modern rooms."

is "drier bass", then yes, that's a classic example of selective quotation.
pdreher's avatar
pdreher
1,185 posts
 
Just today, I packed up my beloved 40.1's and replaced them with 40.2 Anni's.  I concur the 40.2's have "drier" less prodigious bass and less warmth (more neutral) to my ears vs. the 40.1's.  Initially I missed the warmth of the 40.1's, but was able to bring all of the warmth back by swapping out Gold Lion KT88's with some RAM EL34's... now the warmth is back and the transparency and detailed imaging is even more impressive with the 40.2 Anni's vs. their predecessor.  Small incremental steps of improvement, but noticeable improvement nonetheless!
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