ATC SCM19 OR HARBETH 30.1

[MusicHaven]

Hi Folks,

 

Need bit of advice on these two bookshelf speakers from the forum members.  I guess a similar topic might have been discussed in other threads however need some specific advice and recommendations based on theses two models. As I am based in Syd cant demo the ATC's unless I plan a trip to Mel. thanks

 

Music Preference

Listen to mostly Jazz, classic, instruments.

 

Basic requirements 

Need tight bass, wide soundstage and clear vocals.

 

Current AMP

 Anthem MCA 225

 

Room dimensions.

Room size 3.4 x 4.5. One side speaker placement would be close to wall.

[rossb]

I've owned ATCs and currently have M30.1s.

 

If you listen at lowish volumes and sit close to your speakers, and like a full, rich, but smooth and relaxing sound, go for the Harbeths. Particularly if your tastes lean towards jazz and classical.

 

If you listen mainly to rock, electronic, dance music etc and if you listen at higher volumes, and like a fast and dynamic sound with plenty of leading edge and excitement, then the ATCs.

[Guest ClassicalGuy]

I own the 19s and have had time with the Harbeths - both amazing speakers! However, I'm with rossb - low volume, the Harbeths might be more for you, I find to get the best from the 19s they need to be played with a bit of volume. That being said, at a moderate volume and above, the 19s changed what I thought could come from bookshelf speakers even with my Rotel gear.

 

I can't speak for many other genres, but I can say where classical is concerned, the entire orchestra can be playing at top volume but every instrument is still crystal clear on the 19s, but then they're just as engaging in other genres which is where the Harbeths (imo) fall a little short. 

 

My ultimate setup would be tower ATCs in my main setup where I listen to classical but also some other genres, and P3ESRs in my study where I only listen to classical. 

[Ray H]

I owned the original scm19 and the Harbeth M30.1 which I recently sold.

 

i mirror the sentiments with regards the Harbeth suiting jazz, but I must confess to actually loving the Harbeth with more modern music, including rock and electro. I think it's their combination of large sound stage, inner detailing and most of all, beautiful midrange that is so bequiling. 

 

Although I haven't heard the latest scm19 with the new tweeter (amongst other things), I never gelled with them, because of the treble quality and the need to drive them quite hard, I never found them bright though. Would love to hear the newer version, with the improved tweeter. The original required a good amp as well. Susrprisingly the Harbeth soak up amp power also, although some drive them with lower power amps (lfd, Class a Luxman, etc).

 

As always, audition is the go, but I would be surprised if you don't like the Harbeth.

 

cheers,

 

Ray

[MusicHaven]

Thanks for your replies and feedback everyone. Seems like preference is leaning towards Harbeth at this stage because of two key factors, ability to enjoy at low listening levels and its not power hungry.

 

I am assuming the soundstage width and depth is greater on Harpeth's as well?

 

 

 

 

[Misternavi]

would this help?

Harbeth looks cooler.


Sent from my iPhone using Telepathy

[rossb]

8 hours ago, MusicHaven said:

Thanks for your replies and feedback everyone. Seems like preference is leaning towards Harbeth at this stage because of two key factors, ability to enjoy at low listening levels and its not power hungry.

 

I am assuming the soundstage width and depth is greater on Harpeth's as well?

 

 

 

 

 

I think both are fine when it comes to soundstage width and depth. This factor isn't important to me, but I doubt you would be disappointed by either speaker based on this.

[Class A Audio]

15 hours ago, MusicHaven said:

Hi Folks,

 

Need bit of advice on these two bookshelf speakers from the forum members.  I guess a similar topic might have been discussed in other threads however need some specific advice and recommendations based on theses two models. As I am based in Syd cant demo the ATC's unless I plan a trip to Mel. thanks

 

Music Preference

Listen to mostly Jazz, classic, instruments.

 

Basic requirements 

Need tight bass, wide soundstage and clear vocals.

 

Current AMP

 Anthem MCA 225

 

Room dimensions.

