With so many solid offerings from Harbeth, it is so difficult to pick a path. After listening to the 30.1 in the main system, it was hard for me to find faults with its presentation. Before buying this speaker, I had heard comments about the boxy, closed-in nature of the speaker. While it very well might be true, I’ve found that I don’t notice it, or at least it doesn’t bother me at all. That slightly forward sound of instruments and human voices emerging from a quiet background is very appealing to me. It’s by far the best I’ve heard, but then again my repertoire of speakers is fairly limited -- this is ’only’ my ninth pair of speakers that I have owned so far. You can argue that I don’t know what I don’t know, but at least I have a better understanding of where my preferences lie.
I almost had my heart set on 30.2, but my brain is telling to me to add some variety and go with an SHL5+. From the way @ryder describes the SHL5, it sounds more similar to the Olympica 2 that I already own -- airier and slightly leaner sounding with good bass extension. My media room is 20 x 15, so I have the space to work with. I also have a subwoofer and planning to add one more in a few months. Supplanting the bass with 30.x should not be a problem with a little bit of trial and error. If I can find a used pair of SHL5+ at a decent price, maybe I can scratch that itch. It’ll be easy for me to compare it with 30.1 since I already own it. Who knows, I might like it as much as the 30.1. Only one way to find out I guess.
@twoleftears -- actually, I have been thinking about the 40.x, but they rarely if ever show up in the used market, and even then the asking price is too rich for my blood. I bought my Olympica 2 for $5500 and was trying to stay in the same price range. Your comment about the 40.x sharing family resemblance with the 30.x is a very enticing prospect. If it is a bigger, fuller, better M30.1 then it sure has my attention. This can very well be the endgame speaker for me -- by the way, when I say endgame what I really mean is 3-5 years tops :) Buying a 40.x will require more planning, and convincing (you know who). This might be a very strong possibility next year!
I almost had my heart set on 30.2, but my brain is telling to me to add some variety and go with an SHL5+. From the way @ryder describes the SHL5, it sounds more similar to the Olympica 2 that I already own -- airier and slightly leaner sounding with good bass extension. My media room is 20 x 15, so I have the space to work with. I also have a subwoofer and planning to add one more in a few months. Supplanting the bass with 30.x should not be a problem with a little bit of trial and error. If I can find a used pair of SHL5+ at a decent price, maybe I can scratch that itch. It’ll be easy for me to compare it with 30.1 since I already own it. Who knows, I might like it as much as the 30.1. Only one way to find out I guess.
@twoleftears -- actually, I have been thinking about the 40.x, but they rarely if ever show up in the used market, and even then the asking price is too rich for my blood. I bought my Olympica 2 for $5500 and was trying to stay in the same price range. Your comment about the 40.x sharing family resemblance with the 30.x is a very enticing prospect. If it is a bigger, fuller, better M30.1 then it sure has my attention. This can very well be the endgame speaker for me -- by the way, when I say endgame what I really mean is 3-5 years tops :) Buying a 40.x will require more planning, and convincing (you know who). This might be a very strong possibility next year!