You had the money for an Eames and now you have no money for the Harbeths?
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I haven’t tries those specific speakers.
But usually the trick with ribbons is to angle the speakers to be somewhat outside the listener.
They have a very narrow dispersion pattern and usually fall off very fast with lateral angle.
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My wife was fine with one but not the other
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I haven’t used any of the traditional pro audio actives but have tried the Buchardt A500s on my desk. They’re a nice package if you don’t care to do the audiophile dance when piecing a system together but besides the bass, it did not beat my passive system that cost $1k less than it. I think it really depends on what you want to do. I think a passive system can easily be put together for a desk system but there are definitely different goals in mind compared to a regular speaker setup.
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Unless this is a scam, this is an amazing price for a pair Harbeth 30.2 XD WALNUT For Sale - US Audio Mart
Thanks! It’s basically BNIB and listed at 50% of the used prices. Something seems super sketch on that one… I’ll email and try to dig a bit but if legit I’d buy those in a heartbeat.
Reached out to ask why he was selling and does not keep it or just return it. I also asked if it was purchased from an authorized dealer and still covered under warranty.
Response from seller was he was retiring and needing to thin the herd. No answer on purchase date and if from a dealer. I asked twice and he only responded yes it was covered under warranty but no further info.
Got my answer
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Oof, sorry about linking that one to you then. I guess if it sounds too good to be true, it is. I think most are sitting around 3.8-4.1k used.
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@Rmsanger If you want to start simple, I know a couple guys who really like their Ascend Acoustics LX. They don’t break the bank, no ribbon/amt treble issue, and work on a desk.
With some of the ribbon speakers or amt you have to really dial in the placement and listening position otherwise that can happen. Generally I thought the adam I have heard with amt were on the smoother and not as intense side of things compared to other speakers with ribbons or amt
Lol scrolling down polygon beat me to it
That’s obs one of the biggest downsides of active speakers, you can’t really scale at all, and sometimes the internal electronics aren’t up to snuff compared to dedicated amps (and sometimes dacs). Although honestly I can’t say I really enjoyed my time with an S400 either even putting more emphasis on quality sources, something with that speaker didn’t really click for me and I didn’t really see the hype
I will say if you do go ascend, I do think they do the best work with their ribbon speakers though lol (although this is from my experience with a sierra 2 vs their cmt mini towers which isn’t the most fair comparison)
I think it depends on what you’re looking for. My friend started with the 2EX but then swapped it out for the LX because the bass response was better. While the ribbon is arguably “better” compared to the dome, the LX won in overall package.
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Question: if I put floor standing speakers in nearfield distance but behind a desk would it be a terrible experience compared to desktop bookshelves or monitors?
I’m worried bass wouldn’t be good enough for me with bookshelves and am reluctant to add a sub in that space (although I did try a 2.1 and it worked well but with a different amp)
The issue you run into is driver phase, the drivers on a floor stander are more spread out, and they are designed for some minimum separation between you and the speakers.
Does that really matter, probably depends on the speaker.
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Oh there’s going to be separation as the speakers can be anywhere from right behind the desk to about 20ft if I really wanted to
It’s a very complicated question with no good answer. Depends on the speakers, the distance, the interaction with room, desk, screen on desk. It may end up ok, it may not. Only way to find out is to try.
Having said that, I’d go with speakers designed for desktop use. The design will (hopefully) have taken these things into consideration and addressed the usual desktop challenges. A floorstander is designed with completely different parameters in mind.
That’s what I figured but I have a feeling I’ll need a subwoofer which isn’t easy to implement with my current setup. I’ll keep researching that I guess
Looking to replace a set of Falcon Ls3/5a speakers that are currently been used in desktop nearfield configuration.
Desk is only 600mm deep so mindful of trying to keep the speakers under 300mm if possible.
Looking for something fun and smooth, not overly resolving (I wont be doing any critical listening).
Any suggestions?
You probably want to add a few words on what you like/dislike from the Falcon’s.
What are you looking to spend.
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What’s the rest of the chain? That helps us recommend things too, synergy, power availability, is it a lean or richer front end, name brand snd models of what you are currently using and as was stated what you dislike about current speakers. Better recommendations when we can connect w/ the equipment on hand. 
One more question: are you open to powered monitors? or do you want to stick with passive speakers?
Thankyou
Chain is Antipodes K30 > Aqua Linq > Aqua Formula or La Scala > Riviera AIC10.
My understanding is the AIC outputs 8w @ 32ohm. With the falcons I could use maybe 20% of the volume dial if that can be used as an indicator.
Setup is as per the photo - please excuse the mess.
Falcons sounded a bit unbalanced at times and maybe too true to source. Looking for something thats easy to listen too.
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