I'm pretty sure most here don't actually need protection from audio reviewers. Most understand that reviews can alert us to a product we might like, and then if we pursue it we decide for ourselves if we'll buy it. And it's untrue that all are simply "paid walking advertisements." Most reviewers earn very little money from reviewing and typically they are driven by the very same audio enthusiasm as most other audiophiles, like those of us here. That was true when I did a bit of reviewing (long ago) and true of every single reviewer I've known or been acquainted with. Not that there aren't any shenanigans in the industry - like any industry, yeah there can be some glad handing. But I, and many people, have been alerted to products that have made for very satisfying purchases, because we found the reviewer accurately described the characteristics of that gear. Some people love to bag on reviewers - easy target and clearly some get a sort of self satisfaction out of their own cynicism. But I find such takes to be facile and often misleading.
It's a personal kick some people get from spreading their cynicism. Youtube comment sections are full of it. It's easy. (A lot easier denigrating audio reviewers than...say...being an audio reviewer)
FWIW, having lived with the 30.2XD for 16 months or so, I'm happy to corroborate the greater part of @PoetryOnPlastic review; I think he does a fine and balanced job of identifying - as best one can given the medium - the associated strengths and weaknesses of the speaker. For further insight in a similar vein, the Stereonet speaker review is also quite good and provides similar detail. For prospective customers and interested parties, one can garner a lot of valuable information, and like @PoetryOnPlastic says, can decide if it's worth hunting a demo down - not always a simple task given logistics, time, pandemic related constraints and so on.
I've got p3esr and for me rock sounds outstanding. My room is 21x16 and the speakers are position 4+ feet from the rear wall. I do use a Rel sub but don't think it's strictly necessary depending on your setup. In past week I listened to Tool, Motörhead, Rush, DRI and all are very musically satisfying. Priest Sad Wings of Destiny sounds incredibly good to me. Additionally, I can listen to all of this stuff at moderate volumes (70 db or less) and it's still satisfying - something I have not consistently experienced with other speakers. The system plays plenty loud if desired, but that's generally not my thing. Obviously if your thing is to crank it up and get pinned to you seat you should look elsewhere. I've owned towers that could play at crushing volumes, and I've heard rock on big horn speakers - exhilarating and totally different to what I hear with the Harbeths! It's the kind of thing you really have to hear for yourself to decide if it's for you. Looks like you're in Maryland - head over to Deja Vu and check this out first hand! I visited the store a couple years ago and Vu was happy to let me play whatever non-audiophile stuff I wanted on various Harbeth and Audio Note speakers. It was very eye opening for me. Personally I've never heard systems that could handle rock the way these did (for one thing I was blasting Hole - Celebrity Skin, which is usually a glaring mess, and it sounded great!). I usually find heavy rock hit and miss on high end systems mostly due to the way many of the albums are mixed, but on the Harbs and Audio Note speakers I found everything I played to be an enjoyable listen. Plus Vu is absolute expert in system setup. He had a pair of 30.1s that absolutely blew my mind.
Well done review, thoughtful and detailed! Harbeths do sound like music and you nailed it. I do believe amp synergy is important with the 30.2 XD and your Hegel model has the needed tonal balance to work with them nicely. I have heard the Harbeths sound too laid back and actually veiled / soft with amplifiers that have that tendency to begin with. Glad you enjoy them.
depends on your amplifier. I heard the P3ESRs blow my mind rocking at the last AXPONA show driven by robust 200 WPC MOSFET mono blocks. Deep bass needs a subwoofer but everything else was there. The C7ES3 I owned did even better. The SHL5s are better still. None of them would compete with bigger boxes like Klipsch Heritage for example which sound like PA speakers but the Harbeths do everything else so much better that it becomes a moot point.
As an aisde, I'm sat here listening to house/electro on my 30.2XD via a Leben CS300XS. An unlikely combination and not without its caveats - in the main, woofer control is decidedly not on a par with SS, and I'm also in the relative near-field and have a preference for sub 80db listening mostly. All that said, all the other niceties of tubes are there and plentiful - sound-staging, tone (yes, even with electro), tangible feel etc.
