Joseph Audio Perspective2 vs Harbeth SHL5+

The JAs allow quite a wide spread, yet you still get good imaging.

One time I put them almost entirely to the sides of my room and the soundstage was ridiculously massive, and still good imaging.  Putting both speakers too close to the side walls did introduce a bit of thickness in the bass so I found a nice position with a wide stage and evenly balanced sound. 

@prof I was quite satisfied with the soundstage depth of SHL5+, but it all depends on your reference point. It is quite possible that you were getting better depth from other speakers and the SHL5+ fell short in comparison.

Also, note that I’m still fussing around with finding the best position for the Perspectives. Initially, I had them towed in at almost the same angle as my Harbeths. On Saturday, I reduce the angle by quite a bit, so now the toe-in is minimal (maybe 15 degrees), and I noticed that the soundstage got even wider. The funny thing is that the center image is more ’filled out’ and the vocals are dead center. I usually got this effect with other speakers when the toe in angle was greater. These JAs seem to be different in this aspect. I will continue to experiment with positioning next weekend.

I've mentioned that the Harbeth have a bit more natural "texture" vs the Joseph speakers (which are super smooth).  I've found that my CJ tube amplification, especially my CJ preamp, gives a bit more body and cut-through-the-air texture to the sound, so it gets closer to the best of both worlds.  (Vinyl helps with that as well).

arafiq

How happy where you with the soundstage DEPTH on the Harbeth?

As I've said before, that was probably the biggest deficit when I had them.  For some reason their soundstage was shallower than pretty much any speaker I've owned, things "pulled in to the room" rather than "back wall melting away depth" I get with other speakers.

@ryder Agree with you about the bass response (or lack thereof) on SHL5+. Personally, I think the use of a subwoofer (or two) is a must to get maximum performance out of SHL5+. Nonetheless, it is a great speaker by any measure.

I have only heard its big brother, 40.x, a couple of times -- once at a dealer, and another time at an audiophile’s home. I feel that it addresses any shortcomings in SHL5+ and builds on its strengths. Although for some reason, it didn’t have the family resemblance with SHL5+. It sounded like a speaker from a different company. I would love to be able to own the 40.x at some point in this journey, but for now it is a little too rich for my blood, even at used prices. I wonder if anyone has compared it against JA Perspective2 or Pearl for that matter.

@prof Thanks! I have to say that your observations were spot on. I didn't mention how well the speakers disappear. But this is one area where I can say that the SHL5+ stands shoulder to shoulder with the Perspectives.

When I was writing the comparison, I was very well aware that I was comparing SHL5+ to a speaker that retails for twice the price. At its asking price, the Harbeth SHL5+ is a phenomenal performer. It does so many things right, and definitely brings the special IT factor that makes it stand out amongst a crowd of similarly priced speakers. Hopefully, my comparison didn't come out as a knock against SHL5+. It is still a speaker that I love and have no hesitation in recommending to anyone in the 10K~ price bracket.

ryder,

I actually liked the bass of the Harbeth SHL5+

It's true it doesn't "slam" like you might get from some other speakers, and if someone demands more impact and engagement in the bass it may not be for them.

But for me it's strength was how evenly balanced the bass was with the rest of the spectrum.  At least in my room (and elsewhere I heard them), "evenly balanced" was what came to mind all the time, and it was satisfying in that way.

Great writeup @arafiq . It’s good to note that the JA Perspective 2 has exceeded your expectations. I can relate a lot to the comparison since I own the Harbeth SHL5+ and another speaker which I regard as endgame, not a JA though. It's true the bass of the SHL5+ is one of its Achilles heel. Despite the size of the speaker, the bass doesn't go too deep and is less impactful in comparison to speakers which are smaller in dimensions.

@arafiq

What a great review! Obviously it aligns almost exactly with my own observations.

