Piano Notes On Harbeth SHL 5

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.

AS you know, the piano is a percussion instrument, and before you hear the string tone, you should hear the percussive sound of hammers striking the strings...then the sound of the strings coming off the sounding board should be revealed. I've heard very few systems to be able to reproduce the percussive component of piano sound...and then if you are using vinyl....the string sound should be without fluctuating to the end of its life.

I second the recommendation on the Hancock "Piano" CD.
Remember great CD players sound like ebony and ivory and so/so CD players sound like plastic and Ikea wood.

Nice theories....

back to the Harbeth 5's. They can be extremely tight on the low end and produce a piano gorgeously....it all depends on what gear you have them paired with, what stands they are, and what room they're in, and even cabling...

to say you know the Harbeth sound because you heard them in one setup is not informative. Try them with different things, and you'll hear what I mean.

(for my two cents subjectively, I would think Krell would be dreadful with them, and I hate Dynaudios-do not sound like music. Different characteristics altogether.)