Ascend Sierra 1s to Harbeth 7ES-3s?

Rar1,

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Spendor's are somewhat similar to the Harbeth sound, which is also British. Nonetheless, your comment is intriguing as it gives weight to the idea that it really comes down to the listener -- not the price.

Zkspb8 made the observation that the Harbeth's are neither lush nor romantic, but more natural and clear. From reading the various forums, people have described the Harbeth's as having a lush sound. We all hear something different, but I wonder if this perception is due to the combination of the great reproduction of the midrange and the type and quality of recordings (vocal) that are generally being played with these speakers?

I mentioned the Spendors because they are similar to the Harbeths in terms of sound.

I tried very hard to like the Spendors, but I felt that it was an unremarkable sounding speaker, especially for the price. The speaker had very little presence. I liked the Rega Aras (similar to the current R1) that I picked up as NOS from a dealer for $250 much more. It communicated the overall sonic picture better.

You mention lush and romantic sounding midrange. Look at offerings from Opera and Vienna Acoustics as they are especially sweet sounding speakers. I would describe my Opera Plateas as such.

Rich

What's the question? If you like Harbeths get them. I'm with you. The best speaker regardless of price.

To my ears, Hartbeths have some warmth to them - but I think this comes more from how they handle the frequency extremes. I don't think they're lush speakers (but someone might think they are, if they're coming from an analytical/dry speaker). IMO the Harbeths balance an accurate sound that still feels like real music. I hate the accurate word, but I guess the point that I'm making is that the Harbeths balance a degree of warmth without coloring the mids. There are many hyper analytical speakers out there that don't sound like real music, and I've found Harbeths to balance the tradeoffs of acceptable detail and a believable musical presentation.
That's my take, yours might be different - best to listen for yourself...

Thanks for all the input. I'm planning on making a fleXy rack this weekend, and then purchasing a the pre whenever one comes up. I figure I take it one day at a time, which will allow me time to get down to Phoenix to audition the Harbeth's. Thanks for the guidance. Greatly appreciated!