Harbeth Speakers- Doing Something Right....

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by avanti1960, Jul 25, 2019.

  1. DavidR

    DavidR Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    Thanks for the reply, it looks like it will be a balancing act for my small 3m x3m listening room, I don't think for example 15" woofers would work well, although they would be great for rock!

    What is your current setup? I read you tried some Monitor Audio Gold's how did that go?
     
  2. Billion$Baby

    Billion$Baby Forum Resident

    Location:
    IM AT WKRP
    My MA speakers are still brand new in box so cant help you there. Suppose to be somewhat Bright. If you check out ZERO FIDELITY on Youtube you will see that his room is only 9x12 feet and he has had CORNWALL IV's in there and said they work great against the wall...so size doesn't always matter :) He's also had the Forte III's and Heresy in that room and he has reviews of those as well. He's also had the Double Impact SE in there and said you can plop them down anywhere...not finicky about placement at all. He probably has 50 other reviews for mostly bookshelf type so that might help you too.
     
    Ivand likes this.
  3. Dream On

    Dream On Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Not sure I'd call AN speakers polite (certainly not in the Harbeth way). Maybe it depends what is meant by "polite".

    I have Special Forties. They rock, but I'd expect a pair of AN/K to do just as good a job. Might be wrong though, never having a pair of K's in my room. But I've heard AN's at shows, they actually play rock at shows, and they sounded really good doing it. AN use large drivers in large boxes and tend to be efficient, so they are pretty well suited to rock.

    Most of us I think want all-rounders. Speakers that can do well with many genres. Despite rock being my favorite genre, if all a speaker excels at is rock then it's not the speaker for me. It must do a very good job with rock though.

    I think different speakers have different overall characters, and certain characteristics will suit certain musical styles. It just comes down to that. A lot of speakers will do a good job with all genres though.
     
    Last edited: Jul 12, 2020
  4. Helom

    Helom Forum member

    Location:
    U.S.
    Not only have I tried many of the more affordable speakers, but more expensive speakers as well.

    Also tried quite a few "modern" designs, most recently the Dynaudio Contour 20s. In a couple areas they bettered my Spendors but that Esotar2 tweeter was difficult to get along with. Certainly resolving but much too bright.
    I can't imagine Cornwalls of any generation working in a room that small. It's difficult enough to get speakers the size of C7ES3s to work in a room like that. I was barely able to get my Stirlings to work in a 13.5 x 14.5 room. I knew Sean's room was smallish but didn't realize it was that small. A reviewer's room size need be considered by the prospective buyer, otherwise they're very likely to have a polarizing experience.

    An example is his recent review of the KEF R3s. He claims they're warmer than the typical KEF. I had the opposite experience, but I also have a much larger room so bass balance might be the reason for that contradiction.
     
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  5. Sound Eq

    Sound Eq Active Member

    Location:
    Israel
    greetings

    I adore my harbeth slh 5 plus 40th anniversary

    And this makes me wonder about 2 things

    first to help a friend out who asked me if there is there is a lower priced speakers that has the same natural mids tonality, and warmth and fullness

    Also for me I would like to know what would be the upgrade from what I own, to preserve that same natural full midrange, which is sweet and full sounding, but can dig a bit deeper into bass and sub bass. I am using the Avid integra amplifier and chord hugo tt2 dac. Really wonder how that setup can be topped. If I would upgrade to anything, it must have the same tonality but have a better deeper bass repsonse
     
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  6. Crazysteve

    Crazysteve Gonzo Party Member

    To your first question, it’s why I have Harbeth’s. I found nothing close to the tonality in mid range under the price. I’m curious to hear other responses.
    To your second question regarding face, a air of REL subs dialed in are absolutely killer. Harbeth musicality with bass.
     
    Echoes Myron and hvbias like this.
  7. Echo's Answer

    Echo's Answer Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    A used C7 Harbeth speaker? That is the path I had to take.
     
    Echoes Myron and IanL like this.
  8. Glmoneydawg

    Glmoneydawg Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ontario Canada
    Sometimes something is good enough...i do use a sub with mine,but for 90% of my music the sub is unnecessary.
     