Room size 3.4 x 4.5. One side speaker placement would be close to wall.

Harbeth sound very good at low volume.

We do have some sale at the moment, PM pls .

[MusicHaven]

Thanks to the team for their input. I have decided to go with Harbeths.  Finish looking at Eucalyptus and black stands.

[Bronal]

Did you know Harbeth have just released a 30.2?

 

http://www.harbeth.co.uk/special-editions/monitor-30-2.php

[MusicHaven]

Nice find Bronal the site must have been updated today as that is pretty new information for everyone I guess!

 

As it is a limited run I wonder how much sound improvement it might have over the existing model and again the cost. Very tempting for those thinking about 30.1

 

 

[Pops110]

Graham Audio could be worth a listen also. Just heard them recently and they were amazing.

[MusicHaven]

Thanks Pops,

Setup looks excellent and that background stone wall really nice

 

 

4 hours ago, Pops110 said:

Graham Audio could be worth a listen also. Just heard them recently and they were amazing.

 

[maxspl]

Everyone's has their own personal preferences when it comes to speakers  , ATC and Harbeth are very different.

 

Recommend you make the effort to listen to the ATC and decide for yourself , perhaps someone in Sydney has a pair you could listen to ?.

 

The 19's are are sealed box so not so fussy with room placement.

Tight bass ,wide soundstage and clear vocals are what the ATC's deliver in spades , and the new atc tweeters are superb.  

[gat474]

Why not spend a couple of hundred bucks on cheap airfares, jump on a plane and visit Stereophonic in Melbourne, they have both ATC and Harbeth.   

[Guest ClassicalGuy]

21 hours ago, bronal said:

Did you know Harbeth have just released a 30.2?

 

http://www.harbeth.co.uk/special-editions/monitor-30-2.php

 

The Silver Eucalyptus veneer looks amazing! 

[Bronal]

On 08/06/2017 at 5:18 PM, MusicHaven said:

Hi Folks,

 

Need bit of advice on these two bookshelf speakers from the forum members.  I guess a similar topic might have been discussed in other threads however need some specific advice and recommendations based on theses two models. As I am based in Syd cant demo the ATC's unless I plan a trip to Mel. thanks

 

Music Preference

Listen to mostly Jazz, classic, instruments.

 

Basic requirements 

Need tight bass, wide soundstage and clear vocals.

 

Current AMP

 Anthem MCA 225

 

Room dimensions.

Room size 3.4 x 4.5. One side speaker placement would be close to wall.

I'd suggest you consider the 7ES3s just listed for sale.  I have these speakers in my second system and can't fault them. I have compared then directly with the 30.1s and find them more forgiving in average rooms.  You do need an ample supply supply of watts to get them going though (like all Harbeths) - 100 wpc SS in a small to medium room would be ideal. 

[MusicHaven]

Hi Bronal thanks for the advice I will consider looking into it.

 

Just curious about amp pairing with Harbeths. Have read some threads that specific brands of amps does not matter much as long as there is sufficient power to drive them is this true?

I believe more than amp the source of the music might contribute towards the difference in sound signature!

 

Have Anthems MCA 225 which is not a very special amp but I think interms of power it should be good say with 301.?

 

Also those who have 30.1 in small to med sized rooms do you need a sub or the speakers themselves are sufficient for most types of music?

 

Any advice or feedback on this would be grateful. thanks

 

 

 

Edited June 10, 2017 by MusicHaven

[Bronal]

1 hour ago, MusicHaven said:

Just curious about amp pairing with Harbeths.  Have read some threads that specific brands of amps does not matter much as long as there is sufficient power to drive them is this true?

 

I believe more than amp the source of the music might contribute towards the difference in sound signature!

 

Have Anthems MCA 225 which is not a very special amp but I think interms of power it should be good say with 301.?

 

Also those who have 30.1 in small to med sized rooms do you need a sub or the speakers themselves are sufficient for most types of music?

 

 

Harebeth say that their speakers will sound good with any decent amp, but that's what you would expect them to say.

