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I heard some Harbeths (but my review is very very long...)

Kei said:
Only 2 weeks old... won't the dealer take them back and just consider it an extended home demo? Or at worst a re-stocking fee.
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This is a hole I've dug for myself - I thought I was 'clever' enough to negate spending the £100-150 to get to the other end of the country for a dem (I don't drive and it's too far to do in a day), and even if I had I'd not have picked up on the fact my amp was a mismatch as it would have been too heavy to take with me. As such it's unfair of me to try to get anyone else to sort this out.

redeye said:
I haven't read the whole thread, just skimmed it, but do you think the latest Harb's were less musically engaging than the C7s you used to have?
Or is it that the big Tannoys have corrupted you?

ps...which amp were you using (Densen?) when you had the C7?
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I'd certainly not grasped just how much I liked the Tannoys. This is the key factor. I never got beyond that sinking 'WTF have I done' feeling whenever I stuck a record or CD on. The Harbeths are technically very good (with the right amp, which mine clearly isn't), but I haven't been able to connect with then in any positive way at all, hence the decision to reverse-out rather than to start the hassle and expense of changing major system components to try and fix it.

The C7s saw me from Nait 2 to Densen Beat 100 (two of them, a MkI and a MkV) and finally the PLP2. I've tried the HL5 with the PLP2 (big, open and and punchy, though a bit boomy in the bass, bright at the top, and just plain wrong over the mid-band / tweeter crossover point), an Audio Synthesis PAS 02 / Quad 303 (awful, just small, shut-in and gutless) and Rob's Quad 34 / 306 (technically / logically the best, but just not a sound I want to live with, i.e. miles away from tubes 'n' Tannoys)

Tony.
 
I think we should probably leave this thread to die a natural death, for two reasons;

1) its not fair to keep asking Tony about his difficult decisions.

2) it is starting to undersell what are actually brilliant speakers
 
ArtK said:
The Gibbon 3's have more bass but trust me Oscar, they aren't more balanced. I have a lot of experience with both lines and regardless what our friends have been telling you, it ain't so.
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Hi ArtK,

I wasn't comparing them to P3ESR's, as I have never had an opportunity to listen to a pair of them to this date. I was in fact referring to just about every other British Mini-Monitor I've owned like the ProAc Tablettes and Response One SC's - Acoustic Energy AE- 1 Signatures - Rogers and Harbeth LS 3/5a's - Vienna Acoustics Haydn's - Linn Kan II's - System Audio SA - 205's and SA-502's along with Totem Acoustics Model One ( original ).

I can only speak of those either heard/owned and within the consents of my system which is solely Vinyl based using Acoustic Zen Cables throughout with the exception of a pair of Synergistic Research Tricon Analog Phono-cables used on my WT Classic MK V, as it appears to me - in my room and more importantly to my ears the Gibbon 3's bring me a greater sense of involvement and are a joy to listen to.


In this manner of speaking - the are the more balanced speakers I've owned since coming into our shared hobby in '82. There's no other way of expressing what I heard each and every day!, I can say in all honesty that I don't regret finding the last pair in existence.

And case in point, aren't you using your P3ESR's with a Sonneteer Alabaster!. As mentioned SS and Harbeth work better together just look at what the American Distributor brings in amp wise.

Be well,
Oscar
 
el34eh said:
Hi ArtK,

I wasn't comparing them to P3ESR's, as I have never had an opportunity to listen to a pair of them to this date. I was in fact referring to just about every other British Mini-Monitor I've owned like the ProAc Tablettes and Response One SC's - Acoustic Energy AE- 1 Signatures - Rogers and Harbeth LS 3/5a's - Vienna Acoustics Haydn's - Linn Kan II's - System Audio SA - 205's and SA-502's along with Totem Acoustics Model One ( original ).

I can only speak of those either heard/owned and within the consents of my system which is solely Vinyl based using Acoustic Zen Cables throughout with the exception of a pair of Synergistic Research Tricon Analog Phono-cables used on my WT Classic MK V, as it appears to me - in my room and more importantly to my ears the Gibbon 3's bring me a greater sense of involvement and are a joy to listen to.


In this manner of speaking - the are the more balanced speakers I've owned since coming into our shared hobby in '82. There's no other way of expressing what I heard each and every day!, I can say in all honesty that I don't regret finding the last pair in existence.

And case in point, aren't you using your P3ESR's with a Sonneteer Alabaster!. As mentioned SS and Harbeth work better together just look at what the American Distributor brings in amp wise.

Be well,
Oscar
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I think you misunderstood, Oscar. I'm sorry for my part in it. I very much like the Gibbon 3's and agree that I'd rather have them than most of speakers you listed. I was simply stating that Harbeth's are, to my ears, in another league altogether relative to articulating the inner message and language of recorded music.
 
Elephantears said:
I think we should probably leave this thread to die a natural death, for two reasons;

1) its not fair to keep asking Tony about his difficult decisions.

