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The Best of the English Sound

I am pretty pleased with my ATC SCM 7's but the new Harbeths have intrigued me, as have Spendors from time to time in the Audiogon classifieds.

Unfortunately, there is nowhere I know near where I live to listen to any of these speakers.

So is there any consensus on differences between these UK brands, which all supposedly have much better than average midrange?

I am trying to find a 1) small enough for desktop use,and 2) last speaker I will ever own for this application, to 3) buy 2 - 4 sets of them for various locations in home and office.

Thanks for your thoughts and opinions.
cwlondon
magnumpi205
504 posts
 
At the lower end , the Wharfedales are amazing. You could step up a bit to the Audioengine A5s that are powered.
ATCs need a lot of power.
The Harbeths and Spendors are the next step up and need less power. They are both less strident than the ATCs. Not English but the Reference 3As may fit the bill.
ejlif's avatar
ejlif
1,375 posts
 
You mention that you are using cheapo Behringer amps? I think that is possibly the main problem that needs to be addressed before you even considered changing speakers. You can't get a good sound with cheap amps, at least I never have been able to. I'd look for a nice sounding amp for the money you are willing to spend and then see how you like your speakers.
cwlondon OP
1,210 posts
 
Ejlif

Thanks and I have thought about that, but if you search other threads, you will see that the cheapo Behringer A500 is supposed to be a "giant killer."

I am using two of them as monoblocks and biamping, where they barely break a sweat as I use them mostly for background and TV.

This is not to say that they truly are giant killers, or suggest that a Pass or Levinson or LAMM or ARC wouldn't sound better, but under the circumstances, I thought the amps were the least likely source of an edge in the system, and that even with those components, the differences between ATC, Spendor and Harbeth would be clearly audible.
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