I loved the M30 but they were unfortunately too small for our rather large living room, and I didn't want to add subwoofers.
Perhaps, to some degree, but I still side with the Alan Shaw on this and feel the C7ES3 were one of the least fussy speakers I have owned.
As I've come to understand the 7s are the most warm of the 7, 30 and 5s. I had issues with undefined bass with my tube amp and SHL5 Plus but that's totally gone with my Supernait 1. It's super tight and defined now so amps matter a lot for Harbeths. However if you look at measurements Harbeths are actually very neutral and I'd say many other speakers are colored so to me it's wrong calling Harbeths warm and I'd say many other speakers instead are bright in comparison which to me often creates listening fatigue so you stop listen not because you are tired of music but because your ears are tired..
Yeah absolutely agreed! Most of my listening sessions are during late evening/night times where the volume is at just about 9 on the dial. If I’m cranking it up a bit, then I take off the loudness!
I’ve had it for a few days now, but I can’t give any comparison honestly since the cd6006 wasn’t hooked up to the DAC. The current 6000cdt is hooked up to the DAC and I’m just plain loving it. I guess it’s the DAC that’s making the difference maybe? Always thought the Marantz cd6006 was a lil bright.
the Harbeths can sound somewhat too rich if you don't work at getting the most out of them including positioning from wall, height of tweeters, toe-in, removed grilles, speaker cables and interconnect cables. Once optimized they can often sound better than 90% of speakers out there regardless of price. The C7s even on a bad day will trounce the Lintons best, no contest.
Wow that seems like a lot of time, work and money! So once optimised with positioning, height of tweeters, toe in, cables and IC ( u pretty much didn’t leave out any variable) only then will they sound like they should? And if all of the above is give to the lintons, why won’t they sound just as good? Or let me rephrase that, why won’t they sound better than 90% of speakers in their price range? Where I live, the harbeth cost 3-4 times the cost of the lintons. It’s a stupid price to pay for a 10% hike in sound quality. For me. Why would a c7 on a bad day trounce the lintons, if you give the lintons the best of the variables you have mentioned? I think the lintons are a good speaker in their own price point.
I feel I've lived and played with my Harbeth C7ES3 long enough to know what they're capable of and see them for their many strengths and weaknesses. I still want to hear the Lintons as they hold a curiosity for me regardless of price and provenance. At the end of the day, I trust my own ears over the internet's biases, preferences and agendas so I wish to learn first hand which speaker trounces, slays or waits after school to beat up and steal lunch money from which other speaker! Now if I could only find a stocking Linton dealer. With a city population of 6 million, it shouldn't be that hard!
the lintons lack transparency, realistic tone and timbre and have a less natural, less refined sound. they are not bad but cannot compete with the Harbeths if natural, true to life sound- especially voices, vocals and acoustic instruments are your preference. they are somewhat outrageously priced for the materials you pay for but the voicing is the magic. you can often find good deals on used models and they will hold their value well allowing you to trade up if you like. the lintons will be worth half of what you paid for them as soon as you open the box.
Your problem seems more they lack a boutique brand name on the grill. I'm sure they would sound better with Harbeth on them . In pointing out were you think Harbeth are superior you also highlight their possible limitations if you have a more catholic taste in music. Main reason Linton's are so affordable is economy of scale and Chinese manufacture. You cannot assume they are vastly inferior.
A the price the Harbeth go for, I would hope they are floors above the lintons... I don't think wharfedale pretend to sound better than harbeth or spendor with the heritage line in the first place.
I owned the Harbeth C7ES3 and listened to the Lintons. Even though a Harbeth badge would look right at home on the Linton's grille, it will in fact not help them to sound any better.
Yes, thank you. Just enough to sound excellent in my med/large room but the bass does run out of gas at higher volumes- I have measured it. My next and final upgrade will likely be in the amplification area- most likely a tube based preamp and solid state power amplifier.
speaking of amplification, how well do you's think my solid state Primare i30 integrated would match with the Linton's?
This is probably the stack I'm getting....the Evo 4.1 was awesome....but I had to step it up to the Evo 4.2 it came down to the Lintons and them...
