Can the Harbeth 40.1's boggie ?????

....thanks Mike and as we discussed, you have the room for the Harbeth 40.1's.....they are truly something special. I ended up after extensive evalution, with the Sonus Faber Cremona M's in maple.....I found them to be more tonally coherent, very musical and they seem fit in my room much better. They also seem to mate well with my current equipment, cables and musical tastes....see it all worked out and now to pay Audiogon there portion of the sale.....TVAD - seeing how you must have allot of time - please check for any spelling %rrors and let me know !!!!

Grebear,
The Cremona M's must be very special to replace the 40.1s, and congrats on that! As far as errors go, you used there instead of their.

From what I gather the Cremona M's and older Sonus Faber designs do not sound alike. The lush, warm and romantic sound of the older Cremona has been replaced by a leaner, forward and more dynamic sound of the Cremona M's. I wager the Cremona M's will certainly have the ability to boogie a whole lot better than the older SF models. I've owned and listened to some older Sonus Fabers and they are thick-sounding and rolled-off in the highs.

......the Sonus Faber Cremona M's to me, are more tonally correct. The Harbeth's mid range is very good but I found the upper range ( tweeter ) not involving at all and at times, to me, lacked any sort of detail. It was like the speaker has been dampened for a lack of any better word. Again, not to start any arguments, it is a terrific speaker, however, I tend to enjoy a more open, dynamic sound. I realized when I purchased the Harbeth's what I was getting into from a sonic standpoint, but because of my room, they just were not a good fit. The Sonus Faber Cremona M's are not dark in any way and even after only 30 hours are really starting to open up.

I had the Cremona before the M and did find it a tad dark and requiring some considerable current to control the bass drivers otherwise bass came out one note and lumpy. The M is a considerable improvement.

I sold the Cremona and it was a toss between the Cremona M or the 40.1. I bought the 40.1 and for a while I wasnt quite sure whether it could boogie. In a state of denial? another boo boo.... in boogie? Hats off to you Garebear for being incisive in your decision.

After these long months and much experimentation with different equipment, my conclusion is it doesnt boogie but will allow you a jig with the right equipment.

I am inclined to agree that the tweeter may be abit tame to allow it the "speed" to boogie but thats my view.

I really shouldnt be suprised with my conclusion as some of the boys on the Harbeth site including Alan Shaw the designer are now having a go at defining fast and slow speakers and PRaT. Of course the conclusion is, its all a figment of an over analytical approach to music or a neurosis as suggested in the past.