I saw that Harbeth ( only judged by two pairs I have ) speakers revealed the amp (and "sound related" things before the amp) "characters" much better than my other speakers before. As said in my experiences, they are as "amp" independent as possible, but good amps are sounding good (with/on them) and bad as bad, no miracle. About heat, now attached to Jadis Orchestra that I didn't use for hot summer days, C7 XD shines, feeling that my hifi gear gains premium status.
The heat of the tube amp is one of the reasons I sought out a SS ... this summer I just didn't want to turn it on and have it fight with the air conditioner ;>) I agree with you about Harbeths letting the characteristics of whatever amp they're plugged in to come through. With my SHL5+, the change from a tube integrated to SS separates was very obvious. What surprised me was how my impressions of the SS amp were exactly mirrored by a reviewer ... the Harbeth's were telling me "this is what you got" .
yep, also a pontus 2 with my 30.2 XD's. Not sure about laid back, as I think it sounds great. (My amp is a Luxman L509X, for what it's worth.) One thing I did find was that the I2S connection to the Pontus from my raspberry pi + Pi2AES hat streamer was a bit too, um, harsh... So I'm using the AES/EBU connection and I'm very happy with the sound.
@LeBud Now less hot, some days ago I return to SS Lavardin ISx and wanted opinion from my wife. She prefered SS Lavardin over tube of Jadis Orchestra. After that, I tend to "hear" the same, as tube amp is "musical" ...( maybe more distortion ?), but lacks something that is in the SS, ISx with it's obscur ( clearly real thing in my hearing) "memory distortion" circuits. Now waiting for the ISx Reference to come, ordered almost two weeks ago.
Hi, I’d like to ask for opinions from people familiar with Harbeth finishes or wood veneer and/or Tamo Ash in general. This 30.2 XD speaker has what appears to be a fairly long line or indentation in the veneer. I’ve included a regular sized and a close-up photo to show what I’m referring to. To me it doesn’t look like a natural part of the wood since it cuts across the grain. Maybe something happened with a tool during production? But I’m curious what others think. Also if it is a flaw in the wood would this be enough to warrant classification as B-stock? Or even if it is not man-made, does it look enough like a flaw that it might impact future trade-in or resale value? Thanks.
Even if it isn't a man-made flaw, it looks like one. I expect it would negatively affect resale value.
I’m running P3ESRs with a Jay’s Audio CDT2 mk2 connected with I2S into Venus II. Amp is Luxman L590AX-II. Very happy with the sound although I supplement it with an SVS SB3000 for the deeper stuff. I2S audibly better than coax in this config.
That's a good question - maybe a little but not much. Maybe there was something deeper in a thicker piece of wood that was then sliced into multiple, thin pieces of veneer and sanded down? Or it could just be something different.
it doesn't look sanded down... there are areas where the grain looks different on one side of the line to the other. I have a few guitars that have imperfections known as "bearclaw"... where it looks like something happened to the wood (like maybe a bear scratched it when it was a tree!), and then it continued to grow and heal and whatnot. Some might think it's cool, some might cast it right off, and some might not care one whit. A frequent response when a similar question is asked over on the guitar forums: How does it sound?
It's strange; when I press my ear up against it it suddenly becomes more difficult to hear the speakers. But otherwise the sounds seems fine...
Looks like a long dent to me. The Harbeths I owned had very soft veneer, it was easy to dent with something like a fingernail. In my view, it would affect resale; most definitely should be pointed out to potential buyer.
I moved the 30.2XD's downstairs, as I am demoing (and falling in love with) a pair of KLH Model 5's upstairs. The Harbeths sound great in this little space with a Schiit Freya+/Aegir mono combo, and will likely replace the Magnepan .7's that were down there. (Well, absolutely sure, as I put the Maggies up on USAM.) (Note: I had higher-powered Schiit Vidars running the Maggies.)
My C7 40th anniversary are in Tamo Ash and they look nothing like that photo. This looks like a serious dent.
looks like an imperfection in the veneer. how does it look zoomed out ? is it on both speakers? supposed to be a matched set.
Looks like should have been sold a "B" stock. Harbeth speakers are expensive and their veneer should be perfect.
yes but possibly not with the microscopic zoom of the picture. that close up might catch flaws in anything. i would like to see it zoomed out so we can see the whole speaker
the tamo ash is sooooo different from example to example. here's the side of one of mine when they were upstairs. Definitely has some of that shimmer reminiscent of the 40th anniversary silver eucalyptus...
I thought you have a C7 XD, the the speaker looks larger on your picture then it is but still your M30.2 XD veneer is tamo ash not silver eucalyptus. This is silber eucalyptus:
