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Floorstanding speaker that sound like Harbeth M30.1

K

kev m

Active Member
Hi I heard Harbeth m30.1 and thought they sounded great, sweet midrange and not bright sounding. I would like to buy a floor standing speaker that sound similar warm sound. My wife hates stand mounted speakers so the Harbeths are a no-no. I don't expect exactly like the harbeth as they are very special,but just not bright sounding and easy to listen to as I have tinnitus. Room is 3.5 m square and I don't listen loud.
Budget around £3000 for speakers new. I have heard spendor A7 which were the next best but wondered if there was anything else as the spendors sounded good/ok but not great.
Its for a new system and I have yet to buy the amp.
I thought about Naim amp as that is what I had in the past but open minded as I do find the Naim ones a bit fatiguing after half an hour.
 
When you say "warm", you mean not thin and bright ? as the Harbeths are not "warm". That is a difficult one to answer.
 
Yes I am after speakers that are not bright, thin, dry or analytical. I like neutral to sweet, natural type of sound. I have a Naim Muso and I like the sound of that when I listen to it when I am far away from it. I think it is partly having tinnitus, I permanently have that high pitched ringing you get after a loud gig. I have had SBL speakers that were dry and analytical and I don't want to go there again!
 
Maybe cover the stands? Depends on the decor, but e.g. something solid stands could have some strategically placed fabric of an appropriate shade/pattern/design to pass domestic acceptability criteria.

Either that or, since you don’t own the 30.1s yet but know you like the sound, go for a smaller speaker with similar characteristics to the 30.1 that can be accompanied by an appropriate bass extender base. For example these:

ab2-8.jpg
 
kev m said:
I thought about Naim amp as that is what I had in the past but open minded as I do find the Naim ones a bit fatiguing after half an hour.
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I have the Naim 282/250/HCDR driving Harbeth Super HL5 Plus and on the weekends I clock 10 hours of listening on average. The good thing about Harbeth loudspeakers is listening fatigue is low and tonality is rather accurate when compared to most speakers out there. The only thing is some folks may find them a little dull and unexciting.

When i had the Proac Tablette 50 Signature, a much livelier and exciting sounding speaker, I can only listen to music for 30 minutes to 1 hour before I need to switch it off. Coupled with the inferior tonality of the Proac, I knew I had to let the speakers go after living with them for about 3 months. With the Harbeth I can listen all day long. I've owned the SHL5 non-Plus for 7 years and am now living with the SHL5+ for about 2 years.
 
kev m said:
Room is 3.5 m square
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Tricky! Can't you just find some really nice looking stands? I would suggest you find a used pair of Proac D30R but they are far too big for your room. Sonically I think you would like them; they're actually very different to M30.1 but just as smooth, seductive, and easy on the ear, which is rare. The M30.1 has a slightly recessed presence region. This might be what appeals to you. Many of us have some Princess and the Pea issue with one part of the frequency range (although the largely male audiophile don't like to admit being Princesses). A 3kHz peak on my Tannoys left me black and blue and I had to have the pea surgically removed (by crossover revisions).
 
Maybe it is because the Harbeth doesn't show the listening fatigue characteristic (some people complain about it) from the Naim as much as the ProAc do. ;)

I switched from a Harbeth SHL5+ 40th. A.E. to a Odeon Audio No.28 SE and I still can listen (even louder) without fatigue over hours (with the same amp, same room, same source, etc.) but have much more bass control better image/stage, more and better dynamic (fine and corse), more power, better resolution in the heights and bass (midrange equal), more sensitivity, a lower frequency range.

The Harbeth is good and I have owned several Harbeth speakers for the last years and thought there is no better speaker available for me but Odeon for example was a good alternative for me (I owned to other Odeons too).

I'm not against Naim, I have paired Naim with Odeon and Harbeth in the past. I only tried to explain that there are alternatives to Harbeth, even not many for my taste.

BTW: A really modern minimal interior is worst for listening to music and the best way to aim listening fatigue.
 
I’m currently in my second month with a pair of used Usher diamond Mini Dancer 1’s which are floorstanders, and having tried a few sets of speakers now, including stand mounts and panels I can say they are by far the easiest and least fatiguing speakers I’ve listened too, whilst maintaining high levels of detail, good soundstage depth and holography.
 
Old Shatterhand said:
Maybe it is because the Harbeth doesn't show the listening fatigue characteristic (some people complain about it) from the Naim as much as the ProAc do. ;)
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No you misunderstood me. The Proac D30R had the least listening fatigue of any modern speaker I listened to after I sold my ESL63s. You've obviously not heard the Proacs with the ribbon tweeters. I eventually settled on SHL5Plus because the Proacs had too much bass for my room, but the 5Plus also ended up having too much bass, and weren't nearly as good as the D30R for me. So I gave up on modern speakers.
 
No you misunderstood me. ;)
My post was related on ryders post. I answered but your were faster, so my post is standing under yours. You can see it based on the content I have written.;)
 
Thanks for all the reply's, i know that speakers are going to be a tricky as the room isn't big and its square but i don't listen loud so the room doesn't get excited. The proac D30R appeal but like you say are probably too big for the room. I had to google those odeon speakers, I really don't think my wife would like those and I'm not sure I could live with them. They are certainly a statement with those big horns. I guess I need to go and hear some other speakers that are neutral and probably a home demo.
 
Old Shatterhand said:
No you misunderstood me. ;)
My post was related on ryders post. I answered but your were faster, so my post is standing under yours. You can see it based on the content I have written.;)
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Ah, yes I see. So we were discussing different Proacs.

I think the ribbon on the recent Praocs really pays dividends in terms of ease of listening. It is a shame that this isn't used in some of the smaller speakers. Also there is something about the balance on the D30R that is just right; I liked the D20R but they didn't have the same magic, and there was more emphasis on the upper midrange. Stuart Tyler assured me that the newest version, the D30RS, would have much better control of the bass in my size of room (4.5m x 3.5m), but they are out of the question for me due to cost, and I think for the OP due to a smaller room size.
 
I didn't recommend the Odeons because they are open sounding and I guess in a minimal interior room Odeon speakers in general not the right speaker.
I also think that my speakers are a bit to expansive (around 15.000€ in Germany) and way, way to big. For this kind of room size a Odeon Fidelio (available in different veneer!) would be big enough.
 
Do they need to be new speakers?.

I would suggest searching out some "Serblin" era Sonus Faber speakers, they have the warm, non fatiguing sound I think you are looking for .
You may even get approval on their looks from the missus.
 
early said:
Do they need to be new speakers?.

I would suggest searching out some "Serblin" era Sonus Faber speakers, they have the warm, non fatiguing sound I think you are looking for .
You may even get approval on their looks from the missus.
Click to expand...
I've owned the Sonus Faber Grand Piano Concerto floorstanders. Yes it's a warm sounding speaker but ultimately I find it to be too warm. They lack the transparency and detail of the Harbeth and sound veiled. Perhaps may suit the OP's requirement. The Cremona M is said to be a much better speaker so it may be worth investigating.
 
If you really like the Harbeths I would find someone who can "panel up" some decent open frame stands and create the effect of a floorstander.
 
A Cremona M in 3.5m square room? The Cremona M (I owned them) sounds dull and average compared to a Harbeth IMHO. My personal Sonus Faber reference speaker was the Guarneri Memento (I owned them too). That is a speaker for that roomsize.
 
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