Devore or Harbeths to replace my ESL63s?


I'm on the last stages of a speaker quest that has been quite difficult. For the last year I've had ESL 63s in a smallish room (14'8 x 11'10). I've got them to work extremely well for small scale ensembles, particularly jazz, and they also sound great with electronic music. But I can't give them enough space to image an orchestra, and they don't really rock (at least without Gradient sub-woofers, but that's another story...)

So after a long search, it's come down to either Harbeth or Devore for replacements. These have been my favourite contemporary speakers for years, so basically I've just spent a long time finding out what I already knew.

I previously owned Compact 7ES3 and enjoyed them, but found them unrefined in the soprano regio, and slightly muddy around the port output. The Monitor 30.1 is considerably smoother in the high frequencies and I find it a beautifully balanced speaker. It is the perfect size for my room, with one failing. It lacks the half octave of bass needed to give kick drums any force. I tried the new SHL5+ in my room but they are just too big for my room, sadly.

A friend of mine owns some Devore Nines. Very few people have Devores in the UK, but he has a fantastic system with VTL 2.5/150. It used to be that when I heard his system I would find the Compact 7s unlistenable for a couple of days. That changed with the ESL63s, but the Quads have an uneven combination of great strengths and severe limits in a small room.

So it's come down to either Harbeth M30.1, Devore Super 8, or Devore 88.

I have a second hand pair of the Super 8s at home at the moment. They are beautifully organic and draw you in to their world gradually. Other speakers I have at home have more immediate and crisp micro-detail (Harbeth P3ESR for example), but the Super 8s seem to put a root into the ground and claim the room as the proper place for their music making. Relax, they say, don't worry about the details, we will sort out your musical life.

I have only two reservations; first, they are quite lean in the mid-bass, especially in comparison to my friend's Nines, and this presents some limits with rock and electronic. Second, my system is optimised for Harbeths (and then for ESLs), and Devores would probably work better with lower powered, very refined valve amps. I don't get the same clarity that I get with Harbeths in my system.

I also have an option on some second hand 88s, but I have never heard them and I would have to buy blind. That is generally against my religion.

I guess the key question is; do I go with what I know (Monitor 30.1) or look to optimise my system gradually for the newcomers (Devore Super 8 or 88).

I'd be grateful for any thoughts from anyone who has compared the M30.1 with Devores in the same room, since that is what I can't do at the moment.

(My system details: the amps are Unison Research Unico Pre/DM. The sources are a Fletcher Omega Point 5/Audio Note Arm/Nagaoka MP500, Trichord Diablo/NCPSU). Audio Synthesis DAX Discrete with AS modded CD Transport.)
andreweast
This is not from your preferences but being in the U.K., have you tried to listen to the Boenicke 5se? I haven't, but am planning on moving to a monitor speaker that doesn't need a sub and from what I've read, these Boenickes are floating a lot of folks boats.

All the best,
Nonoise
As both a long term owner and admirer of both Harbeth M30 and M40.1s (owned for over 10 years combined) with a room a little larger than yours ( 16' x 14'. I'd recommend you try to listen to Gradient Revolutions . I've owned a pair of the active version for the last year or so and they perform wonderfully especially in the bass. ( my musical tastes are all genres and periods of classical music )
Its a toss up which I prefer the M40.1s or the Gradients but in my room I'd give the nod slightly to the Gradients.
A second hand pair may not be much more than the M30.1s. ( my favorite mid sized monitor.)
Von Schweikert Unifield 2 monitors. Just throwing these out there as another possibility to audition. Not sure if they are available in the UK.
I was between Devore O'96's and the Harbeth 30.1. As I run an all Shindo front end I went with the O/96's as they are more efficient and John Devore uses Shindo (and others) to voice his speakers. It's an amazing combo for me. If i had a solid state rig I'd probably lean towards the Harbeths.
I have heard the Devore Super 8s sound lovely with warm sounding Leben electronics, but the 88 is also a little lean IMHO. Dynaudio Focus 260 by comparison had a more even tonal balance but lacked the quickness of the Devores. Harbeths with the Leben had a lush, romantic presentation when auditioned at a local retailer a
few years ago.