Harbeth owners and fans

I should have added, I am not advocating only speakers made from stone cabinets, just making the point that the heavier/thinker/denser the the better, in general, with the stone being the extreme case in that category. There are many speakers with 1"+ MDF that would begin to fit in this category.

The SHL5s actually put out a lot of bass/mid-bass (I have not heard the 7's, but probably similar in this regard). I would be concerned that these speakers would get very boomy inside another enclosure, and even moreso than others since they are designed to have a 'breathing cabinet'. You could only be sure by trying them out, of course. If it were me I would think about a small but heavy cabinet speaker (like those made from stone or corian) with limited bass for the bookshelfs and a subwoofer somewhere else in the room. If you like the fantastic sound of the Harbeths though, perhaps the P3's slightly elevated off the shelf and an added subwoofer would get you there. Another factor is the room - if this is a large room, and you are sitting more than 8' from the speakers, I believe my advice above would apply even moreso the farther away you got from the fireplace from there. The Harbeth's are great at nearfield listening, but the farther you get away you may lose some of that magic and get lost in the boominess provided by the bookshelf/enclosure if you went with the larger models.