Harbeth M30.1

ADITYA.M

Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2017
Messages
20
Points
18
Location
DELHI
Hi guys. Anyone here using Harbeth M30.1 speakers. I am planning to buy these. There’s no demo available here in Delhi. So please give your inputs. How does it sound. How does it compare to the other speakers in the Harbeth range. I have a Luxman L509 amplifier and my room size is 10x15 ft.

Thanks

Aditya
 
I've heard the M30.1 and SHL5+ side by side. Was more of a casual listening session rather than a proper demo so my impressions are somewhat incomplete.

My sense was that the 30.1 is the more involving speaker, albeit with wooly bass. The SHL5+ sounded more complete (better extension at the low end), but I didn't find it as involving. The 30.1 felt like a more refined version of the Compact 7.

Given the price points of these speakers, it may be worth spending the time and effort to come hear them in Bangalore with Absolute Phase.
 
I've heard the M30.1 and SHL5+ side by side. Was more of a casual listening session rather than a proper demo so my impressions are somewhat incomplete.

My sense was that the 30.1 is the more involving speaker, albeit with wooly bass. The SHL5+ sounded more complete (better extension at the low end), but I didn't find it as involving. The 30.1 felt like a more refined version of the Compact 7.

Given the price points of these speakers, it may be worth spending the time and effort to come hear them in Bangalore with Absolute Phase.

By wooly bass do you mean loose undefined bass??
 
Hey Aditya M,

I have the Graham 5/9 which is sort of what we in India would call as the “cousin brother” of the 30.1. I believe the sonic signature would be similar.

In 2 words “love em”. I listen to lots of music and all the lots of them sound great to me. Owned them for about 4 years which is pretty long for a guy whose regular reading includes “dailyaudiophile”.

I have owned the Compact 7 - the Graham and, I suspect, the 30.1 will have more clarity, but the Compact 7 will go deeper in the bass and be more forgiving.

Now you have a Jai comment saying woolly bass and that you may end up googling it like crazy - but was it the amp, the cable, the stand on which the damn thing stood - you would never know.

So the sensible thing is to follow Jai’s advice and go to Bangalore. If you don’t plan to buy from the dealer, it may be unfair to waste his time - beg Orko for a listen perhaps? But then, you would not know the sound with the Luxman, but at least it is less of a punt.

There are probably many hundred reviews on the Harbeth, and probably a few On Harbeth-Luxman also (ok I admit, I have googled that also). So no point picking up more opinions, unless you know the person and that person’s taste is similar to yours - forget the gurus.

Good luck- if you are like me in hifi, am sure you would love it.
 
I am using Harbeth 30.1.
What would you like to know.??To me they a re open sounding.Please ask specific questions and I can comment.
I use a subwoofer in my 10 x 18 ft room (which also open to dining and kitchen).
I haven't any heard any other Harbeths ,so cannot compare.The below link should help for sure.

Thanks,
 
In my setup their bass is not wolly at all(clean,well defined but lean without the sub:)
They need space around them to shine.Positioning is important.
The only concern I have is they have a mid range glare.But this is to do with positioning I think.
I notice this only on some occasions at some positions especially when they are further apart.
Weather it is my mood, positioning,cables or rest of my chain,or room,I don't know.
However ,they have a very intimate/real vocals I should say.(Vocal are projected-Again this may be to do with positioning).
Closer to front wall:softer sound,further towards the room: open clear forward sound,Wider apart: I get the glare.
Please note from my signature that rest of my chain is not high end.
In my setup the speaker is the higher priced item by a big margin to other components.
Normal cables.No room treatments. Acer Laptop with Foobar.
 
Hi Audiophiles,

Weather it is my mood, positioning,cables or rest of my chain,or room,I don't know.

