Harbeth SHL5 vs Dynaudio Special 25 vs...

Apopira, I haven't updated my system in two years. I was mixing and matching stuff a lot and I really did not have a steady system. What I have now is a cheap dvd player, hard drive+ Cal Labs Sigma ll DAC, Naim Nap 150 + Naim 112 and the Harbeths. I am builidng the system around the Harbeths. I am thinking for amplification on a Lavardin IT or a Leben 300 (the Naims are pretty good but I want to explore) and for cables maybe the Signal Siver Resolution.
Regarding the bass and mid range, I love strings and my two favorite instruments are the cello and the double bass, since I got the speakers I find myself listening even more to music that features these prominently. The sound is full bodied and I don`t need a sub.

Going back to compare the HL5 and the Special 25 they are probably closer than any two speakers that I have ever heard and I don`t think that you could go wrong regardless. But In my case and for my biases this is the best speaker that I`ve owned (and I am keeping them for good) with the Special 25 in second place.

Minotauro, I have not heard of the Leben but a quick internet search and I found them. WoW! what a beautiful amp. Have you listened to one? I would like to know where. If that amp sounds even close to how it looks the combination with the Harbeth should be magical. That is an amp I would really like to get a good listen to.

Hi Davt, I used one briefly. My friend has a pair of avantgarde unos and he bought the Leben and after a while gave it to me to sell it here(he doesn`t have a computer) at that time I had the De Capos I and listened for two weeks. I did not have the money available at that time and I sold it instead of buying it for myself and I regret it dearly. I think it was the first used Leben in Audiogon. The amp comes with NOS Mullar EL-84 and it is the finest amp that I`ve tried, also the nicest looking one, the sound is very sweet and detailed. They have a good review of it on 6moons but I honestly think that the amp sounds better than what transpires in the review. The Capos can be bright but the combination with the Leben was awsome, with this combo you can listen at very, very low levels and still get the whole musical presentation . I did not tried it with the Harbeths but I think that`s the direction that I will take.

I have a pair of SHL5 which I love it very much while playing the vocal, solo or piano. Regarding the bass, I am not so impressed (my previous speaker is Dunlavy SC-IV, the bass is better/powerful). I am not sure if this is position problem or how sensitive the speaker to the positioning or maybe because the AMP.

I am using DNA-1 deluxe as amp and I wonder what kind of AMP is good for SHL5? My budget will be 2-6,000 for the amp. Could you please share your experiences, thanks.

I also have SHL5 and I think, Wshuang, that you are simply not going to get bass from it at the level of your Dunlavys. You may be able to improve what you get from the Harbeths through positioning, stands, height, ans so forth, but they will never deliver the power and tautness of the large Dunlavys, nor will they go as deep. And I think most Harbeth owners will tell you that the speakers are less fussy about choice of amp than most high end speakers are.