I was literally minutes from purchasing the Special 40's...

@yogiboy ,

Thanks for the link. The least ambitious Harbeth might well be the best loved.

I've always been wary of JA since he ended up on Peter Aczel's infamous list of audio's black hat wearers way back when.

Still it's interesting enough. 

"Toward the end of the review period, I was giving the speaker a workout with some high-level rock when the soundstage lurched to the right and the balance became bright and brassy. "What the . . . ?"


Wrong music, wrong speaker?


@vitto,

Great link.

A well-balanced review and comparison of the bargain priced Sound Artist LS3/5 v Harbeth P3ESR. From a Harbeth owner no less!

This could be the stuff of nightmares for Haywards Heath based company.

Yet there is still another serious contender that needs to be considered.

What about the Harbeth P3 ESR v  the KEF LS50 Metas?

Makes you wonder whether we're in a new golden age of the mini-monitor?

@hailtothevictorz
The Spendor A1 is another option!
https://generubinaudio.com/shop/ols/products/spendor-a1-speakers

I’d consider trying the LSA-10 Statements available here for $2500 and offer a 30-day trial period to see if they indeed work for you in your room/system.  Sold direct so you’re getting good bang for the buck considering the engineering/development and parts quality that goes into them.  Read reviews for more impressions, and best of luck in your search. 

The Dynaudios rock.
the Harbeths croon.

be careful....

ive owned both. I like to rock.
I like the Dyns.

what's your room size?  if you have a small room, i suggest spending a third of your budget, and get a pair of proac tablette 8 reference signatures.  better than the 1sc's; i've heard 'em both in my big room, (as well as tablette 2000's), and the ref 8 signatures are better, from mid-bass on up.  in a smaller room, it shouldn't matter.

in my big (26x38x8.5) room, they were crossed at 60hz to vmps larger subs, and it was amazing what room filling sound i got - it remained clean even at way-loud levels.  in a smaller room, subs would be optional.  (for most folks, that is - even in a small room, i'd have a pair of subs; not necessarily as large as my vmps' - which you could afford, if spending ~$1k on the monitors. in fact, i'd choose subs/monitors over only monitors any day, regardless of budget and room size.)

doug s.