To Harbeth or not to Harbeth, That is the question...

lots of choices out there

harbeths are good, so are many other british monitors

i personally think proacs are better at very modest levels due to the greater presence they impart, as are classic acoustic energy ae-1's

I have the C7s and I agree that they respond well to cables that tend towards a leaner presentation. The gorgeous mids need no extra boost of warmth. Mr. Shaw's recommended stand height and set up is spot on.Tube amps 40-60 watts work fine with mine if not trying to push it to concert levels.

When I was going through an upgrade program I had some Harbeth 7 speakers for a while along with a few others. The winners in my system were a pair of Proac speakers. I have now upgraded further up the Proac line.

For me the answer was not to Harbeth. Your answer may be different. They have a lot of fans, but I am not one. Not bad just not what I want

I have the Harbeth 30.2 with the Luxman class A 590axll, I had a hard decision between choosing the 5’s or the  30.2, all I can say is I don’t normally listen loud, right now it’s around 60-65 Db. Although when needed I can get it up to 90+ with no problem. And I love vocal and acoustic music, but dip into All genre’s. The 30.2 were a great choice for me. Hope this helps. 

Harbeth 30.1's for the past 4 years.  Presently paired with Pass INT-25.  95% of the time I stream qobuz through an innuos zen mk 3/mhdt orchid DAC.   Lots of jazz with focus on guitar and vocals.  Lots of classical with focus on piano / small ensembles.  Well recorded rock and roll (think Deja vu).  I very much like to hear a sense of acoustic space around the performers.  Context - I'm somewhat volume constrained as I live in a coop apartment and have neighbors that I'm getting to know (moved here 6 mos ago). 

I think they're great speakers.  I mean there are times when I get goosebumps when listening to well recorded music.  Good at low levels.  Sort of remind me of Quad ESL63's that I used to own.  That kind of transparent presentation.  Just really nice speakers.  Maybe I'd look at the XD's but...I don't feel compelled to do anything except listen.