Harbeth 40.2 OR Spendor Classic 100 OR ??

A friend whose home I have been to at least a dozen times has the Harbeth 40.2 speakers with Skyland stands and a Prima Luna Dialogue HP Integrated amp with 4 KT150 tubes outputting over 100wpc & it  sounds  sublime.  He is using a Palmer turntable, not sure of the mc cartridge but I know it was way up there in price.  He also has a tubed Line Magnetic CD player.  

He has the type of sound I really like, and it is a system I could probably live a very long time with.  It sounds best with the turntable, excellent with cd player and very good with his MD tuner.   The main thing that stands out is how effortless and smooth sounding the system is.  I am very impressed with it.

Both excellent choices.  I’d like to try some Spendors in the future.  Meanwhile, check out the Triangle Signature Thetas just to compare.  I believe Triangle is going to be back in the game here sooner than later.  The Thetas are unbelievable.  I have a pair, and I’m using a Belles Aria integrated.  The soundstage and imaging are truly amazing.  They do scale quite well so they fill a larger listening area?  Great base too for a standmount.  The “brightness” they have been associated with in the past; I don’t hear it.  Good luck with your journey.

I'm on my second stint with Harbeth 40.1's.   I had my first pair of 40.1's about seven years ago and regrettably sold them to try a pair of Daedalus Ulysses.   Daedalus cabinetry top notch and Lou Hinckley (Daedalus owner) is a very accommodating and generous with his time, but they just did't do it for me like the big Harbeth's.  The Ulysses bettered the 40.1's with regards to speed and dynamics, but the 40.1's won handily in the areas of tone, texture, weight/fullness and midrange magic. The 40.1's will never win a beauty contest and they don't sound sexy... but they just sound right to me.

Twoleftears, the bass response of the 40.1's is strong, but that is part of their allure for me.  If your listening room is not problematic with regards to dealing with bass, you can save yourself a lot of money by trying a pair of 40.1's vs. buying a new or used pair of 40.2's.  

Has the new Spendor ownership been a positive thing ?

Lou and Daedalus will be at CAF in November. I believe he is bringing the smallest of the Apollo series (called the "Apollo"). He is building a pair for me as I write. The Apollo would be the closest to the large Spendor/Harbeth's you are looking at--they are also a three-way design with a large woofer with a BIG sound in a relatively small package. (One that is IMHO far more attractive than the large cube you get with the British brands). The Argos would be another I would recommend exploring. You will never hear me bashing a pair of Harbeth/Spendors. I have heard the Harbeth 40.1's on many occasions and they are unfailingly musical. Compared with the Daedalus Ulysses that @pdreher owned, I would give a slight nod to the 40.1s--they just sound bigger and more robust (I have a buddy who had the Ulysses in a great system and heard them many times). However, Lou's Apollo series speakers are in a different league from the Ulysses, which is dated at this point. The new 10" driver is incredible and Lou has significantly improved the crossover network, which is now isolated in the cabinet. There is also a new tweeter as well as custom mounting fixtures for both the mid and woofer. The cabinets are much more significantly braced. I could go on but the bottom line is that the Apollo series are a significant step up from the Ulysses, which was a great speaker in its day. I flew out to Ferndale to visit Lou and hear the new design and we did a direct comparison to two earlier models. The difference is not at all subtle. I came back and sold my beloved Daedalus DA-1.1s and ordered the Apollos.  If you can get to CAF to hear the new Apollo's, go for it!