Harbeth HLP3ESR

I have heard these but have not listened to the older HLP3ES2. I have listened to many bookshelves. PMC, Dynaudio C1, 1.3MkII, Proacs, B&Ws, Sonus Fabers, Marten Dukes, Totem Model 1. While each have their own sound signature and special in their own ways, I find the P3ESR to somehow possess a very musical, organic and easy-going sound without losing any details. They seem to communicate the essence of music more effectively compared to the rest, to my ears. I can definitely listen to these for endless of hours unlike some speakers mentioned above due to their extremely low listening fatigue. A friend of mine who owns the 40.1 was so smitten with the P3ESR that he got himself a pair while few other pairs of monitors keep stacking in his storeroom.

As for P3ES2 vs P3ESR, the thread below might be of interest to you.

http://www.harbeth.co.uk/usergroup/showthread.php?t=620

Although I have not listened to the Linn, I suspect one won't get higher degree of dynamics and slam other than an LFD/Harbeth pairing. The flabby bass reported by Coverto may be due to the limitations of the small P3ESR as this speaker won't be able to give any deep taut bass compared to other bookshelves or speakers designed for strong bass reproduction. In fact, the bass-shy Totem Model 1 has better bass response compared to the P3ESR. The strength of the P3ESR lies in the midrange and musicality. If rock n' roll music sounds bad on the Harbeth driven by LFD, one might need to look at a different speaker. I have tried quite a few amps and the LFD remains the most dynamic amp that is able to give a raw sound with jump factor on the seemingly warm and smooth Harbeth.