I auditioned numerous small- to medium-sized speakers for my small listening room and immediately fell in love with the HL-P3ES-2s upon hearing them.
I'm suprised Mike doesn't find them to be intimate as that's exactly how I would describe the smaller Harbeths. I primarily listen to jazz and the detail of these speakers is astounding. Wonderful tightness and cohesion to music. And I'm just using a Harmon/Kardon receiver for now so you should have plenty of power to drive these inefficient speakers (as all LS3/5a's are).
I didn't have the opportunity to listen to other LS3/5a variants such as Stirling or Spendor, but the Harbeths absolutely trounced other speakers by Dynaudio, Sonus Faber, B&W, etc. (I didn't listen to the larger Harbeths as price and size precluded me from being able to get them.)
I'd say it depends on your current setup and goals. A good opportunity is hard to pass up. Plus, these are popular speakers which usually go pretty quickly on the used market if they end up not matching your preferences.
Good luck; let us know if you end up getting them.
_Todd
I'm suprised Mike doesn't find them to be intimate as that's exactly how I would describe the smaller Harbeths. I primarily listen to jazz and the detail of these speakers is astounding. Wonderful tightness and cohesion to music. And I'm just using a Harmon/Kardon receiver for now so you should have plenty of power to drive these inefficient speakers (as all LS3/5a's are).
I didn't have the opportunity to listen to other LS3/5a variants such as Stirling or Spendor, but the Harbeths absolutely trounced other speakers by Dynaudio, Sonus Faber, B&W, etc. (I didn't listen to the larger Harbeths as price and size precluded me from being able to get them.)
I'd say it depends on your current setup and goals. A good opportunity is hard to pass up. Plus, these are popular speakers which usually go pretty quickly on the used market if they end up not matching your preferences.
Good luck; let us know if you end up getting them.
_Todd