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

Sounds like you should get Quads.

I had C7ES3s for five years and was happy with them, whether powered by Creek Evo 100 or Parasound Hint amp. I had considered upgrading to Monitor 30s or SHL 5s. Late last year, I found a good deal on Monitor 30.2 XDs and sold the C7s. The 30.2s sound somewhat more refined to my ears, and I too play at modest to moderate volumes. I play the 30.2s sometimes with and sometimes without support from Rythmic F8 subwoofers. I plan to continue enjoying these Harbeths for many years, although I would not pay full U.S. retail price for them. 

After auditioning 30.2 Anniversaries, I thought they were better but too similar to my Sonus Faber Cremona Ms to warrant a change. About 6 months later I bit on a pair of 40th Anniversary SHL5+ in Tamo Ash sitting on Deer Creek Audio stands. I recently switched from a VAC 160i integrated (87W with KT88s) to PASS INT-250 to a darTZeel CTH-8550 (200W into 8ohms and 330W into 4ohms) and it’s wonderful. I auditioned ProAc but just think the Harbeths are more musical. I listen 80% via a Lumin S1/Roon and 20% AMG Viella V12/Lyra Kleos. I’m always tempted by SET/high efficiency speakers at shows but then I just melt in my chair and let the hours go by in utter bliss. The speakers completely disappear. I do use a REL T9i crossed at 40Hz with a volume set so you can’t pick it out directly, but just feel a subtle more fullness. I’d really love to find someone who needs to downsize from their 40.2/40.3 and trade my SHL5+. To me the SHL5+ are a big step up from the 30.2/XD. I’m guessing the 40.2/3 will be as well.

I’m in Alan Shaw’s camp and not big into power cords or interconnects. I hear different tones, but no better or worse and after a few days I’m used to it. If I switch back then I hear it differently and again get rapidly used to it. I have high end gear and a very resolving system but I always fail a blind test so for me I use good quality used stuff. I use 3 PS Audio AC-12 power cords (bought for $100/each). A Nordost Frey 2 phono cable bought used for $500 and a Cardas Golden Reference XLR to connect the Lumin server (bought used for $450), and AudioQuest Rockefeller 2.5M 72V speaker speaker cables (bought used for $250). So my entire cables were $1500 total or about 2% of the cost of my system. YMMV. 

@jwcinsd

i agree with your assessment... to me c7 and shl5 are proper full range speakers whereas the mon 30 is a midrange/vocals monitor, more ’hyper accurate’ but lacking in bass support

the c7 and shl5 are specifically for domestic environments, and depending on placement and how much bass reinforcement is gained from that, they can be run with subs or are fine without them

that said, the mon 40 is a step up for sure, in all ways, but one needs to have the right (meaning a quite large volume) room for them, or else they may overwhelm, especially if placed anywhere near room boundaries

i also agree on your take about cabling... well said... yes different cabling affords a subtly different presentation, but better or worse in often dubious... especially once done intently a-b ing...

So, maybe my ears were not deceiving me when I found the 30.2s better than I expected. I plan to spend some time listening the 5+s at Hawthorne in a couple weeks. I do love quads sound. But I think my dual concentric Tannoys FSMs may remain as the last man standing. If somebody made an open baffle, 15" Dual Concentric speaker I would be forced to investigate.  Meantime the hunt continues.