Current system: CDS3/XPS2/252/300/Focal Sopra N1
Looking for a standmount speaker which is strong in vocal/mid range, smooth without bright and fast bass, considering ATC SCM20SL and Harbeth M30.1.
My favor sings are pop and jazz, no classical, would need your opinion for which one is suitable for me.
Appreciate your input.
I have ND555/NAC552/300DR with Harbeth 30.2’s.
I listen to POP, Jazz, Classic Western, Classical, Big Band from the 40’s, etc.
I have a small apartment and play music at moderate levels.
My wife’s favorite speakers were Harbeth 30.1’s. After trying various speakers I came back to Harbeth’s.
I’m downsizing now because of age and health. I’ll keep the 30.2’s and replace the big, heavy Naim boxes with smaller, lighter ones from Denmark.
I can’t say what will be suitable for you but the Harbeth’s worked well with Naim.
You really need to listen to both sets of speakers as they are SO different.
The listening room also plays into the choice. ATC are optimised more towards smaller rooms the Harbeths optimised more towards mid to larger rooms; however, this is just the bass optimisation.
N.B. I’m not saying that for you they won’t sound better the other way round, just that the room plays significant part in how speakers sound in any given circumstance.
Thank you for the advice and noted 300 is enough power for m30.
Can I suggest you might put Neat and Kudos in the mix?
Many thanks for your advice. Sorry due to covid19 am not able to audit both in dealer which only can buy 2nd hand in online.
Can you share more about the main difference between both, which one is more laid back and sound release? Which one have bigger sound stage and more 3D?
My listening room is small (around 8ft x 10ft), so is this mean the bass presentation of Harbeth M30.1 is stronger than ATC SCM20SL ?
Are you using both speaker now ?
Hi are they also good in mid range/vocal ?
What Sopra 1 is lacking so you want to change it? I also have similar requirements with you and i am looking for speaker change. Two of my candidates are Harbeth 30.2 and Sopra 1. Never heard them though…
For focal sopra 1, Everything is good except vocal is too bright/not sweet enough when listening in high volumn.
Most definitely, I love the singing of Ella Fitz, Armstrong, Paul Rodgers, Daltrey, Jenny Warnes etc and all articulate beautifully. Also I love jazz and brass instruments and the textures are stunning.
Are you intending the speakers as replacements for your Focals? If so, what do you feel needs improving? I think your answer to this will help in determining which way to jump.
FWIW the founder and head of ATC for nearly 50 years, Billy Woodman, is a jazz pianist. ATCs do seem to excel at reproducing piano, at least mine do.
Roger
That really is very small, probably far too small for the ATC and almost certainly too small for the Harbeth, which need lots of space. How about the ProAc Tablette 10 Signature? Way better than their modest price might suggest, sealed boxes and designed to work close the the wall. Put them on some good stands and they may well be perfect.
Or try smaller Atc such as the 11 or 7’s? I run 7’s either supernait 3 in a 4m x 4.5m room and the bass is surprising…
Neither of those speakers will work well in a room that small or with you sitting that close to them (which may be a part of the problem you have with the Sopras).
For circumstances like that you need to use near field monitor speakers. Even then to control the bass resonances at 51Hz and 69Hz you are likely to need tuned bass traps. Diffusers at the 1st reflection point will also be important (if you don’t already have them this again could be another big part of the overly bright vocal presentation from the Sopras).
When I heard the Sopras they must have been easily 10 feet out in the room! I very much doubt they work well in your room.
I have heard LS3/5A’s sounding very fine in a similar room and I expect @anon4489532 suggestion of the Tablettes would be well worth following up.
Just to back up the room points made above, the M30.1 is a similar design to the BBC LS5/9. If you search for the BBC design paper, they were tested in a room of 70 cubic metres, approximately three times the size of the OP. In my room of about 24 x 12, firing the length, they are a foot from the end wall and nearly 3 feet from the side. Any closer and the bass becomes flabby. So a vote for Tablettes, LS3/5a.
If you are interested in the BBC design concept at a lower cost, there are two pairs of Swisstone LS3 advertised at a dealer in Lancashire.
Hi all, i think the problem is not the space, it is because my living room (around 8ft x 10ft) is next to the listening room, the left side is window and right side is the living room which have extra space for speaker to breath, and there is no any boom issue.
I think this is the matter of taste, because the tweeter of sopra is beryllium which present clear and clarity sound, so when play the music loud then the vocal is little bit bright (just in person), thats why i consider to change the speaker that with the soft dome tweeter to make the vocal more smooth, comfortable and relax.
I hope you find a solution to your problem, but I would be wary of assuming that the issue is just a matter of changing to a different tweeter material. The implementation and voicing are just as important IMO. So as @Xanthe says I think home audition, if possible, would be the way to go, particularly in your small room.
Roger
Oops, sorry! This was meant to be a reply to @Best_jerry
If you are near the south coast of the UK, the Brighton branch of Audio-T are having a Naim/ ATC event on Fri 25th and Sat 26th February. Reps from both companies on hand as well as gear dems.
I have had the Harbeth 30.1 with a Naim system, but before I had the 252 and 300. Their strong point is the mid-range, which is clear and expressive, so they are excellent with the human voice. For me the bass was fine but I don’t think it would be characterised as ‘fast’ - I noticed a significant difference in that aspect of music reproduction when I went to the SL2. The reason I moved from the Harbeths, which I really liked, was that they weren’t suitable for my room after I moved house. As has been pointed out above, they need a lot of space to work well and should not be positioned near back or side walls.