What I wish my loudspeakers looked like... What my loudspeakers look like... (image is reversed somehow?)
One thing that I was thinking was that someone could buy a pair of your speakers for a modest sum, like the ones I had posted on sale in eBay. They could then spend a modest sum to have them covered with a veneer or even placed in a custom cabinet. You would still be thousands less than with many other speakers that would not preform as well as yours do. I have La Scalla's in custom cabinets. And I have A7's in custom cabinets. (Without their front grills) While these and K-Horns might be too large for the average living room, your JBL's are considerably smaller and when given a furniture quality covering, would be very workable. I would place the HF horn in a small separate box and put it on the top with a lazy-susan type mounting bracket. This way, the bass cabinets could be positioned flat against the wall and the tweeters pointed toward the direction of the listening position.
I have been thinking of this very thing... The horns are already adjustable in both the vertical and horizontal plane.
The XD and the 40th Anniversary are much better than anything else that Harbeth has produced in the past imo. The pre-XD and pre-40th Anniversary are much closer to the traditional BBC signature which may sound a little old fashioned while the XD/40th Anniversary are more spirited and modernized. They have better midrange and the new crossover gives them a more accurate frequency response and a better soundstage. A Harbeth for the 21st century is how Alan Shaw described them to me and I fully agree.
One advice because I have read it in the past from people in several forums/groups. The 40th.A.E. versions of the speaker doesn't sound the same as the XD versions. Pictures of the crossover (you can see different values of resistors and caps) and measurements of some magazines of the different speakers proofed that.
What Alan Shaw said was that only the P3 has a different, redesigned, crossover while the other models are the same with the exception of the fancy banana plugs and the veneers.
AFAIK he didn't said that and again, measurements and pictures of the crossover show that they use parts with different values so it MUST sound different. SHL5plus XD: vs. Harbeth SHL5 plus 40th.A.E. Harbeth C7 ES3 XD vs. Harbeth C7 ES3 40th. A.E.
JBL L100 Classic 75th Anniversary, actually nearer 91dB sensitivity and nearly as good as my JBL 4367's! The L100 75th and Class A is a match made in heaven. Try and have a listen if you can.
Yeah check those out. Although I think the A4 is a better sounding speaker. I really do think you need to listen to Proac as well. The D line might fit the bill. Very lush mids as we like, but tighter and faster than a traditional BBC. Have you ever heard a Proac speaker? cheers
Here you go bro! Have you heard? If not seek them out! Ya never know! SR-2 - Pass Labs But seriously….those speakers are so rare…I doubt you’d find a pair….but have you considered a non Brit speaker? I mean you have an American amp as well as preamp….both have neutral >>>>warm leanings. I do like the ProAcs…but look towards the Fact 8! Or better still…the IB2 Se….end game lil bro! I mean…you have the amp and pre! Oh…forgot…Pass as well as Cary are excellent with Ultima Studio as well as Salon….what you have mates well with B-Tweeters…I suspect you don’t like Ceramic as well as B…but you’ve never heard them with the right reference amp/preamp…and you have right amps. I promise you….all speakers I listed will have the transients you seek!
Seriously. At what price point do factory crossovers start to include primo parts? My Focals were like $5,000 when new (I bought used) and the crossover parts in them are pretty hokey. Not that I have any idea how much such things impact sound quality, I assume design is much more important, but jeez.
You wouldn't actually know unless you peel off the "sticker made in Britain" from the MP Axial At least Suntan, Hong Kong, is a former British colony... Those values of Metallized polypropylene Suntans aren't available anywhere currently. Fortunately, it don't matter, as long as the part is specified and qualified appropriately. 0.02% distortion @10k typical of film caps is nothing compared to any speaker.
It's all important really, if you have high quality drivers in a decent enclosure and the upstream allows you to hear the difference, it can be huge. Least it is to me.
For that speaker that film cap is probably good enough, and most people don't care or can't hear the diff.
