New loudspeakers inbound!
 

After exclusively listening to one speaker for over a decade, I've bought a pair of (new) loudspeakers...

Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what they are? :scratch2:

:D

Well you did mention you wanted a pair of Harbeths recently so they are probably of the “Harbethian” heritage? :D

If I have to guess, then my answer is a new pair of 30.2’s. :smoking:

BIngo!

Not "brand-new" per se, but used for only a few hours when first purchased and not used since, so I will have to continue running them in.

Silver Eucalyptus; will be here a week from today, the 15th.

Congrats Stephen! :banana: Great choice! A few hrs old is “new” :D
You’ll love them :music:

Thanks, Serge!

I'm pretty excited; I think they will be wonderful in my C-J system, and perfect for my small listening space.

Stephen... Congrats! :beerchug:

Thank you, Ivan!

:thumbsup:

Sounds like a winning combination to me. They love tubes as well as SS. Their impedance is rather flat and tube friendly. I had my pair setup in a very small room at first and they sounded ok but not great as they do couple to nearby walls like any other speaker and need a bit of space to breathe. In the big room they came alive and sounded much more open and balanced. I don’t think your room will be a challenge if you had success with other speakers, they are not particularly finicky that way. :no:

Yes, I've heard that they are very easy with respect to setup and not at all finicky with respect to cables and electronics. If I can my big Dyns in this space, I'm sure Harbeths will be just fine.

:yes:

Eucalyptus is such an elegant color too. Very easy on the eyes, they don’t scream out “look at me” like some other speakers. They just elegantly blend in with the decor. At some point you should consider the TonTrager stands. Magic. :yes: That should be the icing on the cake and a cherry on top. :D

Very cool Stephen, congratulations. I’m looking forward to pictures.

Stephen, congrats! I have never heard Harbeths but they seem to receive almost universal praise.

Stephen,

Congratulations! A friend has the 40.1s and I heard the 40.2s in Munich and I believe those were driven with Magnum Dynalab electronics.

Both models are amazing speakers, very happy to hear your news on this new purchase!

Excellent!

Enjoy with enthusiasm and health!

Excited to see the setup when done.

Nice!!

Congrats, Stephen. Sounds like you're in for a real ear-candy treat.

Many thanks, gents, for all the kind regards....

Now, I just have to source stands and "hold out" 'til Monday.

Ah well, I have Wimbledon to distract me. Vamos Rafa!

Congrats Stephen!
Enjoy them.

Any reason you decided to part with Dynaudio?

Thanks, Bart.

I haven't parted with Dynaudio, and honestly, I don't think I ever would. Dynaudio, in my humble opinion, is one of the truly great loudspeaker companies. Even if I was to sell the Contours, I think I would have a pair of Dyns around, even it if was a pair of Special 40s or something like that. The big Dyns are outstanding for full orchestral classical and symphonic music, for a lot of the type of music you and Jim listen to, for example. They are also flat (0 dB down) down to 30 Hz without a sub, and they are extremely fast for dynamic drivers, and can scale from pianissimo to fortissimo very, very quickly, almost as quickly as 'stats, but they put out considerably more "dynamic slam" than 'stats. Listening to Asturias on Albeniz' Suite Espanola is quite the experience.

So, I am planning on keeping the big Dyns, at least for the time being. Minimally, I'll set them up for home theatre. I have them on Herbie's Decoupling Gliders, which have a Teflon slider on the bottom, so I can easily slide them around from position to position.

Well Stephen, I'm relieved, and happy for you!
I'm also a fan of Dynaudio.

Yes, me, too. I've lived with Dynaudio for a decade now and have been very, very happy. A true engineering-based company whose products punch way above their respective price points, make real music, and also look beautiful in the home. And, not like something out of a Transformers movie! :p

Had a pair of Dynaudio SE70's for a few years. Really enjoyed them with a pair of 501 monoblocks. :yes: In fact went to listen to the Dynaudio 40th anniversary before finally settling on Harbeth 30.2 anniversary. Really liked the Special 40 from Dynaudio, fun and musical speaker and at the $3k price, it was a really tough decision to spend 2x as much on 30.2s! No regrets either way! :banana:

That's right, I DO remember you auditioning the Special 40s, come to think of it.

They are quite seductive in that gorgeous Red Birch finish...

:yes:

Dynaudio Contour 60's. That's where I'd lay my cash if I was purchasing.

Congrats Stephen very nice!

Congratulations on the Harbeth's Stephen!! :thumbsup:

I have to agree with you on Dynaudio. I have owned a few pair and nothing else can quite compete with them on cost vs. performance ratio in my opinion.

Those would be great, but too big for my small listening space.

Thanks, Dave.

Yep, Dyns are great. If I had a space large enough and a budget large enough to build an "all-out" system, it would be with the new Confidence 60s.

Maybe 40's or even 20's. How big of a room are your 5.4's in now? I never thought about over playing my listening room.

Hi Jack,
My 3.4s are in an open floor-plan "living room" area, but its not a conventional room with four walls by any stretch.

I'm getting a pair of Harbeth 30.2s, FWIW. These will let me sit near-field, which will be ideal in my small space. I will be placing the Harbeths 6 feet apart and sit 6 feet in front of them.

They are conducive of near field listening. :yes: I tried.

Most folks are not living in 25,000 sq ft mansions overseas and make do with flats. Amazingly even the big Tannoys do ok in tight quarters. It must be in the inherent design parameters for British speakers. :scratch2:

I agree, and the Harbeths originated, IIRC, out of a design brief developed by the BBC for monitors, so they should peform well in a near-field setup.

I'm going to go with stands by Resonant Woods in solid figured maple. Hand-crafted and all joints are mortise and tenon joints.

Resonant Woods had a pair returned from being lightly damaged in shipping and have been refurbished. All Brooks has to do is finish sanding and varnishing them; here's a photo of them refurb'd and awaiting sanding and varnishing.

http://photos.imageevent.com/puma_ca...0stand%202.jpg

Here's a pic of what the stands when they were first built; the refurb'd stands will be very close in appearance to this.

http://photos.imageevent.com/puma_ca...e%20resize.JPG

This worked out well; I saved $400 over the price of new stands, as well as 4-5 weeks in lead time for a new order...:thumbsup:

Very nice looking stands! :thumbsup:

Indeed. The figured maple should look really nice in my home.

Congratulations, Stephen! Can't wait to read about your new sound. :music::banana: