Joseph Audio Perspective2 vs Harbeth SHL5+


I currently own Harbeth SHL5+ and I’m generally very happy with them. I’m driving them with Audio Hungary a50i tube amp (50 watts class A) and don’t feel that the amp struggles at all. I have an opportunity to buy a used pair of Joseph Audio Perspective2 Graphene in excellent condition. Just wondering if anyone has had a chance to compare the JA Perspective2 with SHL5+. From what I understand they sound quite different but I’m not sure how. The Perspectives are obviously quite a bit more expensive than the Harbeths but I understand that this doesn’t automatically imply that they are better. Someone told me that the Perspective 2 is more in Harbeth 40.x league instead of SHL5+.

As good as the SHL5+ are, I do sometimes yearn for a wider and deeper soundstage with bigger bass (although I have a pair of REL S/510s to supplement). I would really appreciate if people who have made the move from SHL5+ to JA Perespective2 Graphene, or vice versa, can share their impressions.

Note: My room is 20 x 15 with 12 foot high ceilings. The speakers will be placed along the short wall. I can pull them out by 4 feet from the front wall and about 2 feet from the side walls. My room is treated with GIK panels. My biggest concern is whether my AH Qualiton a50i will be able to drive the Joseph Audios well.

 

128x128arafiq

Showing 2 responses by ghdprentice

@arafiq OP:

Thank you. Great plan. It has taken me decades of slow upgrades to get my system together. But the rewards have far exceeded my expectations.

 

For most of my time as an audiophile I researched endlessly, listened with ever increasingly discerning ears to greater nuances of sound reproduction and made good choices compromising on price. But when I put the last couple of pieces of ARC into place to sound changed to a level above anything I have heard. There is a naturalness and balance of details across the audio spectrum I have not heard before. To me a level of sophistication I have not heard. Which makes sense when you are buying from a company that has been assaulting the high end for over forty years. This stuff is not made by folks just getting their feet on the ground.

 

Of course, this is not to say that the ARC is for everyone. Folks listening to rock and hip-hop that want their system to loosen the nails and screws in the house might opt for something else. That is not to say my system will not play well and loud enough to deafen you… it can, but MAC / B&W might do it better for greater propondence of bass..