One thing I can say about Harbeth in comparison to others (not necessarily the other speakers you are considering), is that when comparing them, other speakers can sound more "exciting", "involving", or any number of similar adjectives used to describe what some will define as "better."
The goal with the Harbeth sound is accuracy and neutrality. They are designed to not add anything to the sound that was not part of the original recording. For listeners of rock, this can be less exciting than other speakers that accentuate different frequencies to add body, warmth or excitement.
For listeners of jazz, acoustic based music or vocals, there is not much better than Harbeth.
I do not advocate that you buy Harbeth, even though they are the best speakers I have owned (I've owned several pairs). BTW, I also own a pair of Sonus Fabers that I find to be fantastic. While they share some things with Harbeth, I would not say the SF speakers sound anything like the Harbeths, and definitely not as good IMHO. Still, I enjoy them for the simple reason of them sounding good in the room I am using them.
The one thing I will say in favor of Harbeth is that they are very popular, and can be somewhat hard to find right now. This is not a bad thing, in that they are easy to sell if you change your mind later, and they tend to hold their value better than many other brands.
Whatever you decide, please make sure to share your findings here.
Happy listening!
Peter