Update after 2 years 2-months of use the Harbeth SHL5+ are still doing all the right things the right way. They do sound smoother and have more bass but have not changed as drastically as other speakers I have owned. Lots of experimenting with stands, positioning, cables, isolating dots and hardware noticing that the speakers do easily project the differences- good or bad. Point being that if the sound isn't making you as happy as it should by all means experiment away. Your effort will be rewarded and they won't let you down. Recently added the grilles to the mix and for the first time they have stayed in place more than a day or two. The more you do right, the more they will. Thoughts of trying something different? Of course the mind wanders- but impulses fade quickly because you know what else is out there.
Couldn't agree more.....got mine about the same time as you and have tried to make my purchases with the "first do no harm" mantra in mind ever since their arrival.
Trust, but verify Trust, until they give you a reason not to Impugning character is not helpful. Read several reviews, if they start to converge, it may be meaningful. If not, perhaps not. Doctors, Engineers, etc. get paid for their opinions. Do we dismiss them out of hand? Only at our own peril.
I love it! Looks really neat and tidy and contemporary. It looks like a relaxing environment that would make me want to sit down and listen. Plus I've always had a soft spot for the look of the Harbeth/Spendor speakers - that old school, understated dignity in the simple design. (And I much prefer them with the grills on). Given how much I like the look of the Harbeth speakers I was disappointed they didn't quite work aesthetically in my own listening room. My room has I guess a fairly contemporary look, but it has a wide open side to the hallway, so that's usually the first view of the room. Somehow seeing the sides of the Harbeths on stands and their boxy form just didn't mesh with the room. My other speakers, Thiel and Joseph Audio, present a more contemporary raked-back look from the sides (with gorgous wood grain) and seem more made for the room. It was a bummer because my room is probably the only one I've seen where the Harbeths didn't look right. Wheres in your photo they are perfect IMO.
Thank you. If I remember your JAs are very far away from their wall so yes with that entrance I can picture how the big boxes would not look the best. But your sound stage depth must be excellent. The Harbeths will actually sound better if I move them another 2-feet from the wall but I need to do some re-arranging behind my couch to move it back. Big project but soon....
such an excellent system ? how far apart are the Harbeth's How far from back and sidewalls How far from your listening position ? tia
Exactly. I'm constrained by some complexity and ergonomics in my room, as to where my 2 channel speakers could be placed, but happily where they "have" to sit is also where they sound best.
7 feet 4 inches speaker center to center and center of baffle diagonally to each ear as measured with a laser, dont ask me how i did it. 3 feet 2 in center front baffle to back wall. 4 feet left center to left wall 7 feet right center to right wall ideally i would want my listening position 23.6 inches further rearward so that base of triangle = height. i also want to pull speakers an additional 22 inches from the wall and move back an additional 22. sounds great now but those changes will improve things.
Listening to Henry Franklin The Skipper on the Black Jazz reissue label. 10 for music and 10 for sound. Sounds funtastic. !
thanks So an ~7.33 equilateral triangle. I may be Speakers ~7.5' to 8' center to center 12' from each speaker 8/12/12 or 4/12/11.3 x 2 Back wall 2.5 Sides ~3.5 Initially btw: how'd you laser measure corner to corner? j/k
7 ft 2" center to center and 8 ft 3" to my ears....close enough to your numbers to make me believe we have it right and yep the Bosch laser is awesome for speaker/listening position setup!
The next steps for me will be to rearrange the room for more space- speakers out listening couch back. I am NOT going to change a single thing hardware wise. The returns they are a diminishing. I just have to get rid of an air hockey table, old projection TV and move some stuff to the garage after I clean that out. Definitely worth the effort. Wife wants a ballet bar somewhere behind everything (that she will never use) so I keep stalling on that one.
Really nice review it was a fun read I've not heard the XD's but heard, and really liked, the 30.2. You seemed to struggle with stands a bit one suggestion I would make would be Sound Anchors, incredibly solid metal stands with an open frame on top I've heard Harbeths on SAs and it's a great combo.