Correcting spello of weather to whether to avoid confusion:):)
 
Hi, if you’re looking for one more opinion, here it is — although I’m no golden-eared audiophile so take it for what it’s worth :)
I find the Harbeth speakers to sound remarkably close to each other. In fact, if I weren’t listening to them side by side, I’d be hard-pressed to tell them apart from sound alone. Yes, some of them go a little lower and some project a slightly larger soundstage but overall they’re more similar than not. The point I’m making is that if you like the Harbeth sound, you can’t go wrong choosing any of these speakers. Choose one according to your budget and room.
To my ears, the Monitor range (30 and 40, and among these I would also include the P3ESR) are of a kind, while the Compact 7 and the Super HL seem cut from the same cloth. I feel the former are made to deliver maximum openness (naturally because they’re meant to be monitors in studios), while the latter are made to extract a few more ounces from the low-end while sacrificing a fraction of the transparency in the midrange.
I agree with Shinto: All these speakers benefit from being away from the walls. With enough space around them, they can deliver a very fast and open sound. If you have a small room, I would suggest going with the Monitor series because they are built for near-field listening. Vinnie Rossi argues that’s the best way to listen to them — pulled way into the room and dramatically close to one’s ears — and once you hear them like that, it’s hard to argue with him.
Coming to the Monitor 30 (.1 or .2… very little difference between the two), it’s a gorgeous speaker that can afford hours of fatigue-free listening. Having heard Vivek’s Graham LS5/9, I concur that the sound signatures of that and the Monitor 30.1 is close enough to being practically identical.
Regarding Jai’s comment about the bass being wooly, I suspect that has to do with the specific room more than anything else. I’ve heard these speakers in multiple rooms now, in India, Malaysia, Japan and in the UK, and the bass has felt sometimes lean but never wooly. Set up right, the Monitor 30s deliver bass that doesn’t go down very deep but is adequately tight and texturally rich.
Apart from the M30, I also have a pair of P3ESR, and if I can lay my hands on the Monitor 40, I will almost certainly lock myself in the house, seal the doors and windows, throw my phone into the fire and bid goodbye to the world.
As the others have suggested, the best thing for you to do, Aditya, is obviously listen for yourself and make up your own mind. If you’re in Bangers, you’re always welcome to come over and listen at my place. I’m out of the country for a few weeks but back at the end of the month.
(Look at this — my first post in the forum in a couple of years and I can’t stop talking. I’ll shut up now and return to my music... Blue Mitchell is waiting with Minor Vamp.)
 
Oye Orko.Lets meet when you gallivant herewards. I just got a Blue Mitchell set too.

Or we meet in the hills. Like in another post

If dogs run free why not we
Across the swooping plains

Aditya, the BBC speakers do tone like none other. You will sacrifice that dynamic rush (have you all noticed the come back of JBL and Klipsch and the like), But pair it well (and I would think your Luxman would work well). Rock jazz or classical, it would be all thst you need.

Till you are stuck inside of Mobile
 
Oye Orko.Lets meet when you gallivant herewards. I just got a Blue Mitchell set too.

Or we meet in the hills. Like in another post

Just got word that I will need to be in Bombay on the 27th but the hills sound like a decidedly better idea. Let me know when and where and I’ll try my damnedest. If it’s the hills, I propose Bill Evans and his particular flavour of high lonesome sounds. Everyone can bring their own heartache and shoot it full of holes.
 
Just got word that I will need to be in Bombay on the 27th but the hills sound like a decidedly better idea. Let me know when and where and I’ll try my damnedest. If it’s the hills, I propose Bill Evans and his particular flavour of high lonesome sounds. Everyone can bring their own heartache and shoot it full of holes.

Orko, we need you to post more often!


.
 
Orko, we need you to post more often!

Hi Nikhil, I would if I didn’t have the attention span of a gnat on mdma. Now where were we...

Is there any difference between 30.1 & 30.2 ??

...oh yes, back to the Harbeths.
Speaking for myself, yes there are differences if I’m intent on finding some; and absolutely none if I close my eyes and submit myself to the music. This is a question that must be answered by your ears alone :)
 
There are hifi speakers and then there are the special ones. The 30.1 is a special one. Heard them a lot at Orko's home. I am sure the 30.2's will give you a little bit more of that harbeth monitor magic. Enjoy.
 
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