The Harbeth Monitor 40.1 is a very interesting speaker to me. Harbeth in general would never be my first recommendation for someone who listens to mostly alternative or rock. While punchy when it has to be, that's not what it was built to do. It's also designed to be listened to at more moderate volumes. This isn't a college dorm speaker to pound out SPLs (which is kind of how I felt a couple times on Saturday given the volume level we were listening at). If you want that aggressive growl and hard hitting punch, buy a pair of Ushers or, in the lower price brackets, get a pair of Era Design loudspeakers. I conveniently carry both brands
Von Schweikert is also a choice for larger models in the kind of price class that the 40.1s play.
What the Harbeth does better than any other speaker I've owned in quite some time, is be infinitely listenable for extended periods of time. It has a really clean, natural sounding midrange. Vocals and piano are especially wonderful. I've had more marathon listening sessions since I've brought on the line than at any point in the past number of years..... which explains why it has taken as long as it has to get my rooms setup properly
hehehe Prior to this, I never sat down and listened for even more than 2 hours at a time... I've done that a LOT with the Harbeths... even Melissa has come and listened with me for more than an hour at a time. She NEVER did that with other speakers... although she *really* likes the Era Design 5 speakers for movie watching in the family room.
With small ensemble jazz, female and male vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, etc. it is truly excellent. Yes, it can be a bit polite. But I don't ever get a headache listening to these speakers like I do with many others. To me, classical sounds more real on these or is presented in a way that I find much more enjoyable than I've heard on other speakers. I actually listen to classical with these speakers whereas I avoid it for the most part with other speakers. Don't ask me why.
The Monitor 40.1 is a bit of a chameleon in that while it may sound good with just about anything in front of it, it can change its character quite a bit depending on the electronics in front of it. Never to the point of sounding really bad... but it definitely takes on some of the characteristics of things in front of it. Where the Usher Be-20 is a bit ruthless because of its extreme resolution and it shows every last bit of what the electronics in front of it are doing, the Harbeth gives you a lot of that information, but also finds a way to integrate and enhance the overall presentation....
The 12" bass driver makes the 40.1 a very different animal than all the other Harbeth models... The smaller Harbeths just don't really do deep bass and as such, really aren't geared for rock and roll and hard hitting music. Put a sub on them and it's a bit of a different issue... but again, the design goals for them aren't really to excel in that way. The 40.1s at least give it a good effort. They're less efficient and more amp demanding because of that bass driver. But it has some grunt and can be quite punchy with the right gear. However they really aren't designed to play that kind of music.
I tend to think of Harbeth as destination speakers... while they do a lot of the audiophile things and do most of them exceptionally well, they really are for someone that isn't going to be on a relentless pursuit of the last iota of razored edge detail and super hyped drive and impact. They're the speakers you retire with and just spend your time listening and enjoying. If your music collection consists of nothing but death metal and hard rock, there are other choices that may work better.
The next meet should be a good opportunity to compare the Harbeth with something that has more drive and suits that rock type music... But those speakers couldn't make it in time for this get together.... I also should have subs finished and dialed into the room to use with the smaller Harbeths... so many things, not enough hours in the day to get it all done...