Piano Notes On Harbeth SHL 5

For box speakers, the quality of the speaker enclosures and drivers will pretty much dictate how piano tones and timbre will be reproduced. The Harbeth seems to lean more to the sound as you've described in most system, rich and warm pleasant tone.

Although speakers will dictate how piano notes would sound like, factors such as quality of recording and ancillary equipment play a part as well. Piano notes will sound "fat and thick" on the Harbeth if comparison is made with leaner or more precise speakers with extended high frequencies such as Dynaudios, Revels etc. It is difficult to ascertain which sound is more accurate, neutral or natural as everyone has their own benchmark.

May I ask what amps are hooked up to the SHL5 when piano sounded "fat and thick"? The Harbeths are inherently warm and organic sounding speakers with smooth highs, and a warm and smooth amp may just exacerbate things.

Hi

Thanks for the replies so far.

The recording is of the Keith Jarrett Trio on "Up For It" - Live in Juan-les-Pins. I looked at the liner notes to see what piano it was ;) - they sometimes say but not the case here. They did mention that there was rain onstage and leakage causing Gary Peacock's bass to be water affected and the piano to be waterlogged.

But triviality aside, I have liked the Harbeth's so far on many Blue Note quartet and quintet recordings where trumpets are usually too biting and the bass notes do reveal the different textures although they are not as tight as on the Dyn's that I was surprised to not be equally impressed by piano trio recordings. Hell, I even thought they sounded fine on US3's "Hand On The Torch" too even without the bass slam.

But rock, now that is a different matter...

Ryder, the amp was a Krell FPB 200 driven by a Cary SLP 05 - that is a neutral amp so I cannot presume that it imparted much warmth.

The Krell is a good one(tried an FPB400CX and matching Krell pre with some Harbeths). Not too sure about the Cary tube preamp though.

Bass slam can be improved with close attention to speaker placement, even if the SHL5 is in a large listening area. Closer placement to wall boundaries, especially the wall behind the speakers will tend to balance out the lack of punch in the bass whilst producing a more pronounced midrange.

Trumpets and strings(acoustic guitars) usually sound good on the Harbeth. Good observation on the bass texture of the Harbeth vs tight bass of the Dynaudios. The thin-wall cabinet of the Harbeth box that promotes resonance gives the bass(and lower mids) the texture and organic bloom -good for blues and jazz pieces but falls short in rock and dynamic music with lots of transients.

A good solo piano recording, such as Herbie Hancock's "The Piano" should help you zero in more on whether or not you think there is an issue. Recording-wise, this is about as perfect as a solo piano recording I know of. Good luck.