speaker audition: SF Amati, Stenheim, harbeth
 

just returned from auditioning 3 speakers. sonus faber amati tradition, stenheim 5 and harbeth monitors. anyone compare these first hand. comments? thanks.

ed

What were your impressions?

harbeth: very smooth midrange. vocals sounded great. low end suffered, would need to add subs. moon separates
stenheim: very dynamic and detailed. running thru MSB electronics. room filling sound.
sonus faber amatis: moon and mcintosh separates. just magical sounding. maybe not as dynamic as stenheim but could listen to for hours. true synergy with mcintosh gear.
sonus faber olympica nova 3: moon separates. not as magical sounding as amati's but great soundstage and very pleasing sound.

the stenheim and sonus faber's just disappear; not so much with harbeth's.

Thanks for sharing your impressions, very interesting [emoji106]
Do you recall which Harbeth model you auditioned?

I believe h5 d(around 9k. They just sold the 40.2 which I was hoping to hear. I would think maybe 2 subs not necessary. Other impressions I recall. The amatis vocals were nicely positioned insoundstage. The stenheim were farther back on stage. Harbeth about the same as amatis in that respect.

Thanks for sharing your impressions, very interesting.

I have heard the same things that you shared. It's their brands house sounds. Different flavors for all ears. I ended up with Vandersteen Quatro CT/painted Audi Havana black after all my auditions, but I have and still am a Harbeth lover. I got to hear their 40.2 anniversary's with the top MSB gear with all Audioquest Dragon and Niagara 7000. Best sound out of a Harbeth that I've ever heard. Closest to disappearing that can get and it had plenty of detail.

Everything is a compromise, so it's fun reading others takes on various gear. Thanks.