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?
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
Sometimes something is good enough...i do use a sub with mine,but for 90% of my music the sub is unnecessary.
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.
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... ?
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.
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.
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.
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.
Volti Audio Razz loudspeaker Measurements from 500hz to 4.5 khz, its -5db compared to under 400hz or over 5khz Such a broad mid- treble recession
interesting, maybe i should add a sub, but what do u mean by dial in, should i use certain software for that
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.
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.
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.