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Harbeth SHL5 compared to Merlin VSM ?

How do these compare for midrange purity on vocals,
even poorly recorded ones that may be too close-miked
without sounding mechanical or distorted?

I also want to avoid shrieking-sounding female vocals (say,
Diana Ross/Supremes) or pumping, loose bass.

Looking for something that can be somewhat forgiving
of older pop/rock recordings without driving me up the wall
(say with Beatles, Motown).
Aerial 10Ts and Apogees used to be very good at this,
along with some classical.

I am no longer looking for a bag of Audiophile tricks that
seem to make the speakers listenable only on very-high-grade
recordings. I just want to use my good old CDs
(on an EMM SE digital front end with an Edge NL12.1 amp).

Other speaker suggestions are welcome too.

Thank you very much for any help.
rgs92

Showing 1 response by martykl

martykl
3,578 posts
 
IMHO Sbank has it right but I'd re-state it differently.

The Merlin is more revealing, slightly leaner in the mid bass, and more
extended in the deep bass.

The Harbeth is warmer and more forgiving.

I own Merlins and have auditioned the Harbeths extensively. IMHO, both are
excellent in their own way, but their ways are sufficiently different that a
choice should be straightforward on audition. I prefer the Merlin, but from
your list of issues my guess is you might go the other way.

Good Luck

Marty
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