When the designer of the speakers insists that there is no such thing as break-in (after the initial first few minutes) and that they were designed to be used with their grilles left on, don't you think it's worth paying attention to his words?
Disatisfaction is the mother of tweaking, and using Harbeths without grilles is definitely tweaking. Why do you think the grilles are deliberately made difficult to remove?
My guess is that you're not yet accustomed to the sound. I'd strongly advise to persevere until you've given your mind enough time to recalibrate or 'break in'.
If you were to record their sound now and compare with much later you might find both versions have somehow dramatically improved much later. Or you might not.
Remember that Harbeths were not designed to impress. More to settle into and appreciate. Some can settle and remain there forever whilst others can't and move on.
The tweaking camp are usually on a hiding to nothing with a speaker of this kind of heritage and pedigree.
Good luck with the settling in. If I had a pair I'd give them at least a year.
Disatisfaction is the mother of tweaking, and using Harbeths without grilles is definitely tweaking. Why do you think the grilles are deliberately made difficult to remove?
My guess is that you're not yet accustomed to the sound. I'd strongly advise to persevere until you've given your mind enough time to recalibrate or 'break in'.
If you were to record their sound now and compare with much later you might find both versions have somehow dramatically improved much later. Or you might not.
Remember that Harbeths were not designed to impress. More to settle into and appreciate. Some can settle and remain there forever whilst others can't and move on.
The tweaking camp are usually on a hiding to nothing with a speaker of this kind of heritage and pedigree.
Good luck with the settling in. If I had a pair I'd give them at least a year.