Are Harbeth S HL5's As Good As Reviewers Claim?

Cellosven, I am a bit confused as why you own so many Harbeth speakers if they lack treble, air, space, etc - or are you saying that is only a problem with the 5?

Jerry Seigel at 10audio.com published a quite critical review of the Harbeth Monitor 30 a couple of years ago. I've owned several pairs of Harbeths (no longer) and I think that, for all the positive press they get, many audiophiles would react to them very much as Jerry did. IMO, it's a very fair review.

I herd them at a friends house hooked up to Oddysey Statos Extreem amps and a Wadia CD player. I was not impressed. They did sound muddy and lack of air

I owned Spendor SP1/2e and thought they were much better

Pretty extreme spectrum of reactions, I wonder how much is personal taste, and accompanying amp. Seems like one of those speakers (perhaps true of most)is one you must hear to know if it is for you - seems like it could easily go either way.

My answer will be:YES, they are good as reviewers claim.They put many well known speakers manufactures to shame.The highs of ShL5 is the best ,comparing in this price range .They sound very very very realistic,not soft, not harsh,not exaggerated.The problems lay in other speakers,which exaggerates bass,or highs.We are so used to sound with rubber effect.The question will be,have you ever heard in reality guitar,bass,violin or other instruments sound like rubber?These speakers for me is perfect,they do everything right,they perfect balance between monitors and floorstanders.They produce all sound spectrum and don't mess intruments like other speakers.And most important ,i don't have to crank volume up to sound good.What I noticed is:having these speakers i started repeat many songs again and again,sometimes one song for hour or more >I am very glad,having these i fell in love with music :)