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Moving up the Harbeth line

I was fortunate to move my home office to another room which is a bit bigger than the previous one. Dimensions are 12x13 with almost 20-foot ceilings. As much as I love my Harbeth P3esr's, I can't help but notice that they've been outclassed by the bigger room, especially the high ceiling. This pair of speakers has been a mainstay in my home office/study for a number of years, and I find it to be a perfect fit for my listening habits and music preferences. But in the new setting, it's not able to fill the room as well as it used to. For examples, horns and piano now sound much smaller and distant. So that got me thinking of an upgrade. I have been using a Raven Audio Blackhawk MK3 for a few months and would want to stick with it if possible. There are very few speakers that have allowed me to make an emotional connection with the music, and Harbeth is certainly one of them. So my preference is to stay with the brand.

Now, before the 'search bar is your best friend' folks come swinging at me, I have read a few threads on similar topics but they all seem to be inconclusive, or at least I'm not able to decipher a reasonable consensus. Having spent way too much money on this addiction, err, hobby, in the last 12 months, I have to resort to buying used equipment only, and that too has to wait for at least 2-3 months. So, doing an in-house demo is going to be difficult if not impossible. And, AFAIK, there are no dealers nearby (Dallas area) either.

I would love to hear from people who have moved up the Harbeth food chain. The M30.x seems to be a logical next step, but I see an equal number of negative opinions (too polite, too boxy, pipe and slippers) as positive ones. Is there anyone who thinks that the M30 retains the same magic as the P3esr's but serves it in relatively bigger portions? Because that's what I'm mainly looking for to be honest -- a bigger version of P3esr. Or do you think the cons negate the pros offered by the bigger cabinet size?

Next up is SHL5+. Again, the opinions vary widely. Some are saying that this particular model deviates the most from the classic Harbeth sound. Another concern is that my room might be too small for them (?). Also, I cannot pull them more than one and a half feet from the front wall. Is that going to result in ugly bass problems?

I'm not against trying another brand, but would prefer an opinion that is based on an actual comparison with Harbeth speakers.
128x128arafiq
ryder
1,689 posts
 
Arafiq, the comprehensive and detailed account is surely useful. I’m glad the 30.1s have worked out well in your system, particularly with the Luxman L-590AXII. There’s nothing more for me to add here since you will be more familiar with the speakers when you spend more time with it.

My very brief experience with 30.1 vs 30.2 is the latter sounds more open and forward than the 30.1. However, there was an owner of the 30.1 who upgraded to the 30.2 and felt that listening fatigue was a bit too high with the 30.2.
SHL5+ is a much larger speaker than the 30.1 and will have a larger sound and fuller deeper bass. The sound will be slightly tame in the sense instruments and vocals do not pop out from the background as much as the 30.1. However, the SHL5+ is an airier, leaner or lighter sounding speaker(as opposed to warmer and fuller/thicker sound of 30.1) and will need more space from wall boundaries to sound good.

Lastly, the 30.1/30.2 that you have now is one of the best if not the best when it comes to reproducing human voice to sound as life-like or natural as possible. Even the SHL5+ can’t match the 30.1 in this respect. There are many high end speakers costing much more than the Harbeth that do vocals well but the Harbeth just have that extra edge or magic.

Enjoy ~

howaboutthat41's avatar
howaboutthat41
61 posts
 
For your larger room, perhaps the 30.2XD or 40th? That way you keep the general sound profile (including unparalleled midrange/human voice reproduction) but gain, presumably, from the slightly more open and foward dynamics invited by a grander space.  There occasionally are some terrific deals on lightly used 30.2s here and on USAudiomart.   A nice set of subs would then balance everything out.   
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,318 posts
 
@arafiq  As has been pointed out, the larger models above the 30.X are not all cut from exactly the same cloth.  I think you'd find more "family resemblance" between the 30.X and the 40.X rather than the SHL5+.  If you can accommodate them, the 40.X's would be a superb replacement for the Olympicas.  Gently used regular 40.2's are now affordable; the Anniversary model adds little but price, and the 40.3 XD bears a relation to it rather as the 30.2 does to the 30.1, and is now wildly expensive new.
arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
1,662 posts
 
With so many solid offerings from Harbeth, it is so difficult to pick a path. After listening to the 30.1 in the main system, it was hard for me to find faults with its presentation. Before buying this speaker, I had heard comments about the boxy, closed-in nature of the speaker. While it very well might be true, I’ve found that I don’t notice it, or at least it doesn’t bother me at all. That slightly forward sound of instruments and human voices emerging from a quiet background is very appealing to me. It’s by far the best I’ve heard, but then again my repertoire of speakers is fairly limited -- this is ’only’ my ninth pair of speakers that I have owned so far. You can argue that I don’t know what I don’t know, but at least I have a better understanding of where my preferences lie.

I almost had my heart set on 30.2, but my brain is telling to me to add some variety and go with an SHL5+. From the way @ryder describes the SHL5, it sounds more similar to the Olympica 2 that I already own -- airier and slightly leaner sounding with good bass extension. My media room is 20 x 15, so I have the space to work with. I also have a subwoofer and planning to add one more in a few months. Supplanting the bass with 30.x should not be a problem with a little bit of trial and error. If I can find a used pair of SHL5+ at a decent price, maybe I can scratch that itch. It’ll be easy for me to compare it with 30.1 since I already own it. Who knows, I might like it as much as the 30.1. Only one way to find out I guess.

@twoleftears -- actually, I have been thinking about the 40.x, but they rarely if ever show up in the used market, and even then the asking price is too rich for my blood. I bought my Olympica 2 for $5500 and was trying to stay in the same price range. Your comment about the 40.x sharing family resemblance with the 30.x is a very enticing prospect. If it is a bigger, fuller, better M30.1 then it sure has my attention. This can very well be the endgame speaker for me -- by the way, when I say endgame what I really mean is 3-5 years tops :) Buying a 40.x will require more planning, and convincing (you know who). This might be a very strong possibility next year!

audiothesis
168 posts
 
My experience with the models is that they are a family, but not a nuclear one.  The P3ESR is like an only child.  The Monitors (30 and 40) are one set of siblings while the C7ES3 and the SHL5+ are another set of siblings.  They are all cousins and you can tell they are family, but the siblings' similarities are much more noticeable.
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