With this new setup, vocals were no longer recessed, and a well-defined soundstage snapped into focus. My perception of the lows and highs remained about the same -- there was deep, rich bass and expertly extended highs that were sparkling and clean -- but with this setup I got a little more high-frequency energy, just a touch, which is what you’d expect listening more on-axis.

For the most part, the initial problems were fixed, but not quite everything; punch and immediacy were still lacking. Even with better room placement and the vice-like grip that the Classé Audio CA-5200 has with speakers, the Monitor 30s were not as incisive, visceral, and impactful as other speakers. Instead, their strength was in the midrange. Voices, in particular, had realism that was uncanny, and the level of detail was revelatory without being annoying. I was shocked by how natural these speakers sounded and, for the first time, I could understand why Harbeth speakers have the following they do. The midrange has a beautiful balance of high resolution and high "listenability," meaning that I could dig out recording after recording and unravel some hidden treasures for hours on end and never get tired of listening.

For a time, I couldn’t get enough of T.V. Carpio’s cover of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" from the Across the Universe soundtrack CD (Interscope B0000980102). Played through the Monitor 30s, there was a sense of purity and warmth that I rarely experience with recorded music. Carpio's voice had just the right weight and presence without ever sounding overblown or artificial. There’s a liquid quality to the Monitor 30’s midrange that is intoxicating and so well balanced that, regardless of recording, it sounds right and never becomes overly thick or syrupy. I can’t say the Monitor 30 gave me the best midrange performance I’ve ever heard -- also in contention are the JansZen Model One and Aurum Acoustics Integris Active 300B, both active systems that cost about six times the price of this speaker, as well as the more closely priced PSB Synchrony One -- but it’s certainly in good company among those select designs.

The level of detail was equally impressive, particularly for the way it was conveyed: without being irritating and without exacerbating problems in recordings, which is what some speakers do. For example, on the same soundtrack, Carol Woods and Timothy T. Mitchum perform "Let It Be." I like the way they cover this song, but there’s distortion inherent in the recording that Monitor 30s don’t cover up. No matter how smooth and liquid they are in the midband, the recording flaws are revealed quite readily, which is what you want from a good monitor. But while displaying these problems, the Monitor 30s don’t emphasize or add anything, which is also what you want. By the same token, subtle nuances that contribute more positively to the experience are rendered in stark fashion, allowing you to hear into music and discover more about what’s on each recording.

The blend from the mids through the highs was completely seamless, which was what any good speaker designer wants to hear. Whereas with some speakers you can pinpoint the midrange driver and tweeter, usually through some sort of discontinuity as the music transitions between the two, there’s none of that here. And when you get to the highest highs, long after that RADIAL driver has been removed from the equation, you’ll find that the sound is clean and sweet and never splashy, edgy, or irritating. Cymbals are detailed and clean, and they show no hint that the speaker itself is adding any sort of edge. In fact, if you hear any edginess through these Harbeths, it’s in the recording, not added by the speaker.

The bass performance was a different story, and it brought me back to the comments I made about the about the speaker’s punch and incisiveness. On the one hand, these speakers go deeper than I initially thought they would -- or, at least, was initially told they would. When the distributor handed them over, he told me that they don’t produce much bass. Perhaps part of my positive impression in this regard has to do with my not being a bass freak -- I tend to listen to many speakers that shelve off rapidly below 60Hz. Therefore, I found the Monitor 30s quite full, very robust, and with useable bass to below 50Hz. In my opinion, this is a weighty-sounding pair of stand-mounted speakers with a grand, rich sound that's commensurate with their larger-than-normal cabinet size.

But the area below 100Hz sounds a little underdamped, even with the grilles on, which is supposed to help that way. As a result, drums, while deep, lacked the visceral quality they should have. Bass guitar lines could get blurred with a loss of attack. You get the depth, but you don’t get those tight, easy-to-follow bass notes. When pressed to play hard rock at high volumes, the Monitor 30s struggled, sounding overly resonant in their delivery. When I played Journey’s "Anyway You Want It" from the band's Greatest Hits CD (Sony 85889) at high volume levels, the woofer started to compress noticeably, and I kept thinking to myself, "Come on, keep up." Hard rock at high volumes in a pretty big room like mine isn’t their thing.

On the other hand, that rich, weighty quality they have lent itself well to other music, particularly music that emphasizes piano, which is a really tough instrument for many speakers to reproduce. The Models 30s handled it surprisingly well. They projected the size, scale and weight of a piano better than all stand-mounted speakers I’ve heard, and that somewhat resonant quality I heard with hard rock, while still apparent here, actually contributed positively to reproducing this instrument, imparting a sense of grandness and majesty that most small speakers lack. Obviously, whether these speakers are right for you will depend on your personal listening preferences -- the kind of music you want them to reproduce and what you expect from your speakers.

Comparisons, contrasts and other comments

One difficulty in reviewing the Monitor 30 Domestics is to find suitable speakers for comparison in order to give an overview of where they sit in the marketplace. Whereas many speakers purport to be unique, in fact there are lots of similarly executed competitors. I know of no other speakers that look similar, are designed for the purpose of both professional monitor and in-home use, and most of all sound the same. Someone who settles on Harbeth speakers probably won’t opt for anything else -- no doubt why the company has the loyal following it does.

