Devore or Harbeths to replace my ESL63s?

I too would appreciate reading a follow-up after you've lived with the 30.1's for a while. I read a blog a few months ago by a guy who has both ESL-57's and 30.1's, and as I recall he occasionally swaps them back and forth but overall prefers the 30.1. Hopefully you will feel the same way about the 30.1 and your ESL-63.

I thought I’d give an update on this thread, since I’m now using the M30.1 as my main speaker. It took some time to make a proper decision to say goodbye the the 63s. During this time I switched them with the M30.1 and both had their virtues. Then I put the M30.1 in my ‘second’ system in a larger room. I set up my old Onix BWD-1 tuner in that room and found that I was listening to BBC's classical radio station at every possible opportunity. This is when I started to fall in love with the clarity and naturalism of the M30.1.

Then I totally changed my main listening room around – it became a much better living room, but not a good space for dipoles. That decided the fate of my 63s. However the Harbeths now work very well in the new arrangement. The imaging has clicked, and I’ve got no bass issues in spite of placement quite close to corners (a pair of GK Tri-Traps helps). I’m also experimenting with a sub, and that is working better than any previous experiments.

During this time I also continued to listen to more speakers. I heard some Avalon Ideas, which did not reach the lofty heights that reviews had promised, although I think they are a decent speaker and a relatively honest one. I heard some exceptional Geithain active monitors (RK 903K), which challenged some of my prejudices about pro monitors – these were tonally natural without being harshly revealing, and to my surprise, worked very well at low volume. I heard the KEF Reference One, which were not bad, but ultimately disappointing; mid-bass heavy, overly warm, and unable to convey the higher harmonics of instruments like trumpet and soprano sax.

Finally, the speakers to cause the biggest impression have been the Proac D30R, recommended frequently on this thread. I heard these directly after the KEF and they were so much more revealing and refined. The ribbon is exceptionally well implemented, and whilst it does feel like it is throwing a spotlight at times, this never feels unnatural, and they are not bright in the negative sense. The hi-fi store let me have plenty of time to myself and I listened to a great deal of music; they excelled with orchestral recordings, and with a series of recordings of female soprano and piano I played. They were good with my favourite Coltrane pieces, great with well recorded modern pop (Stereolab in particular sounded great). This demo really felt like my own private party. The only concern I had was a rather lean mid-bass, which proved to be unflattering to a My Bloody Valentine cd I threw on as an afterthought at the end of the demo.

I played a lot of the same music later on the M30.1. The M30.1 are generous in the mid-bass where the D30R are lean, and this helped with the less than refined rock recordings. With the classical soprano recordings (these were all of French art-song – Debussy, Faure, etc) the M30.1 were also exquisite. A little less airiness and intricate vocal inflection, but possibly more dramatic purpose. However I love both speakers with this kind of music. With the Uchida recording of a Mozart piano concerto I heard more air around the top notes of the piano on the D30R. The word ‘air’ seems to be recurring already, and this is perhaps not the strongest point of the M30.1. The C7ES3 are more open, but this is achieved by a slight presence-region excess, where the M30.1 are very slightly recessed. I could go on in more detail, but I think it’s clear that I’m an admirer of both these designs, even though neither quite achieve what I set out to find. There are one or two other speakers I want to hear, such as the French Lecontoure range made by Lavardin. But for now, I live with and enjoy the Harbeths.

Keep in mind that over the long haul, the Proacs may not be as lean as you think. They maybe more accurate and realistic. We love the plummy in the mid bass. The situation you are running into is what we all do....The perfect speaker isn't out there and you are hearing compromises. What can you live with in your home and what can't you???

Thanks for the update Andrew.

Ctsooner, you may be right about the Proacs - it would be for the room to make the decision. I'd certainly like to hear them at home but I'm in no rush because I'm enjoying the M30.1. The mid-bass emphasis seems to me very subtle indeed with these speakers, unlike the KEF Ref One that I mentioned, where it was a big warm bath. I would even contrast it to the P3ESR, which has a significant mid-bass hump to disguise the lack of any lower bass at all. This can be enjoyable, and because that speaker is not ported, it gets away with this emphasis - the extra bass isn't just port porridge.

Sorry for the excessive length and diaristic nature of my summary; I can't seem to find any editing functions or I would have cut it down to more relevant details about the M30.1.