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Harbeth Owners which model?

I am looking to buy either a M30.1, SHL5, or M40.1. I owned a SHL5 in the past for about 3 years and totally enjoyed it and have regretted ever selling them. Since I sold the SHL5's a few years ago Harbeth has come out with the M30.1 and I wanted any feedback from anyone who has compared the 5's vs. 30.1? Anyone sell their 5's for the 30.1 and why? Lastly I am also interested in the 40.1's my room is 18 x 14 is that big enough to handle the 40.1?
bobheinatz

Showing 2 responses by smatsui

smatsui
168 posts
 
My experience unlike Tom's was favorable switching from the SHL5 with a REL sub to the M40.1. However, I have a much larger room with a 22ft ceiling. With the M40.1, I no longer need the REL sub. In fact I had friends and members of a local audio club listen to my system and all agreed that the REL Strata III was detrimental to the overall sound quality with the M40.1. The sub was setup to come in only at the lowest setting. I liked the sub when I had the SHL5 speakers.
IMO, in a large room the M40.1 is better in every way than the SHL5 with a subwoofer. I agree though that in a smaller room than mine, the SHL5 w/sub may be the way to go.
smatsui
168 posts
 
Ryder,
WAF is not a factor for me. My wife couldn't care less about the difference between the SLH5 (I owned for 4 years)and the M40.1. Also my room has close to double the cubic ft of your room assuming that your ceiling is 8-10 ft in height. The ceiling in my listening room is 22-24ft high and the room is completely open to my kitchen and upstairs loft. I don't have boomy bass issues and the bass is much better than the SLH5 with the REL Strata III in my room. There is no way that I could live with the SLH5 without a sub in my room. Like everything in this hobby, personal preferences are the deciding factor.
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