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What comes after Harbeth 30.1s?

A few weeks ago, I created a post where I was asking for advice to help a family friend create a home office system on a $6-7K budget. He ended up buying a VTL I-85 integrated amp which he really loves. After searching for speakers, he really liked my Harbeth M30.1s. He eventually bought my speakers but was going to pay in October. Unfortunately, he has had some unexpected expenses and won’t be able to pay me. So the speakers will be back in my possession next weekend.

The problem is that during this time, I started researching my next set of speakers. Of course, a safe bet was to stick with what I know and buy another pair of 30.1s whenever they pop up in the used market. Now that I will be getting them back, I’m still wrestling with the idea whether I should try something different. At this time, I’m only looking to buy used and not spend much more than what I can sell the 30.1s for. And to be honest, I will only be switching for the sake of trying a new flavor. I really like the 30.1s and something tells me that I might come to regret the decision. This speaker does pretty much everything right for my tastes and music preferences. Okay, if you put a gun to my head and force to me to share just one thing I wish was better, it would be a more airy presentation and little bit more open on the top. But otherwise, it’s hard to find fault with this speaker.

My room is 12 x 13 with almost 20 foot ceilings. Just like my friend, I’m limited on positioning options -- I can only pull out the speakers from the front wall by a foot at most. Another restriction (spousal commandment) is that I have to sell the 30.1s first to obtain the funds for the next purchase. So I won’t be able to buy something else, compare, and resell the one I don’t like as much. Secondly, I only want to buy used and well-known brands. The idea is that whenever the next upgrade itch strikes, I should be able to sell the speakers without losing more than 10-15%. And the final (whew!) restriction is that I have to be able to drive them with a tube integrated amp. I’m planning to buy a Qualiton a20i next month. This is the smaller brother for a50i which I also own.

So what do you guys think? Is this an ill-conceived, wrong-headed idea? Feel free to talk me out of it :)

If not, I would love to hear from people who have moved from 30.1s to another speaker in similar (or lesser) price range and are happy with their decision. An obvious next step is to move up to 30.2, but I’m not sure if it’s worth paying an extra $1000 or so. Or maybe it is that much better? C7ES3 is another option, but I fear it might be a little too much on the warm/lush side with difficult to tame bass especially when placed so close to the wall.

Another speaker I would love to try is the Fritz Carrera BE, but again I don’t want to buy new and I don’t see them in the used market that often. I know they have a 30-day return policy but that’s not the point. Knowing myself, I would probably end up selling them after a year or two, and don’t want to take the depreciation hit.

Proac Response D2 is another option, but I fear that it might be too forward for my taste, especially in a smaller room. If someone owns one and disagree, please chime in :)

Thanks in advance for your valuable advice!


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jjss49's avatar
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jjss49
6,612 posts
 
just another data point, i had heard pmc speakers (modern looking floorstanders, 3 ways) model 526 i think it was, on a trip to london a few years back

they were driven by sugden solid state class a amplification, and my impression was that these speakers err on the side of speed and sparkle and impact, rather than warmth and ’musical’ tonality - as such my sense is that they are more alike the spendor d series than their classic series (which tends to bring voices and acoustic instruments forward with nuance and body)

this isn't to say you can't make a speaker like these, or focals, magicos etc etc, sound more warm and less 'hifi' with the correct ancillaries, but what i think @prof is talking about here is the more fundamental voicing of the speaker here, which i tend to agree with, as compared to harbeths, classic spendors, and so on
gosta's avatar
gosta
839 posts
 
And then there´s the room, the placement of the speakers and the listening position which will actually decides how the speakers will sound....

Why not apply some pro dsp to the Harbeths. And add a small sub.
I would start there.

mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
It's a study system. Studies are for working. Music is in the background. Keep your Harbeths and spend the money on your main system where you do your listening. 
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,320 posts
 
@jjss49   Agree completely.
The point I was trying to make is that, like most other speaker companies, PMC's sound isn't monolithic over its different model lines or over time.

I think of "classic" PMC's as models like the IB1, IB2 and MB2.  Then there is the Twenty series. And the Fact series.  And the Twenty5 series.  These all had internal "family" similarities of voicing, and were all different from one another.  So as with most things, making generalizations about the "PMC sound" really doesn't hold up.
arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
1,702 posts
 
Interesting discussion and great insights so far. I want to re-iterate the point that I don’t have a problem with my Harbeth M30.1s. I really love the speakers. No, seriously. To be honest, the only reason I’m exploring other options is to see what else is out there. It’s like trying different regional varieties of a particular dish you like. What I’m looking for are different interpretations of the so-called BBC sound, but without venturing too far from the intrinsic sound signature. And when I say ’different’ I don’t necessarily mean ’better’. All speakers mentioned in this thread are amazing. ’Better’ in this context is so subjective. Hope this makes sense :)

BTW, I listened to PMC speakers (floorstanders, but can’t remember the model) about 3-4 years ago, and I have to agree with @prof that it sounded very different than Harbeth, at least to my ears. I don’t really know what is an ’english sound signature’ per se. Perhaps, ’BBC sound signature’ is a better description for what we’re talking about here? Also, please note that I’m not suggesting that PMC is better than Harbeth or vice versa. After all, it is a matter of personal taste. But IMO, they’re definitely not catering to the same customer.

Now Audio Note AN/J is a great suggestion, thank you @pani . Unfortunately, I have not had the pleasure of listening to an Audio Note speaker yet. They don’t seem to pop up in the U.S. used market that often. But based on what I’ve read, they do really well when placed closer to the front wall.

Proac Response D2 is also another contender that I might consider at some point in the future. It could have been the room or associated gear, but I felt that they were a little on the forward/bright side of the spectrum when I heard them last year. Now, I’m not suggesting Focal or KEF bright, but definitely more than Harbeth. This is not a deal breaker for me. In fact, this might very well be the ’interpretation’ I’m seeking after all :)

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