2) it is starting to undersell what are actually brilliant speakers
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Agreed. Harbeths are fabulous speakers and Tony is a man of high integrity.
 
Tony L said:
Yes, that's about the size of it. FWIW here's my feelings:

Both bi-wire links in place, single-wire cable: sounds slightly different whether connected to top pair of plugs or bottom pair of plugs.

Both bi-wire links in place, bi-wire cable: negates the above, sounds cleaner and more integrated. My current favourite of the four methods I tried.

No bi-wire links, bi-wire cable, i.e. 'properly' bi-wired: sounds quite strikingly more spacious, though thinner and to my ears very obviously less musically coherent.

Single bi-wire link across black terminals, bi-wire cable: a good middle ground between bi-wired and non-bi-wired, i.e. does the extra 'space / depth thing', but without loosing weight and coherence to anything like the same degree. If anyone here is bi-wiring with any speaker I'd try this one and see what you think. Also try the bi-wire with links in place thing.

Please note all the above impressions relating to the HL5 are made with my Prima Luna Prologue 2 tube amp alone, an amp which doesn't seem to like the HL5 very much. Rob came up with his lightly tweaked Quad 34/306 and, whilst it sounded smaller and less weighty than the PL2 it did sound a lot more even, especially in the crossover / lower treble region. Rob came to the conclusion that my PL2 doesn't like the 35 Ohm impedance spike at 2Khz (link), or more accurately it did like it, a lot, far more than the valleys either side. Apparently this situation only applies to tube amps, transistor amps will simply not have this / any issue at all. Anyway, I really like my little tube amp and don't want to go back to solid state, so it makes sense to reverse out the speakers in this situation.

Tony.

PS I was very surprised by Rob's Quads, they sounded far, far better than I expected, and also very different to how I suspected they would sound - a very tight, controlled yet smooth and clean sound, though for my taste lacking in bass weight / slam. Had they more heft / hoof at the bottom I'd have really liked them.

PPS I'm sorry I referred to the bi-wire links as 'crap', it is hugely unprofessional of me to make such a crass comment as site owner. I deliberately try not to get too involved in audio topics, especially in any negative capacity, as I hate posting anything that could possibly be misconstrued as a viewpoint or editorial stance of this site. It isn't. Any posts on this thread from me should only be viewed as the remarkably incoherent ramblings of someone trying to come to terms with a purchase that has not worked out as planned through reasons of their own stupidity. This is nothing whatsoever to do with pfm and I'd be mortified if Harbeth or anyone else felt I was speaking out of turn.
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I should really thank Tony and glad that he made the comment on the bi-wire links of the Harbeth. One should not overlook the importance of these small little tweaks as they can truly bring an appreciable difference to the system in a positive way.

When I first bought the Harbeth I never really bothered to fiddle around with the links since I was using a bi-wire speaker cable at that time. When I went into the Naim direction I was forced to use the stock links that came with the speakers since the Naca5 only comes in single wire. I didn't take the initiative to experiment with jumpers and bi-wire configurations since I was somehow brainwashed by the Harbeth designer.

Just lately I managed to find some excess length of Rega SC42 cables and made some jumpers out of it. Long story short -with the SC42 jumpers in place the sound is more coherent and controlled with better integration and refinement across the entire spectrum.

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Tony has used the SHL5's for only 2 weeks but his short experience with them may have benefited other folks who have lived with the speakers for a considerably longer time.

I won't be trying the "F configuration" anymore since I am satisfied with the results of the present arrangement. These will stay in the storeroom permanently until I decide to try the "F configuration".

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I hope Tony would be able to sell his SHL5's soon and get his dream speakers back into the system.
 
Some Compact 7s for sale at Audio emotion for £895 if anyone is interested. not cheap but then again you dont see many for sale i guess.
 
Thanks for the heads up Bourney, although it seems they are Mk 1. After my SHL5-too-big-for-my-room heartache, I'm thinking about C7es3, Monitor 30's or Spendor SP23r2 as possibilities.
 
bourney said:
i think you are starting to love them now Tony and you just cant admit it... ;)
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Nope, I *really* want my Tannoys back! I've not been motivated to play anything for days now. The HL5 are clearly a good speaker, just not for me. I just need to find a buyer and get on with it.

Tony.
 
I finally bought the Something Solid XF stands for my C7s. Now the four round points at the top where the speakers sit look as if they could damage the veneer of the cabinet base. Does anyone have the same concern? And if so what did you use to protect your speakers? Thanks very much!
 
It won't damage the veneer if you place the speakers carefully and don't keep moving them around.

I use Something Solid stands for my demonstrations and haven't damaged the veneer yet but I do need to be careful, especially if I'm in a hurry. In normal domestic use, the speakers will be placed once and stay there for the long term.

If you are still worried, a small blob of Blu Tak on each puck will do the job or you can even knock the pucks off and just use Blu Tak. Obviously, this won't sound as good but is safe !!!
 
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