You hear what I have with the Perspectives: I found that for whatever reason, I'm always more aware of the reverb/acoustics with the Perspectives.   They seem to bring out and present the very specific reverbs in artificial tracks, and reverbs in acoustic recordings, such that I’m more aware of the acoustics of any recording. And as you say, it seems to set the sound within those acoustics in a wholistic manner.

Nice to hear you felt you didn’t even need subs a lot of the time. I didn’t feel the need for subs either and I understand the graphene version increases the bass response even more.

And, yeah, the way the Perspectives swell in impact and scale with the music!

I’ve said before, if I combine all the strengths of the Perspectives - incredible transparency and detail, grain-free and smooth, incisive but totally fatigue-free high frequencies, massive disappearing imaging/soundstaging act, rich tonality, and fun juicy bass - the word that always came to mind was "luxurious." It’s the sonic equivalent of an elevated meal cooked by a great chef in a high end restaurant, who has put all the elements together in a sumptuous way that hits the "bliss zone."

:-)

I know it has been a while but my review of the JA Perspective2 speakers was delayed due to several reasons. First, I was traveling quite a bit in the last two 2-3 weeks and didn’t want to share my opinions without having at least 50 hours under my belt. Second, I wanted to put the Harbeth SHL5+ back in the system to compare the speakers properly and as objectively as possible. In the past, I’ve been guilty of sharing my opinion during the so-called 'honeymoon' phase, so this time I wanted to make sure to take my time and be as objective as possible.

Someone mentioned earlier that it was a little unfair to compare the Perspective2s with SHL5+ given the price difference, and suggested that the real comparison should be with Harbeth 40.x. If you consider the retail prices, the Perspective2 sits right between the SHL5+ and 40.x, so I feel it’s not entirely unfair to compare it to SHL5+. Lately, Harbeth is on a mission to price their speakers out of reach of normal folks – I had been whining about how P3esr’s (which in my opinion are one of the best small bookshelf speakers) are no longer competitive given the recent increase in price. Anyways, I digress ... but the truth is that these are the two speakers that I’m able to compare in my home, so whether you like it or not, this is what you’re getting 

The very first thing that made me sit up and take notice when playing the Perspectives was the utter lack of grain. The SHL5+ are very accomplished in this aspect, but I feel the Perspectives just take it several notches above and beyond. These speakers are very detailed without being detailed. The best compliment I can give is that music just flows with a coherence and ease that I have never heard before. One thing I love about the SHL5+ is that they have a very involving presentation. They just pull you in and make it easier to emotionally connect with the music. The Perspectives also pull you in. But they don’t stop there. They yank you by the collar and make you dive into the music head first. The soundstage is not just wide and deep, it kind of engulfs you.

Speaking of soundstage, it is definitely wider and deeper than SHL5+. No contest here. However, imaging is an interesting comparison. It changed from song to song – on some songs imaging was more precise on SHL5+, and vice versa on some other songs. The SHL5+ has this ‘spotlit’ quality to imaging where each instrument is given its own 15 seconds under the limelight. In fact, this is what drew me to Harbeth in the first place. However, the downside is that sometimes the instruments can sound a little aloof and disconnected from the rest of the music. It’s like ‘hey, look at the right corner of the room, here I am doing my own thing!” In case of JA Perspective2’s, all the instruments still get their own special treatment but they are tightly woven into the overall fabric and present a higher degree of cohesion. I like both styles, but I find that I’m beginning to prefer the JA’s presentation a bit more.

JA’s are also more transparent – I can hear much deeper into the music. In terms of detail retrieval, both speakers are equally good. You hear the same level of detail in both. However, the Perspectives add a level of realism that is one step ahead of SHL5+. For example, in some live recordings I always used to hear people speaking in the audience or a band member whispering something in the background. With the Perspectives, the difference is that I feel that I’m sitting in the audience and someone is saying something from behind me. Kinda spooked me the first time I experienced it. This increases the ‘you are there’ perception a lot more than any other speaker I’ve heard. They seem to convey the ambience of the recording space a lot better. So, while the SHL5+ brings the musicians in your room, the Perspectives take you to the venue better than any speaker I’ve owned.

Now, one area where I thought the SHL5+ would win by a strong margin was vocals. But I was surprised that the Perspectives were just as good, if not better, than the Harbeths. With SHL5+, the vocals are a bit fuller, male voices have more ‘upper chest’, and they sound a bit more forward – as in, the singer is standing a few feet in front of the rest of the musicians. The Perspectives on the other hand have a more ‘unamplified’ feel to the vocals, as if the artist is sitting in your room and singing without a microphone, but not any closer to you than the rest of the musicians. Honestly, despite the differences, I’m having a hard time figuring out which style of presentation I prefer when it comes to vocals. Let’s call it a tie. Okay, okay, if you were to put a gun to my temple I would pick SHL5+, but only by a very slim margin.

What about bass? Umm... no contest here. The Perspectives produce an amazing amount of tight, tuneful, and nuanced bass. I found myself listening without my subs (pair of REL 510s) almost 70% of the time. And honestly, I don’t miss the subs on most songs. Yes, there are a few songs where the added punch is welcome, but in most cases, not only do I not miss the subwoofers, I kinda prefer it this way. Kick drums, especially, have a level of impact and realism that just takes your breath away. Keep in mind that I’m only driving the speakers with 50 watts of class A amplification (Audio Hungary Qualiton a50i), so I have no doubt that a more powerful amp will most likely take it several levels above what I’m experiencing now. But I will say that the Qualiton is a beauty! I just love the sound this amp makes. I might look into getting something more powerful next year, but I’m more than satisfied with what I’m hearing for the time being.

So, what about tonality, timber, etc.? I’ve gone back and forth between both speakers and I have to say that it’s a tie. I do prefer the sound of guitars and piano on the Perspectives. They just sound so right – almost like the real thing. For horns, a slight nod goes to SHL5+. They seem to have more presence and extend a bit further than the Perspectives.

Overall, the Perspectives sound bigger, much bigger in fact, than the Harbeths. They have a heft and gravitas that is simply a step above the SHL5+. When the music calls for it, they can be equally delicate and subtle. But, boy do they swell and get big on you in a hurry when the music demands. This is especially noticeable for classical music. It is quite a hair-raising experience, and you can’t help but exclaim ‘wow!’ when the music builds up and it goes from zero to sixty in no time. It’s hard to believe how a not-so-big speaker can make this kind of impact. So in the end, the JA Perspective2 Graphene have exceeded my expectations, and I’m very happy with the decision. They very well might be endgame speakers for me (note: when I say endgame, I really mean a ‘long time’ :)). Hope you guys found the review useful.

Dang, I hope @arafiq has had time to listen to his new system!  :-)

bjesien

I can't speak to the Verity Otello model, but I was fairly familiar with Verity speakers of the past, especially the Verity Audio Parsifal Ovation speakers, which a friend had for quite a while.

My general take on the Verity sound up to that time is that they were a very easy to listen to, smooth speaker, with nice texture for good string tone etc.   They had a sort of automatic "vinyl" tonality to my ear.  So I always found them easy and inviting to listen to.  Also nicely controlled from top to bottom, and did excellent soundstaging.  Plus the design was very room friendly.

In a way I'd say the Verity speakers truck me as almost a 1/2 point between the classic Spendor-like sound, and a more modern speaker.

Still going on memory compared to my current experience with Joseph Audio: for me the Joseph sound is more engaging, more pure in terms of timbre, a bit more clean and clear, a bit less texture than the Verity, but also cast a bigger sound for their size than the equivalent Verity speaker.  (The Parsifal's always disappeared and soundstaged really well, but didn't really sound "big" in terms of instrument and soundstage size, in any surprising way).

Also I find the Joseph speakers with their punchy bass have more fun factor.  The Verity speakers of my experience aren't something I'd leap to put on my Funk or Dance  records.

FWIW...

I would like to hear a newer Verity speaker sometime.  I don't know how much they've updated their sound.

One of my favorite speakers lately is the Verity Otello. Has anyone compared the Otello (beats the Leonore by a wide margin) to the Joseph?  Another brand I'm really liking is Fyne.

Prof, tks.  Guess I won't know until I try. Concern is losing sense of scale with big music in such a large room.  On subs, I've tried many over the years, has never worked for me.  Much prefer a single, full range design.

joc3021

As I remember Jeff Joseph showed the Perspective 2s in Munich in a large room and people were wowed by the sound.

16 x 30 is certainly very big so who knows?  But also...how close will you be sitting?  That would matter too, obviously.

(I also had dual subs for a little while with my Thiels, which have the same frequency range as the Perspectives.  I found I didn't need them either.  And actually, having tube rolled KT120 tubes in to my CJ premier 12 monoblocks for the first time a while back, the increase in bass response makes subwoofers feel even less necessary).

I have perspective 2's and enjoy them a lot. Using an Ayre AX 5 20 amp, drives them beautifully.  I'm a big fan of Ayre gear.  I had a sub, but sold it.  Preferred the sound of the speakers alone, more coherent and seamless, even though the lowest octave is mostly missing. I will soon be moving and they will be in a much larger room, approximately 16 X 30 ft.  Wondering now if I might need bigger speakers. Anybody have experience with these in large rooms??

Sorry folks I’ve been traveling for work. Hopefully, I’ll share my impressions in a day or two.

If you have some free time I would appreciate if you can visit the Digital thread as I was seeking your opinion on the Luxman DA-06 vs Denafrips Pontus 2. Thanks.

Sorry folks I’ve been traveling for work. Hopefully, I’ll share my impressions in a day or two. 

pdreher

Yes, that's true "pound for pound."

On the other hand, of one prefers the overall Harbeth sound to Joseph Audio, I can see liking the SuperHL5plus better than the Perspectives.

For me, though, the Harbeth couldn't offer me the thrill-factor of the Perspectives.

The Harbeths were wonderful and cozy to listen to, I really liked them.  But the transparency and purity, and wall-melting imaging show...and punchiness...of the Perspectives just took things to another level.  Almost hallucinatory on some stuff.

Comparing Persperctive2's to Harbeth SHL5's is is probably not a fair fight (like taking a knife to a gun fight).

 I'd be interested to hear how the Perspective2 compares to Harbeth 40.2 / 40.3's.  Having owned 40.1's for about 8 years and now owning 40.2 Anni's, I can say the 40.2's are better than their predecessors with drums and transparency, but the 40.1's are a touch better with female vocals and are more full bodied and rich sounding. 

Good stuff ewert.

As much as many of us might imagine how great it might be to own some flagship speakers way out of our price range, one thing to note is that Joseph speakers have very often over the years been deemed "best sound of the show" by tons of attendees and reviewers, almost no matter what model Joseph displayed. Sure show conditions aren’t decisive, but it does indicate that one is getting top tier sound with Joseph speakers.

As to power requirements, good to see your Luxman is working well with the Perspectives. It’s an interesting situation with the impedance of the Perspectives, since...from my meager understanding of these issues...the Perspectives don’t go down to 4 ohms so with solid state I presume you don’t get the benefit of power doubling in to those lower ohm ratings. Which is why the higher ohm ratings are good for tube amps (helpful because tube amps don’t double their power if the ohm rating goes low).

140w of tube power drives my perspectives certainly much louder than I can handle.

And we agree about the Perspectives with drums. As I wrote in my other long speaker comparison thread, one of the things that attracted me to the Devore O/96 speakers was how they sounded with drums - the way kick drum power seemed to come out and roll over you like the real thing, vs lots of audiophile speakers where the bass sort of sits back in the soundfield, holographically.

The Perspectives have some of that Devore-like bass quality with bass.   Yes bass imaging is quite precise, but there is a roundness and warmth that reaches out and rolls along the floor, so you get the feel of what the drummer is doing on the bass drum. And snares have surprising heft as well on the Perspectives.

I’m looking forward to @arafiq dropping back here to give us his detailed report!

I own a pair of Joseph Audio Perspective II’s and I think they are excellent, full range speakers. Prof nailed the description of their sound and character and I’m not sure I can add more to his insightful and accurate analysis. 
 

My alternative speaker of choice has been the ProAc Response line, which in my opinion, excel in tone, texture and pure midrange. Very similar to the Perspectives, except in the low end, where I would give a slight nod to the Perspectives for weight, and the ProAc’s for bass articulation. The Perspectives have a gravitas that is beguiling. The sound of a drum set has the drive and authority that just sounds ‘right’. I’m a former drummer, with modest to diminishing talent, but that is my reference, having heard so many drum sets over the years.  The Perspectives also get voices right. Piano trios sound awesome, come to think of it, I haven’t played any genre of music where they failed to excel. 

My pair of Perspectives are being driven by a Luxman M700u stereo amplifier, with 120 watts of power.  While the sensitivity is lower than the ProAc’s, I think the Perspectives must be an easy load to drive because I can get them to mid-80 decibels with only 1/4 to a 1/3 volume. Not a hard speaker to drive, IMHO.  

@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..

Sounds good arafiq !

Two things I forgot to mention about when I owned the Harbeth SuperHL5plus:

For some reason I could never get them to image with much depth.

I’ve always valued soundstaging and imaging (though tone/timbre above that), my room supports fantastic depth of soundstaging, and all the speakers I’ve owned have achieved this. But I could never get more than a somewhat for-shortened soundstage with the Harbeths, which was frustrating. Even if I moved them closer to nearfield.  My Thiel 2.7 and Joseph speakers do wall-melting depth of soundstaging in comparison.

Also, I just remembered that I actually briefly, just for kicks, drove the Perspectives with my old Eico HF81 14w integrated tube amp. And it sounded gorgeous. I don’t remember having any particular sense of the speakers running out of steam with those amps, though the bass was a bit more rich and loose, which was the sound of those amps on every other speaker I had as well.

Those stands look great.  Love your amp BTW.  Jeff Joseph has told me his speakers do well with tubes (except obviously the flea-watt type) so I guess I’m not surprised.  Glad you’re so happy!  Color me jealous. 

@ghdprentice Thank you for your kind words. I have to say I'm somewhat envious of your ARC gear. At some point next year, I also plan to start upgrading to ARC separates -- but very, very gradually so it goes unnoticed by the spouse :)

@prof I will share my impressions in detail over the weekend, but let’s just say that the Perspectives have met exceeded all my expectations, and then some more. There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that they are superior to the SHL5+ in every aspect -- including vocals, which was a surprise to me to say the least :) I think it’s fair to say that the Perspective’s real competition is the Harbeth 40.x and not so much the SHL5+.

I have them placed 4 feet from the front wall, 2.5 feet from side walls, and about 9 feet from the listening position. After tweaking with positioning for a bit, there are absolutely no issues with bass.

You were spot on with your analysis! These are by far the best speakers that I have owned. I will write some more in the next few days.

@soix I was a little underwhelmed at first because the dynamics and scale were missing. I kept blaming my amp, only to realize that one of the connections was loose. My speaker cables have bananas one both sides and the Perspectives only take spades. I was using the supplied (Cardas) spade connectors but didn’t realize that one of the banana connector was loose. Once I fixed it, the amp is driving the speakers like a champ. Despite the low sensitivity, the impedance makes the speakers suitable for a lot of amps -- including my Qualiton a50i. Right now, I’m totally satisfied with the performance, albeit, I have to use my REL’s to get the bottom end to be impactful.

The matching stand/platforms that you see in the pics were custom-built for the Perspectives by the previous owner. He has put many layers in the stands for better vibration control. He was kind enough to let me have the stands at no extra cost. I love how they match the aesthetics of the speakers.

@arafiq

Beautiful system and room.

@arafiq 

How did you end up with those matching stands under the Perspectives?

I'm looking forward to your impressions!

Nice!!!  How’s the Qualiton do driving the JAs, and what are the speakers sitting on?  I’m thinking with those Rels you’re probably not far off from a pair of Pearls performance wise. 

@soix I've added some pics of the JA's from multiple angles. You can check out my virtual system.

@prof Those are beauties!  Thanks for sharing. 

arafiq,

That's usually the question I get when I post those photos :-)

The explanation for the positioning is here (where I also post photos of my Thiels in the same room):

As to the sound:  Fortunately, there are no discernible sonic consequences to the right speaker being in that position.  Sometimes it's further away from the sofa, sometimes I pull it right up for more nearfield listening like in that photo.

I'm sure it works because the drivers are up higher over the sofa (same with my Thiels) and so aren't impeded at all, and bass frequencies not being directional.

So there's zero balance issues in terms of the L/R sound that I can detect.  Bass sounds terrific too!

@prof Thanks for sharing the pic. These speakers are just gorgeous. Honestly, I feel pics don't do justice to them, they're even better in person. I do have a question while looking at the pic: It seems that one of the speakers is placed right against the sofa. Is this their regular position or did you pull them out further to take the pic? If so, does it not compromise the sound in some way? 

@arafiq 

Amazing.  Those Perspectives look so gorgeous.  I was blown away when I got mine and they are still among the best looking speakers I've ever had (or seen IMO).

I hope you'll give your impressions first without the subs!  :-)

Here's a photo of my Perspectives:

I realized that I had not updated my virtual system pics in a while. I accidentally deleted the virtual system and had to create a new one. I will write more about the sonic impressions for JA Perspective2's in a day or two. But as you can see they are a thing of beauty. They look so elegant -- even my wife made a comment that these are the best looking speakers she's seen in the room thus far :) Tonight I'm going to put the Harbeth SHL5+ back in to compare with the JA's. Hope to report my impressions in a day or two.

Thanks for the response @arafiq I wasn’t too surprised that the Supernait 3 sounded poor with the Harbeth SHL5+. It’s the same experience when I tried the Nait XS on the SHL5. Somehow the Naim integrateds are not very good in my book. Perhaps they are good for easy to drive speakers only.

The Luxman L-590AXII is truly a marvelous amp. I’ve not tried a lot but this one is really something special. Refined, delicate and nuanced - these are the keywords I would use on the L-590AXII. The bass may not be the punchiest or most visceral but it’s clean and pure. In other words it’s a tight, defined and nuanced bass quality made possible by the low coloration of the amp. Other amp designs which produce more bass sound more colored to me with their forced presentation, masking some of the detail in the bass and sounding slightly unnatural or less nuanced.

@ryder For me, it was hands down the Luxman 590AXII. It was more refined and the treble was just sublime. Hegel had more bass control, but I felt the bass on Luxman, while not as visceral, was more nuanced. It also added just the right hint of warmth/sweetness without over doing it. Hegel was also quite good and I can see it being a better match if one is more into hard rock, metal, or EDM. I still miss my Luxman and wish I could have kept it. 
 

For some reason, I just didn’t get along with Naim. I guess the whole PRAT thing ain’t my cup of tea. I had high hopes for the Supernait 3 but ultimately was a bit disappointed. Hope this helps :)

I have tried the speakers with Luxman 590AXII (owned), Hegel H390 (extended home audition), Kinki EX-M1(owned), Naim Supernait 3 (home audition), VTL IT-85 (owned), ARC GSi75 (owned), and Sim Audio Moon 340i (home audition). So hopefully you can see that I've been around :)

Apologies for a bit of diversion. May I ask which amp sounds best with the SHL5+ to you, the Luxman L-590AXII,  Hegel H390 or Naim Supernait 3?

