Harbeth 30.2 or Falcon Gold Badge

@badgerdms

Safe to say you are referring to my post and safe to say you didn’t read it. No need to get defensive, every speaker you own isn’t necessarily for everyone else.

Nothing amiss since I plopped the JMRs and they sound glorious. I wouldn't be the first to accuse Harbeth of sounding boring. My system isn't a high watt A/B system, it's pure class A. So as I mentioned and you might have missed, they probably needed more power, though no other speaker I've owned including Wilsons sound as clamped as the Harbeths. 

I have Harbeth 30.2 Anniversary powered by Hegel H390 - to my ears, in my room - they are sublime: punchy, musical, engaging beyond words. They do something very few others do in my room - there is an airy ambient presence - almost like Maggie’s - very very “live” sounding. They don’t produce the slam of big floorstanders of course, nor are they analytical with detail, but as another said earlier, I too auditioned a lot - up to $20k - and chose the 30.2. 

The 30.2 XD are a step up in dynamics and scale from an LS3/5a speaker and are world class.  

The only caveat is that they might be a bit too smooth sounding with an overly smooth amplifier like a Luman.  I demoed them with the new Luxman L 507z and the sound was golden and euphonic and a touch too smooth overall.  

Good news is that the sound is still exceptional and can be made to pop simply by removing the grilles.  Recommended.  

I am going order a pair of Falcon Gold Badge’s. I don’t understand why Falcon recommends 24” stands when the tweeter being 8” off the bottom would place tweeter at only 32” off the floor. Most of our ears fall a sitting 35-36” off the floor. Anyone successfully using 27” stands with their LS35a? 

I’ve owned many LS3/5a type speakers including Harbeth, Spendor, Falcon and KEF. I found 28 inch stands my preference. BTW, if you get 24 inch stands you can always raise the height!