Differences between Harbeth, Spendor, Graham, etc. ?

@larryi and @donquichotte

I have the HARBETH 30.2XD’s too. There is not one iota of sibilants or”edge” or insert your own like adjectives whatever,…. in my speakers nor in my system as a whole .Frankly it is a ultra silky smooth audio performance that is clear and unambiguous. My “A” system is posted on AGON fwiw.

@larryi

I don’t doubt that your system experiences some sibilants , but that sibilant is your bespoke wart likely introduced by some link in your bespoke system ,

It is flatly dead wrong to engender the same adverse experience to the HARBETH brand and speaker model as a whole Full stop.

 but that is your bespoke wart likely introduced by some link in yiurvsystem

???? 

I hear that slight edge with some very good and smooth tube amplification.  It is NOT in the least a disqualifying property; I like very much most of the Harbeth line.  I don’t know of any speaker that is perfect in every way, so I mentioned what I heard as a mild weak point.  It may be a matter of a tradeoff—if that slight peak is tamed, something might be lost in terms of sense of speed and dynamics, for example; I don’t really know.  For conventional box speakers, Harbeths, Spendors, Grahams, ProAc, and Audio Notes are among my favorites.  

Stuartk,

The Audio Note line is quite efficient, but not like horns or other very efficient speakers.  But, they are also easy to drive which makes them suitable for use with most low-powered tube amps.  My local dealer frequently uses a 6 warr/channel Audio Note amp on the AN-E speakers.  For the smaller models, he most often uses cheaper tube amps that put out 20-40 watts.  The Audio Note speakers also tend to be quite full and satisfying at low volume levels so less power is needed.  Because they are meant to be placed near the back wall, and in the corner (i.e., near the side walls as well), they do not deliver a great sense of depth to the stereo image, but the do image well side-to-side and can deliver good center fill.  Audio Note speakers may not sound extremely detailed and “fast” but they are musically satisfying, lively and engaging when coupled to my favorite kind of amps (low-powered tube amps).

@akg_ca +1

I've owned many different model Harbeths.  A sibilance problem is  a source problem not a speaker problem!