Which Harbeths?

HI, I latched onto a pair of Harbeth SHL5+ about a year ago and I'm quite happy with them.
I compared them with the 40.3 but they were way too big for my room and quite more expensive. Basically the differences are that the cabinets are 2Cu3 and 3Cu3 respectively and the 40.3 sports a bass driver whereas the SHL5+ utilizes a super tweeter. The bass driver does lower the frequency response slightly but not enough in my view to eliminate the need for a SubWoofer. I think any smaller than the SHL5+ your looking at a bookshelf speaker as opposed to a monitor. It really comes down to the area you need to cover. A well balanced pair of speakers especially in the mid-range frequency range. Highly recommended.

All great responses. I’m with Arafiq on this one. I’ll make this short.

Obviously the choice will be dependent on listening taste and preferences. In my view and experience (which may not apply to everyone). M40.1/2 and P3ESR excluded.

SHL5+
Most balanced all rounder which plays all music genres well. From jazz to pop, rock and dynamic music. Leanest and brightest sounding in comparison to all other Harbeth models. Bass sounds fuller and deeper than the other smaller Harbeth, going down to 40Hz. The bass has better punch, slam and dynamics than C7ES3 and 30.1/30.2.

C7ES3
Sounds slightly warmer and fuller in the midrange than SHL5+. Bass is adequately balanced although it doesn’t go as deep as the SHL5+.

M30.1/30.2
More refined in the treble with better macrodynamics than both SHL5+ and C7ES3, notes leap out more from a silent background, contributing to a more forward presentation. Treble is smoother and rounded. Excellent in jazz, small ensemble music and capable of reproducing human voice to sound as lifelike as possible, in this regard better than SHL5+ and C7ES3. Doesn’t play rock and dynamic music as well due to the added smoothness. Bass is lighter and doesn’t have the slam in comparison.

M30.2 sounds more open with more extended treble than 30.1. M30.1 sounds significantly more open with extended treble than M30. Avoid the M30 at all cost as I find the treble rolled off and clarity lacking.

Broaden your horizon and also look at Spendor and Tannoy....jmo
Tannoy makes a fantastic speaker....

I listened to both. I bought the C7 and have never regretted it. A lot of people assume incorrectly that the C7 is an odd duck in the Harbeth line-up, but Alan Shaw has explained that "the C7ES3 is actually the oldest Harbeth design in the current line-up." (Interview with the Part Time Audiophile, Feb 25, 2018.)

Hello,
I am going to come at this from a sound perspective than picking which is right for you. I believe a speaker not having enough bass as a good thing as long as you don’t mind subwoofers and having to add one or even better two of them like the Rel T7? Through the T9? Series. I have two T9 RELs and truly love the sound that they add. Used these will run though about $700 each. The point is without a good crossover you cannot remove the right amount of bass from a speaker. You won’t have this issue. These speaker models will lack that harsh sound on the vocals. Thats that little bit of rasp that lets you know it does not sound real or live. It sounds like a recording. That’s a plus for you. So bottom line pick the speaker model with the best treble and mids. It sounds like this SHL5 speaker is the right choice because it sounds like it has the sparkle and sound you are looking for. If that is not in the running then the 30.2. Again because it sounds like it is not as laid back. The rest can be customized by the cables. I would look into power cords if you have not done so. They make a big difference. Typically when someone says this speaker cable sounded a little bright or even harsh it’s usually because they didn’t upgrade their power cord to the amp or preamp. This is a different perspective. I hope this helped.