    Merkinman likes this.
  9. Crazysteve

    Crazysteve Gonzo Party Member

    Good call and I failed to mention the used market. I got my 30.1’s in ebony for over 50% off in perfect condition used a few years ago. $3k.
     
  10. raindog69

    raindog69 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Chicagoland, IL
    Interesting discussion, here. I find myself thinking about additional speakers to keep with my SHL5+40s. I love them, but sometimes I want a different sound. It's like pizza - all pizza is good but sometimes I'm in the mood for thin or NY style or deep dish or stuffed, etc. I don't want to get rid of the Harbeths, but when I'm in the mood for something really different but also yummy, what would be a fun choice? Thinking about Fortes, Kef R3... ?
     
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  11. Crazysteve

    Crazysteve Gonzo Party Member

    Fortes! My same thought but it requires a different amp at the same time. Please read “requires” with a grain of salt, but it does.
     
    avanti1960 likes this.
  12. raindog69

    raindog69 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Chicagoland, IL
    Really? I mean, if I've got enough power for Harbeth's... Fortes are more efficient. Ideally, maybe tubes from what I hear, but SS isn't going to sound bad. Right? Eventually it would be fun to get a lower powered tube amp, but I wasn't planning on making that Step 1.
     
  13. Crazysteve

    Crazysteve Gonzo Party Member

    Right, I was talking about having a low powered tube amp. Just what I seek, a great amp being used with your Harbeth’s would be fine for sure.
     
  14. hvbias

    hvbias Midrange magic

    Location:
    Northeast
    I think you'd have to start looking into DIY if you or your friend are capable of that in order to get this level of midrange performance for less money. For instance Supravox make great drivers which have really nice midrange presence (the only fullrange drivers I've heard that sound any good). All the speakers I've heard that perform better in the midrange were either significantly more expensive or more exotic (ie Quad ESL57).

    As for yourself, digging deeper into the bass larger speakers have their own problems (not uncommon for them to have average at best midrange) so I would look into integrating subs if you wish to keep this same great tonality. I see @Crazysteve essentially said the same thing :)

    Subs when used properly will not only extend the bass but can help with room modes.
     
    Crazysteve likes this.
  15. avanti1960

    avanti1960 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago metro, USA
    try the volti audio razz.
     
    Crazysteve likes this.
  16. Merkinman

    Merkinman Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Texas
    Those were the regular DIs and not the SE version.
     
  17. murphythecat

    murphythecat https://www.last.fm/user/murphythecat

    Location:
    Canada
  18. Sound Eq

    Sound Eq Active Member

    Location:
    Israel
    interesting, maybe i should add a sub, but what do u mean by dial in, should i use certain software for that
     
  19. Sound Eq

    Sound Eq Active Member

    Location:
    Israel
    are there certain subs that work best with harbeth
     
  20. Glmoneydawg

    Glmoneydawg Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ontario Canada
    Quite a few people in here have had success with REL subs.I had good luck with a Paradigm X10 sub.If you go with a sub i would use a 10inch driver and no crossovers on the Harbeths.The crossovers on the subs seem to work best at 40hz with steep slopes.
     
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  21. 33na3rd

    33na3rd Forum Resident

    Location:
    SW Washington, USA
    Sealed subs tend to sound "faster" and have less bass "bloat". Ported subs are great for home theatre, but sealed subs are preferred by many for music.
     
    TheVinylAddict likes this.
  22. Glmoneydawg

    Glmoneydawg Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ontario Canada
    While i am in general agreement here,i preffered a ported Paradigm over a JL audio E110...the sealed JL just couldn't blend/disappear in my system.
     
    avanti1960 likes this.
  23. avanti1960

    avanti1960 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago metro, USA
    oh boy......
     
    Glmoneydawg likes this.
  24. avanti1960

    avanti1960 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago metro, USA
    too much enclosure resonance?
     
    Glmoneydawg likes this.
  25. avanti1960

    avanti1960 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chicago metro, USA

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