Harbeth recommends leaving the grill on. I did clean mine. with grill on: a few more dB attenuation at 15 kHz Smoother overall
With or without grilles it’s fine by me for my P3ESR and SHL5+ (before selling it). But I like how they look without the grilles. Graham LS 8/1 without grilles don’t look good. Not keen on the black baffle.
How old are your speakers that you had to clean the grills ? Mine are a few years old, but they still look brand new... which is a good thing, cause I can't even take the grills off ! :>) Will need to get a super magnet if I ever decide to pry them off.
Finally heard a pair of Harbeths. A friend has a pair of C7 somethings (?), and we had a record spinning and beer night at his place. A very refined and nice sounding speaker! I can see why the brand has such a following.
2 - 3 years old Dogs make dust, lol I won't touch them again for years. Mine did not look dirty but the water wrung off the sponge told a different story. A magnet is the way to go. I have three 5" diameter ones used to hold things in place on mining machines. Very strong, 'watch your fingers' strong.
I was contemplating new speakers. After adjusting them to a sweet spot I have only begun to enjoy them. The 'itch' has been scratched. SHL5 + With my REL 9Ti total package. I listened to Coltrane Blue Train (BN double lp). A little louder than usual. Wifey was watching TV in another room (house is solid, she never complains). She came out and asked who was 'stomping' lol Kick bass drum House is on 8" slab on grade!
@yunie_ So many are pro XD, and so many are pro other Harbeth. I can not help. Just saying that the other models (smaller XD) I listen to everyday are "very good" not fatiguing or aggressive, so musical. May I suggest that you find a shop which XD (or non XD) to audition. Another important notion is your own "audio" environment which can be different from the shop's auditorium. For me HL5+ XD or not must be quite good if the room is big enough. I'm quite happy with my pairs of Harbeth XD in small rooms.
Saw a smoking deal locally on a pair of SHL5+ XD's. How bad of a pairing would it be with my 40 watt Cary tube amp? I do still have my Parasound A21 if it's not enough power but I love the incredible "in- the room" feel and massive soundstage I get with the Cary amp.
with my c7s i made a j shape with a heavy gauge paper clip. insert the j hook on the outside corner, twist and pull straight out, then grab the grile frame by the finger tips and pry out. you get the hang of it.
the 5+ sound more natural to my ears, absolutely amazing speakers. the xd are really nice too but sound more like the spendor classics with a touch of midrange coloration that gives them a distinct, sweeter than natural sound. the sound is engaging but less natural.
the shl5s do really well with medium power tube amps because of their 6 ohm min impedance. i kept chasing my tail trying to fit them with higher and higher powered amps but never got the payback i was anticipating. good solid stands are a must as well as proper distance from wall to avoid bass peaks. they will come off as much more laid back than your fortes but are worth the experience if only for the incredible midrange and refinement.
I have the 40.3XD’s in my system about 6 months and it’s a total love/hate relationship. They are in my second system and going back and forth with my main system (Wilson Alexia’s 2) the imaging that the Wilson’s create is lacking from the Harbeth’s but the Harbeth’s have an immediacy that are lacking in the Wilson’s, they are more precise. Also positioning is far more critical with the Harbeth’s, I still have not found the perfect position. I’m going to next add the ISO pucks per many recommendations.
They are very easy to drive...not super efficient but an easy load.I've only used big SS amps with mine,but i don't think it's neccassary.
I recently picked up a pair of C7es3's and can say these are very revealing speakers. I've just sort of set them up with little room tuning so far but I imagine it will only get better once I've got them dialed in. I find driving them with my CJ 2550, very easy.
Are you sure you're replying to the right person? Nothing at all about removing grilles in that member's post.
I did pair my SHL5+ with the SLI-80. It’s good. You will enjoy it. My room is a mere 14’ x 13’ and at slightly above moderate level, the volume knob does not exceed 12 o’clock.
For removing the grills, I use this: https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B07TMWR3D8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
it's funny, i've never been able to remove the grilles on my 30.2's. Tried everything from magnets to those little hook units from harbor freight. I think it's a sign.
12 o clock on an SLI-80? I've never even made it to 10 o'clock on that amp with any speaker I've tried with it, and I've tried about 6 different pairs of speakers. Even 9 o clock on the dial is very loud, even with inefficient speakers. That almost makes me concerned that they are more power hungry. But I guess 3 people responded saying the amp would be sufficient so now it's just decision time I guess. They come with stands and are less than half retail price including the stands. Almost too good to be true but the guy has a lot of positive reviews and 100% feedback rating.
