thank you kindly for your feedback and advice. I appreciate it. 

One key issue is that I dont have as much room to display the 50s up front. There is a door on the right side of the living room wall where tv will be placed that leaves hardly 3-5 inches. So the beauty of the 50s esp the wooden grill wont be seen I am afraid. 

Also I was told that the 4 28s give a sound as good as the 50s? Am I wrong about that? 

One key issue is that I dont have as much room to display the 50s up front. There is a door on the right side of the living room wall where tv will be placed that leaves hardly 3-5 inches. So the beauty of the 50s esp the wooden grill wont be seen I am afraid. 

Also I was told that the 4 28s give a sound as good as the 50s? Am I wrong about that? 

But thank you for your reply, very kind of you. 

hi Josh, have you had a chance to review the 28s vs 50s speakers yet?

very interested to know if your recommendation has changed or become stronger for the 4 28s vs 2 50s plus 18s at the back? 

thanks again for your original reply! and hope your vacations went well. 

Thanks again for you reply, very kind of you to do so on your break. Will wait till your back.

What color is your harmony and your 50s and 28s by the way? and the 18s that you had. 

And very curious to know what speakers you use for your computer monitor as well. Are they B and O? 

Of course. Trying to get home as quickly as possible to relax and enjoy my speakers! My Harmonys, 50s and 18s are brass/smoked oak. The 28s are anthracite/smoked oak. For my computer I just use the built in iMac speakers. More later this weekend….

@Chris

so now he has both 🤗

MM

Sandyb wrote:

I respectfully disagree.

My lounge is not large (6m by 5m), and I have 50s as left right for stereo listening.

I'm sure the 28s would be pretty good as well in my room, but having spent time with the 28s, the 50s are better, both in terms of soundstage, bass, and sound a bit richer. A larger room may need 50s, but thats not to say a smaller room dont benefit from them too.

I also have only BL3's as rears, for surround / movie watching, and even those dont get lost - especially considering rear effects are only occasional in many movies.

Adding 19 to a pari of BL50s is also completely unnecessary.

None of the above is accounting for value for money, and I can perfectly see why the value proposition is pretty good with the 28s.

jowus wrote:

Hi Sandy,

Everything, you said means, you totally agree with me! First off all, I wasn’t downplaying Lab 50’s, they’re way Better than Lab 28’s only if you have large Place. And that doesn’t mean you can’t use in a Smaller Place, but you get get Better feel of it if you have a larger Place!

When I was at the store to listen to Both, the walls were trembling just a half way up, you can imagine 70-89% up of the volume! Whilst lab 28’s can do fine whether Small Place or large, because, you have an option to use either a Pair or 2 Pairs! And off course, 4 Pairs of 28’s will do Magic in any Set up comparatively with a Pair of Lab 50’s!

So after spending the weekend with my new 50s and 28s, I've been thinking about what to say that will add constructively to this discussion. I guess it comes down to with the budget and enough space, and if you really enjoy critical listening of music in addition to watching TV/movies, I'd definitely go with 50s/18s over 2 pairs of 28s. If you don't have the space (considering you'll need at least 5.5 inches on either side of the Harmony for the speakers to open up without hitting the 50s) or care about more casual listening, or just don't want to spend the extra money, then I think the 28s would be a great option.

The 28s are nice speakers, with quite an impressive soundstage. Upper frequencies and midrange are amazingly clear and bass is strong and is tightly controlled after calibration on most music and at most listening levels. To my ears the bass is still a bit overbearing on some music and at higher volumes. It's not displeasing, it's just not what I'm used to from B&O. It's a different sound signature.

I tend to prefer music and movies that are as true to the original intent as possible--you could read this as "neutral"--and the bass on the 28s on some material and at higher volumes gives music a different and seemingly less neutral feel. I'm happy I got the 28s--and they work well for my office where I placed them--but I'm also happy that I went with the 50s for my main room to pair with my 18s as rear surrounds. I wanted "reference" speakers for my main listening area, and I think the 50s fit the bill there in a way the 28s simply cannot.

My time with the 50s has been nothing less than sheer joy. Given the size, design and seating constraints of my living room, the 50s aren't in the "perfect" position (nor are they toed in), but it doesn't seem to matter. In the short time I've had them I've heard nuances in songs I've listened to hundreds of times before that I could not previously discern. There's ample bass that sounds natural and effortless, and regardless of what type of music I throw at them, they sound phenomenal. (So far my favorite has been Solsbury Hill on 45rpm half-speed remastered vinyl--utterly amazing). I had high hopes for them, but they've surpassed every expectation. The best way I can describe it is that there's a fullness and richness to the sound that it's like I'm inside the music.

I don't know if any of this is helpful to you, but I wish you luck with your decision. It's all great equipment, it's about finding what's best for you. Good luck and keep us posted....