 

My experience is that they sound best with a fair amount of power.  This seems to change the character of the speakers and tighten them up considerably.  Although I prefer valve  amps, I have to say that I have had better results with SS amps with Harbeths, so I compromise and use valve preamps with SS power amps.  I own, or have owned,  7ES2s, 7ES3s, SHL5s and 40.1s and my experience has been consistent with all these speakers.  Your Anthem 225 amp should have no trouble driving the 30.1s.

 

The 30.1 is rated down to 50Hz, whereas the 7ES3 is rated down to 45Hz.  I get useable output (probably about -6dB) down to 31.5Hz with my 7ES3s using DRC.  Whether or not 50Hz is low enough for you is something only you can answer.  Get a test CD with tones in half-octaves from 20Hz upwards and have a listen.

[audio_file]

I have the new ATC SCM 19s. In my opinion only the older models needed to play loud, the new ones sound great at both low and high volumes.

The 19s have good bass punch, but don't go super low (compared to a Dynaudio S1.4 for example), they aren't bright either. The 19s are all about the mid range and extracting as much detail as possible from it.

This makes them really good for simple vocal music, but at the same time they can delve into the detail of a complex classical piece with ease.

I have looked into the C7 ES3 myself, but haven't heard them or the M30.1 yet. The M30.1 has a good looking frequency response graph though.

 

[MusicHaven]

Anyone has or experienced Rega with Harbeth combo? Specifically Rega Elicit R with 30.1? For low to med listening will this be a good match?

 

Thanks

 

[Tobes]

On 10/6/2017 at 7:04 PM, MusicHaven said:

 

Also those who have 30.1 in small to med sized rooms do you need a sub or the speakers themselves are sufficient for most types of music?

 

Any advice or feedback on this would be grateful. thanks

 

I've been using a sub with my 30.1's for a couple of years - it does add another dimension to the sound, but I found them quite satisfactory without the sub for a few years prior to that. 

As far as amps go, I've used quite a few - including an ARC VS55, Quad 909, Odyssey Khartago, Xindak PAM-20, Halcro MC30 and (diy) Pass F6.

These ranged from 20 to well over 200W/ch. The only amp that I thought didn't mate well was the 20W Class A Xindak - sounded kind of sluggish and non-engaging.

Perhaps surprisingly then, my favourite of the bunch (and current amp) is the DIY F6 which is a 25W/8ohm class A design. This amp sounds wonderfully lively and involving with the m30.1's, with a gorgeous harmonic quality that's quite addictive. 

[MusicHaven]

20 hours ago, Tobes said:

 

I've been using a sub with my 30.1's for a couple of years - it does add another dimension to the sound, but I found them quite satisfactory without the sub for a few years prior to that. 

As far as amps go, I've used quite a few - including an ARC VS55, Quad 909, Odyssey Khartago, Xindak PAM-20, Halcro MC30 and (diy) Pass F6.

These ranged from 20 to well over 200W/ch. The only amp that I thought didn't mate well was the 20W Class A Xindak - sounded kind of sluggish and non-engaging.

Perhaps surprisingly then, my favourite of the bunch (and current amp) is the DIY F6 which is a 25W/8ohm class A design. This amp sounds wonderfully lively and involving with the m30.1's, with a gorgeous harmonic quality that's quite addictive. 

 

Hi Tobes,

 

thanks for sharing your experience. Still hunting integrated amps as I have enough time before my new house is finished. Was lucky enough to try Luxman 505ux and Naim Nait XS2 under one roof and preferred the sound of Naim which is less powerful than Luxman.

[audio_file]

19 minutes ago, MusicHaven said:

 

Hi Tobes,

 

thanks for sharing your experience. Still hunting integrated amps as I have enough time before my new house is finished. Was lucky enough to try Luxman 505ux and Naim Nait XS2 under one roof and preferred the sound of Naim which is less powerful than Luxman.

The Naim is probably more lively than the Luxman and due to the Harbeth being warm, it might need that liveliness to even it out.