Harbeth 7es-3 Sound

I just listened to 3 models in the Harbeth line of speakers at a local dealer today. They were the SHL-5, Compact 7ES-3 and the M30. Out of the three speakers, the M30 was shut-in and laidback compared to the other two, and that didn't appeal to me. The SHL-5 and the Compact 7ES-3 on the other hand, were spectacular speakers. The sound they produced was unbelievably natural with great scale and dynamics. It is uncanny that the sound coming out from these speakers can be so real and unforced it's just like listening to the real thing.

Surprisingly the Compact 7ES-3 only goes down to 46Hz on paper but the overall sound of it is much more musical and coherent from top to bottom than my PMC speakers that go down to 35Hz. I was told that the midrange magic of Harbeth speakers is due to the design philosophy of all Harbeth speakers as more attention has been put towards this area. Now I realize why my PMC speakers, although rated to go down to 35Hz with a puny 4" woofer can sometimes sound a little forced when pumping out huge chunks of bass.

I didn't listen to the M40.1 since the gigantic speakers were way out of my budget but was told they share a resemblance to the M30 being in the Monitor family, so I guess the sound won't appeal to me either.

I'm now contemplating between the SHL-5 and Compact 7ES-3. The latter comes with the selected tiger ebony finish at a premium which is much pleasant-looking(to me) whereas the SHL-5 only comes with the plain cherry. Either way, I don't think I"ll be disappointed.

I agree with your statement Shadorne. Most(not all) small bookshelves that I have owned seem to sound forced with pumped up bass in order to sound "big". After listening to the Harbeth speakers, I realized what I've been missing all this while. I'm quite smitten with the SHL-5 and Compact 7ES-3 now, more with the latter since it comes with the exotic tiger ebony finish which looks classier than the cherry(although the former has a bigger sound and bass due to the larger cabinet). Yes, the midrange is truly magical.

I would add, however, a big PMC with a 3 inch dome mid would also be magic and give you plenty of bass to boot!

This I agree, but the bigger PMCs(EB1 and IB2) are not only more costly but need to be driven with Bryston amplification to sound "acceptable". Also, I don't think the midrange of the PMCs can match the surreal and lifelike sound of the Harbeth. I'll probably find a Bryston SST amp to drive my LB1 Sigs in my 2nd system later. As for now, it's the Harbeth for me.

Thanks for the recommendation Bongofury. I am not exactly looking for small speakers but more towards mid-sized speakers. The Harbeth Compact 7ES-3 is not exactly small in size with its 8" woofer and the SHL-5 is larger in cabinet volume. I do know ATC makes good quality speakers but I'm trying to get something that not only sounds good but looks good as well. That is the reason I'm considering the tiger ebony finish on the Harbeth as I felt the standard cherry on the square box is too plain. The coherency and smooth unforced midrange of the Harbeth not experienced elsewhere have won me over.

Curio, thanks for the response. After numerous feedbacks from owners, it does appear that the SHL-5 seems to be a better speaker. I've decided to go with the SHL-5. Nevertheless, the latest C7ES-3 sounds very good too as there is very little difference between both speakers when I listened to them back to back at the dealer's place. The resemblance in sonic signature is amazingly close.