Best purchases ever

[Pencey]

Just a shameless plug for Harbeth Compact 7's. Absolutely one of my best consumer purchases ever, and THE BEST of all the audio gear I've had come and go over the years. Harbeth's are not come and goers, they are keepers. Listening to now - Jean-Guihem Queyras, Dvorak, Cello Concerto, Harmonia Mundi. I am in audio heaven. Cheers!

[BAS-H]

Dear Pencey,

I'm a Proac owner and a Harbeth owner wannabe. Very interested to hear your positive comments about the Compact 7s. Tell me something - have you ever owned a similar-sized, ported speaker with which you could compare?

I had the Proac Studio 100 for a while. Their detail and imaging was superb but the boom from their ports ruined the sound for me. My guess after reading various posts of this (most informative) forum is that the ports of Harbeth designs simply augment the bass frequencies, without lessening the quality of bass, however it would be valuable to hear from one with first-hand experience.

Many thanks, Ben.

[davidlovel]

Ben, if I may interpolate in your conversation with Pencey:
"Tell me something - have you ever owned a similar-sized, ported speaker with which you could compare?",
I have only limited experience of the Compact 7 (I use SHL5s) but I'd say that the Spendor SP2 is a speaker you should also hear. Same BBC heritage, very similar sound to the Compact 7. We bought my son a pair of SP2s for his 21st birthday. A qualified tonnmeister he sees no need to change them after 19 years.

David

[BAS-H]

Thank you, David, appreciate it. More saving time required, it seems!
Ben

[hifi_dave]

The Studio 100 is crude in comparison and recessed through the mid band.

[honmanm]

My best buy so far was probably the Quad 33/303. Bought used in 1987, that combo set a standard in sheer enjoyment of music that has guided all subsequent purchases. After I'd moved on to newer gear, my Mom used them until a few years ago when a channel on the 303 died. I subsequently renewed all the electrolytic capacitors (descovering in the process just how good they must have been when new) and finally sold them last year to enable the purchase of the P3ESRs.

However other highlights in my career as a hi-fi womble were a pair of small Maggies needing repair (£50), and the Rega Kyte stands that the P3ESRs are on (cost of petrol). The latter was a bit of a story, a friend and I collaborated to buy the Kytes with stands on ebay - he wanted Kytes, and I needed stands. Just before leaving to collect, the seller called very apologetically "I was getting them down from the loft, and put my thumb through the driver - I guess they're only good for the tip now". There was an easy answer: "Well I'll take them off your hands"...

[singslingr]

I have a weakness for top-class bookshelf speakers so I'd say my best buys would have been the ProAc Response 1 SC back in 1995 (which I still have today), the Spendor SA1s and more recently, the P3ESRs.

All cracking little speakers that possess special qualities which sets them apart from the rest of the crowd.

[denjo]

Linaeum bookshelf speakers with ribbon tweeters! It sounded glorious, especially with a 300B SET powering it! Unfortunately, it was stolen during an office move! How I sorely miss those speakers.
The other 'best' buy was a mint pair of Rogers LS3/5a (15 ohm version) in teak which I still have to this day, occasionally hooked to my amplifier for some pensive nostalgia!

[keithwwk]

My best is Harbeth and LFD. Just right for my music taste.

[coredump]

My best is Harbeth and Lavardin IS. Truthfully right combination.