Harbeth sound with high wife acceptance factor?


I fell in love today with the Harbeth C7s.

Unfortunately, my wife did not.

She doesn't like speakers on stands, she doesn't like big speakers. But she did like the sound ;-)

Any suggestions for a small floorstander with Harbeth sound and better looks? We listened to the Dali Mentor 6 - the looks were great, the sounds was good, but it was just not as musical as the Harbeth.

Budget is around $3,000 - any suggestions?
ctkeene
If you want a smaller speaker with the Harbeth sound, did you check out the P3ESR? Not quite as much bass at the C7s, but they are pretty amazing speakers in their own right.

As for stands, the best sounding and looking stands for Harbeth IMO are the Foundation stands from the UK. They're made specifically for Harbeth speakers.

I have a pair of C7s, which will likely be my last speakers unless I come into money and move up the Harbeth line. Luckily my wife loves them too.
I am a Harbethophile, so sympathetic to your plight. In addition to Spendor, I would also look at ProAc's smaller floor standers. Also, at a much lower price point than the C7, the Quad 21L2's might work for you, generally very high WAF, and apealing sound. The Harbeth 30.1's are my ultimate target for living room system upgrade, but they are about 2x the cost of the C7. Nice trade if you can swing it.

kn
CTKeene

I think you will both love these Vandersteen Treo"s
42.5 tall 10 deep 6 inches wide at top 10 bottom wide
I am a Vandy dealer for over 20 years


http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=803:vandersteen-audio-treo-loudspeakers&catid=100&Itemid=143

http://www.stereophile.com/content/vandersteen-treo
Maybe we should start with the root of the problem... It's not good for your Wife to be getting high ;-)

Lol, oh my gosh, I kill myself!

There was a pair of Celestion Kingstons here for sale a few weeks back and they look pretty dang nice and got great reviews also...
How about the Ohm 5's that are listed at 2900.00 in burl finish;I have not heard these but reviews and owners here love them and that finish looks very nice to me.
Another speaker that may pass the waf test would be Merlin.
What power is going to be driving the speaker?