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Your opinion about Harbeth loudspeakers

S-Man said:
The measurements don't look particularly accurate, generally down tilted fr responses and off-axis integration problems:
http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/measurements/speakers/harbeth_30_domestic/
http://www.stereophile.com/content/harbeth-m401-loudspeaker-measurements#tVZ0jQsgOQXtrX2W.97

The ~+7db at 70Hz along with a highly undamped port output (look at the impedance plot) is actually quite likely to give "heavy" bass.

If you take into account the confession that Alan Shaw voices them entirely on his own, I think you will end up with a particular sound signature. Of course if you happen to like what Alan likes then this could provide a good result.
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Both of those articles are pretty old. Just a couple of months ago, Stereophile's Art Dudley gave the new SHL5+'s a positive review. The measurements section ended with:

"...Other than that lively enclosure, which is a deliberate design decision—note AD's comment about "the consistently truthful, present manner with which they reproduce singing voices"—the Harbeth Super HL5plus's measured performance is beyond reproach.—John Atkinson

Read more at http://www.stereophile.com/content/...-loudspeaker-measurements#roxOtUjActCqgcT3.99
..."

Despite being no fan of the way Shaw runs his forum, I have always had a soft spot for Harbeth speakers. I owned C7s for a few years before replacing with Naim Ovator 400s. Based on recent dealer feedback, and on the confirmation of this and other articles, I will likely home demo the SHL5+'s later this summer.
 
pranderos said:
Den about 2.5 x 3.5 m, 8ft ceiling, sprung wood floor, drywall interior. music runs to the acoustic, but not exclusive; classical & Latin guitar, singer songwriter, mix of folk, rock, lighter jazz, etc.

Which do you think might please best?

-paul-
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You may find it difficult in that room. You can certainly put the C7s or M30.1 on the longer wall, but they will need some space behind them, so you will be very very close to them; it will be a very 'front row' presentation and I don't think it will work.

If you put them on the short wall you will need distance from the side walls and corners to avoid corner boom and first reflection problems, so they are going to be very very close together. You will get no width.

I would stick with the smaller Harbeths in that room, or go for a different kind of design.
 
I suspect the only thing to do is demo a pair and see how they fare. I have owned the C7's - SHL5 - P3 & heard the 30.1. I prefer the P3's as the most transparent and "clean" sounding - excellent dynamically and very coherent top to bottom. Like all Harbeth's treble is not pronounced or "airy" (like eg Proac) and presentation is recessed, not forward.

My experience is the lossy boxes can excite room nodes esp in 'live' rooms.

Hard to get to sound bad but hard to get to sound great; you can drive them with any decent amplifier and they will work. No foo necessary, sadly :) . Overall very hard to go wrong but for rock /pop / electronic they wouldn't be my first choice.
 
The only opinion of Harbeth loudspeakers that matters is yours.
 
Elephantears said:
You may find it difficult in that room. You can certainly put the C7s or M30.1 on the longer wall, but they will need some space behind them, so you will be very very close to them; it will be a very 'front row' presentation and I don't think it will work.

If you put them on the short wall you will need distance from the side walls and corners to avoid corner boom and first reflection problems, so they are going to be very very close together. You will get no width.

I would stick with the smaller Harbeths in that room, or go for a different kind of design.
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Good points all, Elephantears. Quite possible the P3 will remain the favorite. Listening about 7 1/2 feet from my ears, and do enjoy that very clean sound, almost like electrostats, in a good way. Then again, there are those who like C7s or Monitor 30s up close and personal... Right now, I'm alternating with Kudos C10s, very enjoyable, lively, nicely weighted in my small room. Perhaps their size, design, is just right...
 
So, just purchased C7s at a nice demo price. After years of circling for a landing on this, while alternating my P3-ES2s with a variety of other speakers; Neats, Focals, Kudos, Reference 3a, Spendor.

First impressions; the C7s are all I hoped for; much like the P3s, all grown up. Translates for me into a more extensive and subtle range of tone and timbre, and greater dynamic range within the music. By comparison, bass has an effortless depth; not pumped up or pushed forward, but sufficient in reserve. the bass is there, but it won't blanket or muffle the spoken word in movie dialogue, nor the voice of a singer.

Excellent for quiet listening without loss of detail.

BTW; I inadvertently misled on size of den; I still think in feet - so its about 11' x 16', or 3 and 1/3 meters by almost 5m. The C7s look imposing compared to what I'm used to, but do not sound outsized in the room. They do open up a soundstage that has more depth than I've experienced in this room; as if the music was coming from a single large sphere, beyond room boundaries. Enough for now, more time needed...
cheers,
-paul-
 
Excellent news, and I'm glad to hear your room has increased in size. That is very close in size to the room in my previous flat, where I had C7s and they worked very well.
 
I have had the pleasure of owning the Compact 7 ES2 for around ten years- that says a lot, l have no reason to change at all- they are so blooming musical:cool:

Also, Harbs can rock, l use mine on the end of a high specced Gyrodec/ SME V/ Cadenza Black which are not supposed to rock:p bolted into a SONY 770ES amp and B'Jesus this system rocks!!!!!

The best thing about every Harb that I have listened to is how balanced and easy to listen to.:)
 
Singslinger said:
I have owned the P3ESR and Monitor 30.1s in the past driven by Naim and Accuphase amplification.

My experience is that they are very impressive at first listen but lack that something extra to keep me engaged over time.

After living with them for about a year, I concluded that they are over-priced and over-rated, not as enjoyable as their competitors from Spendor and ProAc, the latter having the edge when it comes to rock, whilst the former excels in the midrange.

Still, others have had different experiences with Harbeths so best to listen in situ before deciding.

Good luck!
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Which Proac model are you referring to in your post above? The Spendors may have a better midrange than the Harbeth, but it cannot do rock as convincingly also I suppose when compared to "rock" speakers.
 
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