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A move from Harbeth to... Wilson?

Hi gang, hoping for some thoughts. 

I'm very happy at the moment with my system, but getting a slight itch for an upgrade. So many options and directions I could go, but the one I'm pondering at the moment is moving from my Harbeth C7ES-3 speakers to Wilson Sabrinas. (The Sabrina X is now out, which may bring the Sabrina down to my budget... maybe.)

My room is approx. 10'6" x 15'6" with the speakers along the short wall and my listening chair is about 2/3 back from said wall. The C7s plus their stands are just about the right size for this room, and the Sabrinas on their floor spikes are similar in "overall" size, though obviously the speakers themselves are bigger.

Current amp is a Pass Labs XA30.5 which doubles down at 4Ohms (plus lots of headroom) and comes just within Wilson's "recommended" amplifier power. The room is on the smaller side, and I don't listen loud; I've never "wanted" for more power with the C7s. (Though every once in a while I wonder what a pair of XA60.5s would sound like in here, but that's an entirely different thread.)

Eh? Any thoughts?
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yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,653 posts
 

@snackeyp
To me, boxy means that the sound was ’small’ and you can tell exactly where it’s coming from.  This was my experience in my room with those other Harbeths that I have owned.  In my room the little P3 sounds very similar to a QUAD ESL. I am not putting down the larger Harbeths. They just did not work out for me!
aj523
362 posts
 
@snackeyp
@yogiboy

Definitely possible tp sound boxy if not set up right. And definitely the 40x’s are not image monsters, but set up right and you will be rewarded with the most musical speaker with the most beautiful tonality that I’ve ever heard.

chorus
976 posts
 
Other thoughts:

-Open Baffle from Spatial would be a different approach.

-If timbre is your hot button, try Tannoy. The 10" to 15" Dual
concentrics. Nelson Pass voices his amps with a tweaked Tannoy
dual concentric. They are efficient. The Wilsons will need a lot more
power than you currently own.

-The Sonus Faber Suggestion also makes sense to me.

Keep us posted please!

headphonedreams
525 posts
 
As others have said, it sounds like a strange move. Take it if you want but try to listen to some other speakers also.

If you want a change, maybe try another type of speaker? Like horns, planers or omnidirectional?
MBL 121 might be worth trying. 
saffranbruce
11 posts
 
W/P 8s (94 dB) are now reasonable and sound great with lower powered amps. Consider them. They sound great with Both my 18w tube amps and my Pass 600.8s. 
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