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harbeth shl5plus or audionote an-j or an-e

hifinutt said:
yes i just read 28 pages of the audionote owners forum and could not find anyone using different stands than the standard audionote 400 quid jobs . apart from something solid , has anyone tried diy route ?

muzzer , you used to have j`s , why did you get rid of them ? may i ask ?
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I just fancied a change you know what it's like, looking back I wish I still had them.
I have invested to much money in what I have now else I would go back to J's
Have a word with Bourney on the Wam(he's on here aswell) he has had a couple of different J models and E's.
 
ah thanks muzzer .
interesting to read the hi fi critic review of an audionote system which was in 2016
https://www.hificritic.com/store/p131/HIFICRITIC_Vol_10_No_3.html

it was of the audionote TT1 turntable , cd 1.1x player , oto sig phono , and an-j hemp lx speakers [made in austria ]
he speaks in glowing terms of the oto and compared it with an unamed ss amp . he felt you get more clear note shapes and the attack was cleaner . he felt it had more body resonance too . he adds " does the the transistor amp sound a bit cleaner on the bass line ? perhaps ? the oto is maybe a tad full but the detail , rhythm and drive are there and it aquits itself suprbly overall "

would love to know to know what that ss amp was .
 
When speaker shopping l had ANJ-LX and ANK-LX, in my 11x12 room, if you have the room the J's gave like like images and dynamics, however l had to move them a couple of feet in to the room and visually dominated the said room, however a remarkable sounding loudspeaker, so had to slum it with the ANK-LX:D which l really like.

Had the baby Harbeths here and these in some ways were the best loudspeaker l have heard in my room- downside was to get the sound l wanted l would need a ton of power, however that sound lived long in the memory.

Used to own Compact 7ES2 these were also very nice, but with the benefit of hindsight, they were probably too big for my room ( Harbeths need a lot room l reckon.)

Good luck.:)
 
Just be careful not to swing too far the other way in search of something different, especially if you’re going to keep your amp and have no intention of changing it. You’re ideally looking for something that fits between your room and the MSB (which you had in the Veritys).

Bigger isn’t better and AN-Es will not work in your room so don’t even consider them.

Bless them AN are the best I’ve heard at consistently setting up their speakers for shows and demos - sadly forums are full of people who fell in love with the sound but couldn’t reproduce it at home.

If you are dead set on keeping your MSB then I’d look at different speakers. If you’re looking to change but stay solid state then you need something that is going to match ANs well and I would err towards a valve like presentation.
 
thank so much wayne ,got all that on board . no the msb is working with some tannoy eaton legacy which do work extremely well in the lounge room . no bass bloom whatsover . very natural , massive bass and imaging . awaiting a new pair now

this thread is for loft room
the harbs went in the loft and actually sound good with the naim supernait . extremely balanced sound , just so natural with voices , piano and everything else . make you want to listen to them for some while . just seen your thoughts on the roksan tho

some E `s might work in loft room perhaps with an otto or perhaps firebottles hybrid monoblocks
 
AN J and E can also, IME, seem at first a bit (what some might call) 'boomy' if you're coming from a more inert speaker - that isn't designed to use cabinet resonances and walls etc in the same way. But after acclimatising to that, more mainstream alternatives can suddenly seem a bit anaemic and un-musical in comparison. Again just my own view.

They can obviously overwhelm the wrong room though, and I don't think they respond well to being pushed hard either.

But what they can give is a lovely full-bodied, organic kind of presentation at real world volumes.

Have never heard the H5+ but did audition some 30.1. Found the mid-band really nice but lacked oomph. Couldn't rock out. Might well suit others' taste though.
 
Fretbuzz said:
AN-J and AN-E:
But what they can give is a lovely full-bodied, organic kind of presentation at real world volumes.
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This absolutely nails what it is that ANs do so well. Lovers of a dryer, more inert sound are not going to appreciate them. But they achieve a tremendous richness, whilst still presenting fine detail. And that "body" to the sound does not disappear at low volume. Very impressive, without being "showy".
ML
 
hifinutt said:
been reading a long thread about harbs 30.1 and AN-e . fascinating , at the end they discuss the hl5plus and one chap says

Heard a gorgeous rosewood(?) set of HL5s last weekend, on the end of some Naim gear at Hawthorne in Seattle ... wow. I could live with that combo.

glad i found someone who has found the same !!!

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/talk-to-me-about-audio-note-an-e-speakers-please.388752/page-7
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You'll never convince me you've got your ears on straight if you like Naim plus Harbeth combo.

But I'm really puzzled how you can rate that, and at the same time be looking at AN which is a completely different presentation?
 
the naim seems to bring a vigour and toe tapping quality to the harbeth . over the past 3 days i find they have a BIG sound in this room , with rock music they rock , not just for polite classical music, they are amazingly balanced . the frugalhorns were ever so slightly toppy sometimes , but i could forgive that as their sense of presence was just awesome . the space and air around the music on the harbs is very clear , really detailed but not in the least bit fatiguing .

there is no bass boom , just a big sound which is exceedingly enjoyable , i have just a few days to decide whether to keep these or try some audionote e which do seem a bit risky by all accounts !!

. yes the harbs are different to the audionote but thats an itch wanted to be scratched . when i had the audio research ref 5se , violins positively used to rasp and sound so incredibly real . i guess one would be trying to create that sound but as you said , AN seem able to create that and many others fail . i notice an biamped their an-e at the bristol show too .
 
