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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
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arafiq OP
1,662 posts
 
@twoleftears The Ls5/5 design looks very interesting. When I was looking earlier, I did consider Graham and Falcon as Harbeth competitors. The problem is it is very difficult to audition these speakers anywhere. I have been burned in the past buying speakers without auditioning, so I decided to not take a chance.

For now, I have decided to sit back and enjoy the two Harbeths I already have in the house. The two speakers I have (M30.1 and SHL5+) are so different in character, yet each offers something unique and alluring that I’m finding it hard to declare an outright winner. They’re both extremely satisfying in their own way. The SHL5+ is more suited to the bigger room and definitely more versatile with different genres of music. The M30.1 is the perfect speaker for home office/study. It’s more buttoned down, coherent, and slightly better when it comes to stuff like tonality and timbre. It also sounds better at lower volumes. IMO, it does jazz, vocals, and small ensembles better, but gives it up to SHL5+ when it comes to rock, blues and indie music. The SHL5+ is definitely the more ’fun’ speaker between the two. It is more open, airy, dynamic, and the bass extension is far better.

The only weak link in my system is the Raven Audio Blackhawk driving the M30.1. The Blackhawk is definitely a great amp but perhaps better suited for more efficient speakers than Harbeth. No one should take it as a knock against Blackhawk, but I will say that their assertion that the 20 watts it offers are the equivalent of 100 SS watts is not true at all, at least in my experience. I will start looking for something else in a few months.


arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
1,662 posts
 
@jjss49
[
i give you two months to get mon 40s in the big room
]

Haha! Just saw this comment. I guess it takes one to know one ;)
I would be lying if I told you the thought hadn’t crossed my mind. But right now, I have exhausted the goodwill of my spouse given what I’ve spent in the last 12 months. Having said that, I have a strong feeling that this will be the next logical step in a couple of years. For now I want to focus on music and get off the speaker upgrade merry go round. Read my lips ;)
prof
3,471 posts
 

Good stuff arafiq!


I love Harbeth speakers.  Easily in my top 5 favorite brands if not higher up.


I auditioned the whole line up and eventually owned the SuperHL5plus for a while.


When I compared the M30.1 vs the HL5plus, I found the M30 sounded wonderful, and even had a nice amount of bass for it's size.  The main thing that pushed me more toward the HL5plus was that I found the M30 just a bit shelved off, a bit less airy, just a bit "darker-than-life" tonally,whereas the HL5Plus seemed to open up the high frequencies with greater realism, while maintaining much of the Harbeth midrange magic.


Also I appreciated the extra bass depth of the HL5plus, and how even it sounded from top to bottom.   It's interesting that some people find the Harbeth speakers to be "pipe and slipper speakers" not suited to some genres like rock or electronica, but I found just the opposite: the HL5plus was so evenly balanced it sounded "right" for pretty much all genres.It was one of the best all rounder speakers I auditioned.

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arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
1,662 posts
 
@prof Good observations, especially about the misconception regarding Harbeths being pipes and slippers speakers. I've always found them to be very well balanced.

I've been going back and forth between the SHL5+ and 30.1 and have to say they are both excellent speakers. Yes, the 30.1s are less airy ad open than SHL5+, but IMO they are better when it comes to vocals and midrange. They have a special quality where the human voice and instruments just pop out of a darker background. For me, this quality alone makes up for any other perceived deficiency. If you just want to sit back and relax and listen to jazz or vocals, the 30.1s have that special magic that even the SHL5+s don't. They do the 'small, intimate ensemble in your room' feel better than any other speaker I've ever owned. Of course, the SHL5+ are still more versatile and dynamic.

Horses for courses.
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