Dynaudio vs Harbeth vs ProAc

@fast Hard to say, but as I was changing speakers around I owned quite a few different brands including Joseph and Harbeth, but ended up back with the ProAc D-40r. The new ribbon tweeters are so well integrated and natural sounding it is tough to beat, especially if you are used to the ProAc Sound

I have a slight preference for Harbeth over Proac but both are quite good. I agree with jpjerry Proac ribbons do sound very natural I was quite surprised when I heard them.  Dynaudio I've never heard but they are typically harder speakers to drive and not as well suited to tubes.

@fast Check out @milpai's threads on his quest.  Ended up between Spendor D7/9 and ProAc, and he went ProAc.  If you're anywhere near New Jersey, be sure to visit audioconnection

Those are 3 brands in which I've been interested over the years.

Initially I was high on Dynaudio because I'd heard them sound really neutral, controlled, etc.  But since then my encounters with Dynaudio speakers leaves me with the impression "boring."  Purely subjective of course, but there is something almost neutral to a fault about their sound, for me.  (And I normally like neutral.  I don't care for obvious frequency bumps and humps, and my current Thiels are superbly even and uncolored in that regard.  But instruments and voices sound more rich and organic through them, vs what I've heard from Dynaudio which always remind me I'm listening to a hi fi system).

I've always enjoyed the Proac sound but, as with Totem speakers, I usually find the sound to be a bit too obviously sculpted for long time enjoyment.  Just a bit "pinched" below the presence region, a bit of upper frequency spike that gives transients some excitement and clarity sitting on a bed of lusher mids.  A very nice sound to visit, but as I said, I've always found it a bit to "obvious" for me to desire those speakers.

That said, I gave Proac another chance recently....I've just forgotten the exact model number but it was modest sized floor stander with their new ribbon tweeter.   For me the ribbon tweeter of the Proac just stuck out pretty obviously.  And it's not that surprising given the speaker had to my ears that slightly sculpted upper frequency range to begin with.  There was an overall more icey character to the high end in the proac that left me cold.

I ended up with Harbeth Super HL5Plus speakers for a while, recently.
They sounded simultaneously "lush" and "neutral" which is quite a feat.
With a special roundness and softness for voices that is hard to find in any other speaker in my experience.  I can hear some of the box (or it seems to me I can) in the Harbeth sound, but it's a beautiful, organic, seductive presentation that draws me in.

In the end I preferred my Thiels, which to my ears sounded cleaner, more dynamically alive, realistic, but without sacrificing smoothness and body.

That's all darned subjective stuff though and should be taken with a heavy grain of salt.