Still, some comments can be made with regard to other speakers I’ve written about recently. Cosmetically, the $2995 Definitive Technology Mythos STS SuperTower is at the opposite end of the spectrum. The Mythos is unashamedly a high-style floorstanding design in a tall, slim, metal cabinet that Harbeth proponents would likely abhor. Likewise, Harbeth has a look that would make those who want the STS in their listening room cringe. Looks-wise, they’re for completely different buyers.

Sonically, they have some similarities, but only a few. Both speakers share a relatively neutral tonal balance that gives listeners a faithful re-creation of the recordings. The STS’s bass depth is in another league, though. I’m still in awe of how low the STSes can reach, largely due to the innovative implementation of their powered bass section. The Monitor 30s sound fleshed out and rich, but they don’t go anywhere near as deep as a pair of STSes.

Moving up through the mids, things change. The STSes are neutral and commendably refined-sounding given their high-style priorities -- audiophiles need not be ashamed to own these; they’re that good -- but this is where the Monitor 30s step ahead with superior midband transparency, that awesome liquidity that sounds great with vocals, and that uncanny ability to combine musicality and detail into something that sounds effortless and real. Whereas you’ll be dazzled by the STS’s bass depth, you’ll be equally impressed by the Monitor 30’s midrange. It might even be enough to convince those who want a speaker that's high style to think twice.

Likewise, the Monitor 30’s high frequencies are a step ahead of the STS’s. The STS is clean up there, but the Monitor 30 is not just clean but has a sweetness and purity that make the Mythos STS sound a bit cold and analytical. The Monitor 30 can’t reach as deep in the bass as the Mythos STS, but when it comes to the midrange and highs, it's clearly superior and worth the extra money for those who value sound over style.

The distinctions between the Monitor 30 and the $4500 PSB Synchrony One, also a floorstander, are similar to those with the Definitive Technology Mythos STS, but they not nearly as great. The Synchrony One was also conceived with strong attention to appearance and how it would blend into a room’s décor, but it’s still a bit bulky and not nearly as stylish as the Mythos STS.

The Synchrony One has the best bass performance of these three speakers. It doesn’t reach quite as low as the Mythos STS, but it comes close enough and counters with the fact that it doesn’t just go deep, its three 6 1/2" woofers sound incredibly punchy, never running out of steam when the going gets loud. This is a speaker that sails as easily through thumping hard-rock tracks as it does with folk music, and it has the output capability to fill a very large room. The Synchrony One is incredibly versatile.

I praised the Synchrony One for its revelatory performance in the midrange. This is one of the clearest, cleanest speakers I’ve ever heard through the mids, bettering speakers many times its price. Therefore, it was interesting to compare the midrange of Synchrony One and Monitor 30. In terms of detail retrieval, the two are comparable, but I’d have to give the Synchrony One the edge here. There’s a sense of quickness through the midband that gives the impression that it reveals more information. Voices, in particular, sound a little more immediate and crisp. On the other hand, for some the Synchrony One might come across as a little too forward, too exact. Over the long term, the Synchrony One can become a little fatiguing, particularly when you factor in their tweeter performance, which I’ll get to below. The Monitor 30, on the other hand, reveals a similar level of detail, but it does so without ever being fatiguing. It also has a touch of richness and grandness that the Synchrony One, even with its super-deep bass, lacks.

The Synchrony Ones can play extraordinarily loud and stay startlingly clean right through to the highs. As I said, it's a room-filling speaker. At normal listening levels, I preferred the Monitor 30’s highs. The strongest criticism I’ve had about the Synchrony One is that its high frequencies can be a touch edgy, and that stands out more when you compare them to those of a speaker like the Monitor 30. The super-sweet, ultra-effortless Monitor 30 has a superbly refined top end that I can’t really criticize.

Conclusion

The Monitor 30 Domestic is a pleasing speaker that has as rich character with generous bass, extremely refined highs, and liquidity through the mids that is intoxicating. Harbeth says that it was designed to be listened to in the studio all day long, and from my experience this is certainly possible. I listened to far more music through these speakers than I normally do with review products, never tiring of their sound. There was no leap of faith required to like them.

However, the Monitor 30 Domestics aren’t perfect. One issue is the way they look -- you’ll either like it or you won’t. They also have to be set up well, and you’re better off listening to them in a small or mid-size room than a really large one. The bass can become woolly and indistinct, particularly at high volumes, and they’re not as immediate-sounding as I would personally like. Despite those misgivings, I can say that I was never put off listening to them, even when their limitations were apparent. Their strengths far outweighed their weaknesses, so they always managed to shine.

Some people might think speaker design is like religion, but others say that it’s more of a balance of tradeoffs, which are the result of the decisions every speaker designer has to make. Based on my Monitor 30 Domestic experience, I’d say that Alan Shaw made the right ones, which is probably why this Harbeth model has successfully withstood the test of time.

...Doug Schneider
das@soundstage.com