Speakers £3,000 Maximum Any Ideas
- Thread starter Pete the Feet
- Start date
Pete the Feet
pfm Member
Interzone that was a really interesting link.
I have just picked up a pair of demo Harbeth SHL5s today. Immediate impressions in my far less than perfect listening room:
They don't do the resonant ambient bass that my Rega R5s do.
No party tricks with the floor board rattling even at low volume.
They don't accentuate any frequency at all, pretty flat sounding.
I found whilst playing my test tracks that I didn't want to flip through to the next track, I was quite content to just listen.
Very easy on the ear and do not jar with certain vocals.
Bigger sound without having to turn up the wick, but not exciting, still engaging though.
Possibly not fatiguing over a broad spectrum of music, I will find out this week if I am hankering after more excitement or just happy to listen and chill.
A good test will be if the Mrs wants me to turn it off or down whilst she is in the room which I find annoying at times; she may not like the look of them though.
I have just picked up a pair of demo Harbeth SHL5s today. Immediate impressions in my far less than perfect listening room:
They don't do the resonant ambient bass that my Rega R5s do.
No party tricks with the floor board rattling even at low volume.
They don't accentuate any frequency at all, pretty flat sounding.
I found whilst playing my test tracks that I didn't want to flip through to the next track, I was quite content to just listen.
Very easy on the ear and do not jar with certain vocals.
Bigger sound without having to turn up the wick, but not exciting, still engaging though.
Possibly not fatiguing over a broad spectrum of music, I will find out this week if I am hankering after more excitement or just happy to listen and chill.
A good test will be if the Mrs wants me to turn it off or down whilst she is in the room which I find annoying at times; she may not like the look of them though.
The speakers for you are Shahinians, arcs or Obs. Seconf hand is fine with these as they last for ever.
The reason they sounded a bit hard at the top is your 135's. I lived with that combination for a while. When I switched to dynavector amplification the top end nasites vanished. Everything else sounded a lot nicer too.
You may need some time to get accustomed to the house sound of the Harbeth with prolonged listening sessions to ascertain whether they will suit your listening taste and remain as a permanent feature in your system. Your amplification is Naim, the most lively and engaging ones out of the lot. If the Harbeth still sound flat after a month or two, they probably don't suit your listening preference. In my experience the Naim/Harbeth match is the most lively and engaging after trying out more than half a dozen amps on the SHL5.
The Harbeth are not speakers that will grab you immediately upon first listening with impressive dynamics, bells and whistles. They excel in long-term satisfaction with a natural sound and low listening fatigue. Do pay more attention in speaker placement as it's crucial in bringing the best out of the Harbeth.
vuk
\o/ choose anarchy
didn't tonyL suffer through very similar rationalizations a little whole ago? do you really need to plug the brand?
vuk.
I dont know what gave you the impression that I was plugging the brand. What didnt work for Tony does not necessarily suggest that it will not work for others. Everyone has their own preference as to how music should sound like to his or her ears. The OP had bought the SHL5 and is uncertain whether he would be able to live with them on long-term, and I am offering my thoughts to help make it work in the context of his system. Ultimately the owner decides whether it will or will not.
I do admit the Harbeth has worked out in my system tremendously well as I continue to derive great pleasure listening to my system everyday. If someone is having problems with his Harbeth system, I will often chime in with my thoughts. Do you have any problem with that?
Cereal Killer
432
vuk seems to be having a bad weekend. He's been on one.... chill, it's only a music/hifi forum.
bottleneck
pfm Member
Hi Vuk.
Harbeth make interesting speakers. Their sound is - almost unique amongst hifi speakers in my view. The closest parallel would be active ATC speakers (in my opinion).
The reality of life means few of us can have multiple high end speakers in different rooms for different sounds, so we have to pick just one solution. Picking Harbeth over (for example) Tannoy would be just like picking pizza over pasta.. it's a matter of what presentation you enjoy.
The variety in hifi is one of the things I like about it most. . like music, and like life variety makes it special.
