Not what you asked...anyway here it goes:
I believe the Philarmonia will drive happily a pair of Harbeths and will sound much better than most SS amps.
The TSM is a high-transparency, uber-soundstage speaker.
Harbeths are more about the musical flow, beautiful midrange and harmonic bloom. |
I have owned both Merlin & Harbeth(5shl)and Casouza is quite accurate on his comparison of the two speakers. Both are outstanding but I liked the musical flow of the Harbeths better. Can't lose with either. |
I've heard both but not a/b'ed them. For your musical tastes I'd go with the Harbeth. |
I've used vsm for a long time in my first system so decided to stay there. Can't beat bobby's service! |
For a bedroom it has to be Harbeth... |
I have owned the Merlin TSM-Se for a few months and the sound never got to me.
I now use the Harbeths and like them alot. So much that I now have the p3, Shl5s and the C7es3s.
Its hard to go wrong with the harbeths. They grow on you. |
Got a pair of VSM-Mxe's on order as well as a filharmonia. Will put a pair of 7es-3's on sale to cover part of it. Hope I'm not making a mistake; the Harbeth's are sweet for vocals, somewhat light in the bass (not sure the Merlin/Bam is going to solve that), but quite musical without a trace of listner fatigue. I've heard nothing but good re: the filharmonia; only drawback is the wait. Oh well, it will give me time to get my act together and sell the 3's. |
No Contest the Harbeths are superb--you cannot got wrong with those.
Current owner. |
As always you get an owner based bias. Those that vote Merlin own merlin etc. Farmdoc, you will be very pleased with the bass the superbam can provide. Most of my friends look for my sub when listening to my vms setup. They will handle everything but the lowest lows. Filharmonia is a piece of art and quality. You won't be disappointed. |
Glad for your input Jamesw20. Always, (especially in this economy and after waiting this long) we need reassurance that our $$$'s are well spent. Looking forward to getting the system up and running. Now if only BobbyP would push things along a little faster! |
Definately as James20 says,owner biased.I have Merlins,but would have Harbeths in a second and be just as happy.Either way you can't lose,good luck to a man who could'nt be luckier in the Year of the Speaker,cheers,Bob |
Shadorne said it in one word-Harbeth. |
Are Harbeths dark sounding? Is the bass warm to the point of being inarticulate? Do they have any air?
I hear lots of accolades but also enough adjectives that scare me off of them. I'm looking for very detailed & airy speaker that has articulate bass and warm midrange. |
I'm looking for very detailed & airy speaker that has articulate bass and warm midrange. You are asking for an oxymoron. In essence an articulate tight bass will tend to strip the midrange of some warmth or softness. A warm sloppy bass will mask the midrange to a fair extent (due to masking) and soften everything. Masking is the way low frequencies hide higher frequencies to our hearing. |
I don't think you can't have both. For example, Vandersteen 5As have very articulate bass without the side effect of making the midrange lean or masking the highs.
I used to own VR 4.5's that had very flat, articulate bass and extremely warm midrange. OK, these weren't airy in any way...
I'm looking for clarity in all frequency ranges without being OVER lean. |
I have owned the Harbeth C7ESII for 6 years and it's a fantastic loudspeaker! |
Madfloyd,
I think you will like B&W more than Harbeth but you could try the SuperHL5 (it might fit in a small space). I suspect the reputed B&W N802's might be the sound you are looking for. |
I used the Harbeth 7/YBA combo for years. Great detail and transparency, but needs a sub. when a sub is set up right everything is better. |
I have 3 pairs of Harbeth speakers. The 7s, Super Hl5s, and the M30s.
The M30s are wonderful, even having some bass. But I play classical exclusively and all of these need help in the bass. The HL5s seem a little dark, but I use Tubes and maybe they just need a high power transistor Amp to really shine. I have 70 watts of EAR power but maybe it needs more. Something to consider....Benchmark seems to be the call of the day for that, IMO, if you want value.
As I said, the M30s are beautiful but lack real bass, of course.
The 7s also lack real bass but are uncannily transparent. As Tom Gillett, or Sam Telig once quipped, I feel as if I "can reach out and goose a first violinist." I presumed no sexist intent, but that line led me to buy them.
After I bought them, I bought a brand new pair oh SHL5s, thinking that I would keep the presence, but gain bass. I got more bass (not "real'bass but more than I had), but lost the immediacy. I find the 7s so tactile that I now prefer them above the others and will fill in the bass very soon. But the 7s are so immediate, it's ok (for now) to miss some bass. There is more bass than the 3s, which I have heard but don't own. But its weird for a lower speaker in the line to be preferable to a more expensive and larger sibling. I even asked Harbeth about this, but got no reply (big surprise...).
So my ideal would be a pair of 7s with a good and flexible sub. Hearing good things about SVS......
I hope this helped someone!
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