Are Harbeth Super HL5 XD right for me?

My advice would be to take your time and listen before making a big investment. There is something to be said for being pleased with what you have. Your system, your room and your personal preferences all come into play. Take your time! This comes from a very pleased Harbeth owner (30.1). They do like a fair amount of power. I use a Luxman integrated with good results with 100+ watts. I also drove them with 60 watts of McIntosh tube power with equally good results.  Good luck, and enjoy the hunt.

what you have now is synergy between your components and synergy between your speakers and your ears. Once you change it the synergy may be gone. With new speakers you may need to change another component... maybe not. For one the KHLs have a higher sensitivity.

For the price of the Harbeths you could try a lot of different speakers. It's not clear to me if you are just curious about the Harbeths or anything that would provide you with something more and different than the KHLs. There are better values for the money, British speakers in the US are usually pricey

There are better values for the money, British speakers in the US are usually pricey

I have gone through multiple speakers in the last 5-7 years ranging from $3K to 18K. Harbeth SHL5+ is a great value for anything under $10K. There's a reason people are willing to pay more for the Harbeth sound. I agree it's not for everyone but for those who like 'em, there's not much else that can match these amazing speakers. No other speaker does vocals as well as Harbeth (probably true for other BBC-inspired designs as well). That super tweeter is just amazing and it's so well integrated with the other drivers.

Last year I bought Joseph Audio Perspective2s. They were supposed to be a replacement for the SHL5+ in my main system. I briefly listed the SHL5+ for sale but just couldn't bring myself to part with them. I moved them to my second (home office) system and they are so good that I can't imagine giving them up any time soon. Since my home office is not as big as the main listening room, I could not pull them out more than 13 inches from the front wall. I was worried that they might sound boomy, but I was wrong. Being front ported actually helps in this case. They sound glorious driven by a Willsenton R8. Next year, I will purchase a better amp that is worthy of SHL5+. But even with the R8, they sound big, full, meaty with a decent soundstage. There's just something about the SHL5+ that speaks to my heart in a way very few speakers have.

Are they better than my Joseph Audio Perspective2 speakers? Well, no. But they're by no means embarrassed by the much more expensive Joseph Audio speakers. Of course, the OP needs to audition before buying. But if he can buy used, they can resold with very little loss if they don't fit the bill. Good luck!

Lots great advice here, and one knucklehead. There’s one in every crowd! I am leaning towards pulling the trigger on a used set tomorrow, there is no dealer within a reasonable distance. I’ll hang on to the KLH speakers either way and if I don’t feel they are what I’m looking for I can always fall back on them until I find what I’m looking for. I really want an endgame speaker and feel the Harbeths may be that. Thanks for all the great advice, I knew this was the right place to come with my question.