I read a review by Roy Gregory once (of living voice avatars), where he said that in speaker design manufacturers throw ''a life belt'' to one or two attributes of sound. I agree with his analogy. THe compromise of picking the attributes that matter most to you in music (as an individual) is best represented in my view by loudspeaker choice.
Pete the Feet
pfm Member
Some good point there ryder. How long have you been running harbeths and what is your setup?
They sound flat in a good way or should I say even.
I don't feel the need to keep trimming the volume for example when I'm listening to the iPlayer Tony blackburn Pick of the Pops or other radio programs, the presenters voice inbetween tracks doesn't grate. It reminds me of listening to the wireless when I was a kid, but with better sound. I've never really taken to radio programs on a hifi due to the dynamics and presenter volumes.
Another vote of confidence off the Mrs, more ambient she said [She's even learning the lingo]. I would not normally get away having the radio on, on a Sunday morning.
After watching the weekly DVD last night we had quite a late listening session and natter and the Mrs loves the sound and didn't keep telling me to hit the volume and turn them down. She has recently been going on about me getting headphones, no thanks.
As for speaker placement I'm stuffed there, not much scope in our limited space and layout.
I have until next Saturday to make my mind up, initially I was going to return them on Tuesday.
sq225917
Bit of this, bit of that
Holy shit, how much as these speakers that stop Tony Blackburn's voice from Grating? They must have been more popular than LS35a's during the 70's...
The Harbeths have been in my system for 2 years now. Amps are Naim 202/200/TeddycapMk3 fronted by a Krell CD player and Rega P5. One thing I like about the Harbeth is they manage to sound full and inviting at low listening levels during the night. If space and placement options are limited, other speakers may do a lot worse than the Harbeth ie. PMC, Sonus Fabers which require more effort and detail in setting up, both which I have owned.
Good luck.
Pete the Feet
pfm Member
The PMC FB1i are the next on the list for a home demo but the Mrs says just buy these; although she keeps asking me how much? where I then change the subject.
Pete the Feet
pfm Member
Are they really this coloured or lacking in detail?
hairyderriere
pfm Member
For the kind of money you're spending, I'd look into getting a rebuilt pair of JBLs from Kenrick Sound in Japan. Not only will they sound great, they'll probably appreciate in value.
These 4430s are two grand. 93dB/W/m. Should sound good at low volumes too.
These 4430s are two grand. 93dB/W/m. Should sound good at low volumes too.
hairyderriere
pfm Member
Pete the Feet
pfm Member
they take me back to my days at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester. I think the Mrs might take issue with these no matter how they sounded. I wouldn't mind a listen though.
For the kind of money you're spending, I'd look into getting a rebuilt pair of JBLs from Kenrick Sound in Japan. Not only will they sound great, they'll probably appreciate in value.
These 4430s are two grand. 93dB/W/m. Should sound good at low volumes too.
Anyone know what the shiny monsters in the background are?
They look like they could be a serious air mover.
Pete the Feet
pfm Member
Did you say air or hair mover?
bottleneck
pfm Member
those jbl's weren't popular in japan - a reserved people, and the horn looks like a pair of bum cheeks - not a fact that was lost on them I have heard.
Also, that model has gone up a lot recently. I've seen them for circa £500-£800 in the last couple of years, I believe personally they are going up in price because other models are becoming more scarce rather than because they are at the top of the JBL tree.
There are still ''smart money'' JBL's to be had, but again you are importing from Germany , USA, or Japan - but this has the highest freight.
NB
The speakers behind are 'likely' to be one of two brands, but to cut a long story short its a big assed 2 way with TAD drivers.
Also, that model has gone up a lot recently. I've seen them for circa £500-£800 in the last couple of years, I believe personally they are going up in price because other models are becoming more scarce rather than because they are at the top of the JBL tree.
There are still ''smart money'' JBL's to be had, but again you are importing from Germany , USA, or Japan - but this has the highest freight.
NB
The speakers behind are 'likely' to be one of two brands, but to cut a long story short its a big assed 2 way with TAD drivers.