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Boosting the warmth on Harbeth SHL5+ ?

B

BigBlue2020

pfm Member
I have bought a pair of these sh recently and set them up. I would describe the sound as very good, very tight but lacking the warmth I was expecting in the midrange.

I use a Roksan Caspian M2 amp (warm and meaty) and have them set up on non standard stands which are a little smaller than recommended. Slightly toed in.

Any top tips on boosting bass warmth ?

Thanks
 
Not sure if it's midrange or bass you are after, but they do 'change' in the first 20-50 hours of play, filling out in the bass esp.
The stands??? They love 'somethingsolid' open frames. Trad heavy and closed stands will simply prevent the cabinets from resonating as they should, and that may well dry things up a bit. Open frames and time. That should be a cure.
 
Graphic equaliser? Amp with tone controls or, better, a Loudness button?

Sorry, that's not helping. But one problem with "warmth" is that it means different things to different people.
 
Harbeths need a lot of current to sound there best, I'm afraid 85w is not enough. A more powerful amp (150w+) will open up the bottom end no end!

P.S Join HUG and ask about amplifiers :D
 
Dave Smith said:
Harbeths need a lot of current to sound there best, I'm afraid 85w is not enough. A more powerful amp (150w+) will open up the bottom end no end!
Click to expand...
I have a made different experiences, you only need power, when you want to listen very loud. The sound doesn't get necessarily better with more power (as with every amp IMHO).
 
Old Shatterhand said:
I have a made different experiences, you only need power, when you want to listen very loud. The sound doesn't get necessarily better with more power (as with every amp IMHO).
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When I upgraded my Supernait 3 to my Marantz there was a big difference in the bottom end from 70db up, the sound stage increased also by a large margin. That was with my P3ESR's however...
 
On power, it's room dependant. You need to 'load' the room for them to sound at their best, so room size and damping counts; from 15-150 watts pc I'd say. But I have never found H's very 'present' at low volumes...lovely yes, but at their best? Not IME.
 
Dave Smith said:
Harbeths need a lot of current to sound there best, I'm afraid 85w is not enough. A more powerful amp (150w+) will open up the bottom end no end!

P.S Join HUG and ask about amplifiers :D
Click to expand...

In my experience this is very true. I went from an old 50wpc Exposure to an ATC 150wpc amp. The improved low volume performance and bass control was obvious (C7ES3)
 
Optimally set-up, they're a neutral speaker. As in, that is their sound, and may require a period of adjustment in that respect.

Moving them closer to boundaries increases bass but muddies the presentation. I don't see that as a worthwhile solution personally.

Best bet is perhaps a very modest boost with EQ around 200hz - see how that works.
 
Dave Smith said:
When I upgraded my Supernait 3 to my Marantz there was a big difference in the bottom end from 70db up, the sound stage increased also by a large margin. That was with my P3ESR's however...
Click to expand...
The Marantz doesn't have that much more power (20 Watt @ 8 Ohm = 1dB more maximum loudness) then the SN3. But the Marantz uses a higher negative feedback and has a higher damping factor which can result in better bass control.

The difference in power compared to the SN3 can't be used because the P3ESR can't even handle the full power potential of the SN3. That's simple Physic.
 
Old Shatterhand said:
The Marantz doesn't have that much more power (20 Watt @ 8 Ohm = 1dB more maximum loudness) then the SN3. But the Marantz uses a higher negative feedback and has a higher damping factor which can result in better bass control.

The difference in power compared to the SN3 can't be used because the P3ESR can't even handle the full power potential of the SN3. That's simple Physic.
Click to expand...

My Marantz amp is under specified in the literature, the Ruby is actually 170w into 8 Ohm and 280w into 4 Ohm... The Naim SN3 was a joke, even in my small listening room anything above 75db was compressing moving to 85db and it was a clipping mess.

The Ruby:-
Capturej.jpg
 
herb said:
In my experience this is very true. I went from an old 50wpc Exposure to an ATC 150wpc amp. The improved low volume performance and bass control was obvious (C7ES3)
Click to expand...

It's not even a little difference in my system, it was a massive difference, a revelation! I had no idea watts would make so much difference to the low end let alone the sound stage improvement I witnessed.
 
Yes I should have said very obvious, there was no going back. Dynamics were in a different league, even at low level.
 
I'd have thought the bigger Naim amps like NAP 250 and upwards would give warmth and control for such a quality speaker.
Yes the Harbeths are monitors, and not warm from my experience.
Nevertheless I would perservere with other suggestions above as the Caspian amps should fit the bill in theory.
 
My C7s are sensitive to cables used. After a bit of experimenting I found that a Mogami 2534 Mic Cable interconnect and Naim NAC 05 speaker cable gave me a warmer balance. My stands are very solid spiked flat packed and bolted HBS1 Heybrooks. All very controversial I know...
 
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