Very interested to know more about your two rooms. I had Harbeth 5Plus unit recently, but now I have Tannoy Eatons, so our experience has significant overlap. My room is relatively small and the 5Plus were too sluggish in these circumstances, except when used near field. The Harbeths that suited my room best were C7ES3, except for some issues around the presence region, and I look forward to the next update of that model, if it ever happens. I've said many things about Harbeths and amplifiers in the past, so won't repeat myself here. It hardly needs stating that Harbeths and AudioNote have completely different synergies.
 
Elephantears said:
Very interested to know more about your two rooms. I had Harbeth 5Plus unit recently, but now I have Tannoy Eatons, so our experience has significant overlap. My room is relatively small and the 5Plus were too sluggish in these circumstances, except when used near field. The Harbeths that suited my room best were C7ES3, except for some issues around the presence region, and I look forward to the next update of that model, if it ever happens. I've said many things about Harbeths and amplifiers in the past, so won't repeat myself here. It hardly needs stating that Harbeths and AudioNote have completely different synergies.
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How do the Eaton’s compare? I’m thinking about HF refinement among other things.
 
the eaton legacy were more dynamic and better imaging in my lounge . in fact the modwright /msb combo was sensational . as you know i have a thrax integrated here which was due to be collected and that too was brilliant with the eatons . a number heard this combo at a gathering recently . i am amazed by the eatons

so my lounge is about 13 x17foot with loads of furniture , curtains , net curtains , sofa x2 . a very damped room and sadly the harbeth have to go near walls which they did not like one little bit !!!

the attic is about 17ft x 13ft with sparse curtains , wooden floor with rug , lots of hard surfaces with bookcases floor to ceiling on one wall . the harbs sound amazing in there but my son thinks they sound trash !!! fit for an 80 year old he says !! my how tastes vary but then he likes dub music with heavy drops and wants the summit x back which crushed your chest in !!
 
monstrous lie said:
This absolutely nails what it is that ANs do so well. Lovers of a dryer, more inert sound are not going to appreciate them. But they achieve a tremendous richness, whilst still presenting fine detail. And that "body" to the sound does not disappear at low volume. Very impressive, without being "showy".
ML
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Quite, well put. It took a while to realise that's what I wanted from a speaker/system.
 
Phil,

I was listening to a pair of Audionote E/HE, the external crossovers were in boxes the size of the older AN dacs. Powered by Pass x350.8/XP20 they were, in a word, excellent. That said this was in a room rather larger than mine with the speakers set into the corners. I didn't think the sound was rich but neutral. Played a wiiiiiide range of music through a digital sources (AN 4.1 CD & Qobuz) during a six hour session which I was sad to end.

M
 
hifinutt said:
so bought some nice harbeth shl5plus after hearing an amazing set up at a friends , they are sounding pretty excellent in a big loft conversion with a naim supernait 2 .

so at the bristol show and at other shows the audionote an-j and an -e sound impressive . lovely texture and realism in spades . and yet you read fishies experiences of bass boom with audionote speakers and they are not so easy to set up .

any experiences of audionote speakers folks would like to share ? is it worth changing from harbeth which can play in lots of free space and sound pretty good ?
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Hmm. I've always thought the loft would be quite a good place to keep more recent Harbeths. Or the garage. Or possibly buried in the garden.

I do remember enjoying chatting to Dudley Harwood though. He always managed to give the impression I'd interrupted something of more pressing importance in his potting shed, when all I did wrong was to have the temerity to try and order some loudspeakers - the original HL1.


AudioNote is a very different ethos/sound as already pointed out, especially with Naim amplification. Do two wrongs make a right? No. Not IMO.

I only know the Snell-derived ANs. I've almost always enjoyed the bigger models whenever I've heard them, typically at shows, although they did get it badly wrong with AN-Es one time when they sounded like they were wallowing in treacle. (Scottish HIFI Show, maybe 2006 or thereabouts).

I've only ever owned AN-Ks, which are probably the least temperamental speaker I've ever heard, basically just open the door and throw them in. Sugden a21 and what's not to like?

I wouldn't have any Naim amp I've ever heard within 1000 yards of any AudioNote though, so I suspect in part it comes down to whether you're prepared to make some pretty fundamental changes across the system and reconsider what your priorities are.
 
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thanks , yes the naim is a complete no no with audionote . most certain of that after everyone unamimous on that . had a hard few days deciding whether to keep the harbeth as they really have been singing and really get you foot tapping . they are quite compelling to listen to . today my son and i have been swopping the eatons legacy and harbs around . as i may have said he hates the harbs , old man speakers he calls them . no bass he says , but then i am not sure if many harbeth owners want to play dub music on them !!!

the tannoy go deeper and have more headroom and have lots of qualities but i am not sure they have the delicacy and sweetness of the harbs . anyway got to choose so the harbs are going at the moment .

i have been following the thread on podiums which involves an-k . interested to hear your experiences with dudley !!
 
Tarzan said:
When speaker shopping l had ANJ-LX and ANK-LX, in my 11x12 room, if you have the room the J's gave like like images and dynamics, however l had to move them a couple of feet in to the room and visually dominated the said room, however a remarkable sounding loudspeaker, so had to slum it with the ANK-LX:D which l really like.

Had the baby Harbeths here and these in some ways were the best loudspeaker l have heard in my room- downside was to get the sound l wanted l would need a ton of power, however that sound lived long in the memory.

Used to own Compact 7ES2 these were also very nice, but with the benefit of hindsight, they were probably too big for my room ( Harbeths need a lot room l reckon.)

Good luck.:)
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Was this the P3ESR?

The specs say they are 50 watts programme.

Regards

Cyclopse
 
picked up an old issue of hi fi world 2012 with a lovely write up of the wam show . lovely pic of rockmeisters system with the harbs , palmer and palmer turntable , luxman sq-38 amp giving 25 w . nice to see the harbs are still being used after all these years even if latest incarnation
 
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