I doubt it....don' let internet and Harbeth gang fool you...the c7 is probably the least touted of all the Harbeths....the Lintons will literally maul them in the bass and they are more versatile with different kinds of music....
no offense but once again i have owned the harbeth C7ES3 and heard the lintons and for me and my musical tastes there is no contest in terms of tone accuracy, transparency and refinement.
Spent the wknd listening to my new Lintons. First off you should know my main setup is with B&W 803 d2 and if you’re familiar with these speakers, they are considered to be quite accurate and detailed, and I’m not going to compare the two, just wanted to share with you, what my ears are familiar with. So first I’d like to say that while unboxing I felt like I was handling a much higher priced item. Upon setup they looked like a higher priced item. Sound, well I would describe it, like a woman that you think is beautiful, you can’t really pinpoint why you feel that way, the odd time you may see a slight flaw, but you know that you could easily be with her, for a very long time. As time goes on, she never really changes, you never get tired of her. You’re not always looking for her weaknesses. Not like those other guys that are constantly critiquing theirs, because she cost them too much, she’s not easy to live with, the sound of her voice can give them listening fatigue. Are there better speakers out there for the money? Maybe, but will they set you free? The Lintons are charming, they set you free to enjoy the music. Enjoy the music...
It's been some time now since some of you got your Lintons. Is there any significant difference after the break in period? Just wondering, as my Dentons developed quite a different sound after the long break in time - more open, transparent, smoother... But they are still not quite as dynamic as I would like, so I have my eye on Lintons. I also wonder if all those reviewers got them breaked in or not...
It's funny you say this I had the Denton 80th anniversary for about 2 months and I could never get them to not be very forward and glaring in the lower treble it was the first experience not perfect experience I had with a Wharfedale. But coming from some people I trust they said I didn't break them in long enough being a Wharfedale head knowing that my Diamond 8.1's got better and better over a whole year, I kinda regret not giving them a chance Wharfedale Kevlar takes a Loooonnnngggg time to come on song fully....so I'm curious as well about the owners with the Lintons and 85th Anniversary Denton's.
I feel I need to chime in on the the speaker break in period. If there is any validity to this, I believe it is so small that most if not all, would never be able to hear the difference. I believe it’s our ears / hearing that adjusts if any. The room the speakers are in has more effect than most anything else, if the speakers are powered by mid hifi. Trust what you hear after you’ve done your setup and played lots your music. The sound is not going to change after burnin... There is a lot of bull out there, trust your ears, that’s all the prof you need.
I wonder where you've seen wharfedale heritage line speakers going for half their price on the used market? I've had an alert set up through CL for years looking for used heritage line wharfedales... They never pop up, and when they do, it's relatively close to their new price... I felt darn lucky to get my Denton's for $350, and that was when they were on sale new through Amazon for 6 months for $400... If I remember correctly, you listened to them once in a show environment, yes? It seems odd you have such strong opinions after a single experience (you've been chiming in on this linton thread frequently expressing your very staunch disapproval for months). I would feel uncomfortable painting with such a broad brush without the experience of trying lots of different kit in a home environment. My experience with my Denton's has taught me that with the heritage line, your setup plays a massive role in the outcome.
To be fair though - you say you did all of these things to get the Harbeth to sound right but did you do the exact same things and level of effort to get the Linton's to sound right? Or did you just audition the Linton at an Audio Show? I get accused a lot of touting a speaker but as I often get beaten with the "it's just your opinion" speech - the "better than 90% of speakers regardless of price" thing won't be true for all people. Some speakers will lean to the warm side of the spectrum (probably the Lintons from the commentary) but if people like that they like it. And it's probably best to compare speakers in the same price range. The Wharfedale Linton is $1,198 a pair on Music Direct. I am not sure which speaker from Harbeth is a direct competitor? And with these opinions how often are they compared with several amplifiers/sources in several locations? I am fortunate that my dealer in Canada has several brands including Harbeth. Harbeth leans closer to my preferences but I do understand why some folks like Magnepan for example (I don't but I get it).
