Harbeth SHL5 vs 40.1

Pdreher,

My room is 19x17 with a 12 foot to 8 foot slanted ceiling. Do you think this might be to small for the 40.1's?

Well, I pulled the trigger on the 40.1's so I'll let you know how they sound compared to the SHL5's. I get to keep the SHL5's until the 40's arrive so this comparison should be interesting.

Okay, Markus here,

Finally got the M40.1's up and running. Renovations in the sound room kept me from puttin the power to these speaks but tonight they are up and running.

These are a completely different animal than the SHL5's. So far, the only distinct similarity seems to be the great midrange that these Harbeths have.

I have about 3 hours on these and I'm still playing around with speaker placement and acoustic considerations so I will do a follow up as things come together.

What I'm noticing right off is that the highs are more pronounced and the bass is incredable. Also apparent is that these guys are going to need much more accoustic adjustments in my room than the 5's did. Soundstage and timbre are much more apparent than the 5's and the WAF isn't all that good with a larger speaker taking up more room but.. More to follow as I tune things in

Mark

Markus here
40.1's have about 30 hours on them and the sound is incredable. What I have found is that if I place the 40.1's in the same position that I had the SHL5's in, (3 or 4 feet from the back wall) the sound stage and imaging disappear. They must be 5 or 6 feet away from back wall to sound best. They are a larger speaker and 5 or 6 feet out from the back wall kinda puts them out in the room much more which is not setting to well with my significant other. However, when she starts her protest, I fire them up and the incredable high's and bass takes her away for the moment. I'm currently working on some corner traps that may ease the situation. Will report back. As I stated earlier this really is a completely different speaker than the SHL5. Bass response is much deeper and highs are very pronounced even at a low volume.

Tom,

My room is 19x17 with the ceiling slopping from 12 feet to 8 feet. The 40.1's work in this room but to get the best sound, I believe you've got to do some accoustic panels especially in the corners.