Harbeth Speakers ?

Pop over to harbeth user forum and you have many ppl who found their last pair of speakers. anyway I have a pair of rosewood shl5 front by the ndx/sn2.

I run a pair of P3esr with my NDX/SN2. It is a bit of a love and hate thing to be honest. For a start, the mid range is to die for so if you listen a lot to specific genres, not many speakers capable of beating them.

Now the down side. They can rock but there are many other speakers who can do a better job. In this respect, they are not the most versatile speakers out there.

Now the "hate". They do need some space. The bigger the cabinet, the more space you need to give them. This is due to the thin wall construction which resonate sound throughout.

I have a pair of C7 ES3 at the end of an SN2 and like it very much.

Harbeths are BBC Monitors or developed from BBC Monitors. i found an article about spendor bc 1, also BBC Monitors, from 1978 (Stereophile). it describes these spendor speakers, but it is true imo for harbeth speakers too.

"But the BC-1's strongest asset, its musical naturalness, is unfortunately going to be lost on most audiophiles who, unfamiliar with the sounds of live acoustical instruments, are incapable of recognizing it when they hear it. Despite their manifest shortcomings, these speakers can recreate the gestalt of live music like few systems—so well, in fact, that we found ourselves digging out old records we hadn't listened to for years and enjoying them for their content as well as for their naturalness."

if you like them, you are lost for all other speakers; i think it could be the same as with  naim sbl's, dbl's etc or quad esl 57 or 63.

Running a pair of Harbeth 30.1 in rosewood thru 202/200 hcdr combo. Had to purchase w/out the benefit of audition- disability makes it difficult to get to many places. However ,very pleased with them. Vocals (mids) come through beautifully (as they are known for). They do enough things well to be forgiven for not being the ultimate everything speaker. I think I would have to search long and hard to find a better spkr. Think they are like naim (for the most part), not ultimate hi-fi, but let the music shine thru

I too have Harbeth 30.1s, driven by 252/250.2. They replaced PMC FB1+ and have a lot more clarity - I don't think the PMCs were suitable for my room. Otherwise my experience is much like the others who have commented and I really like them. They are revealing and definitely suit acoustic instruments and the voice. But although they do not produce lots of bass, it is articulate and not boomy on rock music, reggae, etc. I haven't heard enough comparable speakers to know whether they are 'slow' as some seem to think. They do need space and I am expecting to move house where placing them may prove tricky - I will have to wait and see.

The SHL5 is one of the best speaker I have heard. Beautiful balance, detail, warmth, but also aggression when needed. If you have the space and can accept the somewhat boring look, then they are the ones to get.

Their smaller speakers don't do much for me as I never really liked speakers inheriting the so called  "BBC" speaker sound. (Possibly) suitable for analytical monitoring + placement on one's desk(?), but in a living room they sound too neutral and uninvolving.

Have p3esr on Skylan stands with a rell t5 subwoofer. They had to live up to active sbls before hand, which they do, just!    A 52/supercap/250 helps.

Harbeths were great in my book until I got a taste of the new Graham.  Graham is my new Harbeth.

Well if you like both graham and harbeth,have you considered either of their combined works, I believe they go by either :

Harham or

Grabeth 

James

Might be worth chatting to Chris K. He's an owner and will be helping them out at the Bristol show next month.

Graham

According to TAS, Harbeth speakers have the midrange quality of electrostatic speakers but they are more dynamic, easier to drive and more coherent across the frequency range. I agree.

I've owned HL Monitor Mk IIIs, Compact 7 ES2s and I'm currently using SHL5s waiting for my brand new SHL5 + to get here in February.

System is 552/300.

IMO they are quite versatile, but what they do best is vocals and acoustic instruments. That makes them a great choice for someone who loves classical, jazz, World music and even blues... but they may not be the best choice if one listens exclusively to metal or techno.

Claude

Cheers all - that's very useful info.

Much appreciated 

Following Harbeth 30.1 dazzling reviews and audition at show I sought them out. Shopping for 30.1 in US was a challenge, few dealers and almost none carried Naim and even identified dealers often said they didn't carry 30.1, couldn't, or wouldn't demonstrate them, but offered to order. Several dealers not listed as dealers said based on 30.1's reviews they explored carrying them, but decided to pass. When pressed all were guarded, all agreed mid-range was wonderful, but when they spoke said placement was difficult and was poor fit for many kinds of music. Questions to Allan Shaw were treated dismissively. If customer service was not his forte when waving dollars bills, how would they respond after purchase. I spent more than a year questing after Harbeth and in end gave up and bought Spendor's  SP100R², a speaker I also heard at show. While not quite as luscious a mid-range as 30.1, it has many virtues like ease of listening for hours and hours, placement more flexible than I imagined and satisfied my eclectic musical interest from chamber, rock, symphonic etc. my priority was listening for long stretches and SP100R² allowed that, but if Naim revives SBLs I'll be forst on line.