Good luck with the Joseph audio Perspective.

I have the original Pulsars. I am offering this comparison as they have very similar sensitivity measurements in Stereophile to the Perspectives. It's not apples to apples but similar in nature. Yes the sensitivity (on paper) is low- Stereophile measured the Pulsars at 83.5 db efficient. I have run them on two different tube amps, a BAT VK-55SE at 55 WPC and an Audio Research Ref 75SE at 75 WPC. Both worked wonderfully well in my experience and neither left me wanting for more. My current setup uses the Ref 75SE and it is such a great combo! Will more power be better? Maybe but don't write them off running medium power tube amps. Stereophile mentioned the Pulsar's impedance and them being an easy load for amplifiers in spite of the low sensitivity. That said, it is a little suspect Joseph doesn't publish the sensitivity ratings but in my experience it played out as they claim. Of course, as always your mileage may very.

Yikes!  The original Perspectives clock in at 84dB sensitivity!

https://www.stereophile.com/content/joseph-audio-perspective-loudspeaker-measurements

No wonder Joseph Audio omits that specification on its website, and only lists the relatively benign impedance.

@tswisla While I agree that SHL5+ can benefit from high-powered amps, you'd be surprised how well they work with my Qualiton amp. Just for reference, I have tried the speakers with Luxman 590AXII (owned), Hegel H390 (extended home audition), Kinki EX-M1(owned), Naim Supernait 3 (home audition), VTL IT-85 (owned), ARC GSi75 (owned), and Sim Audio Moon 340i (home audition). So hopefully you can see that I've been around :)

I understand that watts are watts, yet for some reason the 50 tube class A watts seem to go a lot further than the typical A/B watts. Yes, you do give up the tight and impactful bass a little, but what you gain in soundstaging, midrange, air, palpability, and the holographic/3D sound is worth every penny. Anyways, the SHL5+ sounded (to my ears of course) the best with the a50i once I replaced KT-120s with 150s, which presumably is giving 60 watts now. I'm sure the speakers excel in many areas with big iron SS amps, but for my tastes the a50i was perfect with SHL5+.

Now having said that, it is struggling a little bit with the JA Perspective2's. I've been listening to the Josephs since Friday and will share my impressions soon.

There is no way that you are getting everything from the Harbeths running them with a 50W amplifier.  I am a former SHL5+ owner.

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).

You will likely get that with modern speakers but it will need to be fairly high quality to match if not surpass the strengths of the Harbeth.

@callmedre

Agree - Harbeths require powerful SS amplification to sound their best - such as the Hegel amps Harbeth uses to demo their speakers at shows.

I’ve got the 30.1’s and 40.2’s and they sound superb in all respects with the Hegel H590.

Though... I have heard the Harbeth SHL5+ sound "as good as it gets" driven by the Finale Sesto tube amp!

To me... Harbeths sound so much like the "king" (Quad ESL-57's) - that I have accepted them as one of my favorites (perhaps the favorite) - in the context of "all things acoustic."

vdotman,

What was the problem with the Perspective2s in your room? Bass bloat?

I have the original Perspectives in a 13’ x 15’ room (with a large opening to a hallway). Mine are pulled out about 4 feet from the back wall. I get nice even sound with just the occasional bordering on bass emphasis.

I intend to upgrade to the graphene drivers and my only hesitation has been if the purportedly more powerful bass response may pose a problem in my room, even though the originals have worked great.

awesome arafiq !

I can't wait to hear whether I'm full of sh*t or not!  :-)

Apples vs oranges. The Harbeths favor that British sound typically characterized by a wonderfully clear but slightly mellow midrange while the JA’s are all about speed, transparency and soundstage; not as meaty as the Harbeths through the midband. I had the Perspective2’s and unfortunately I couldn’t get them to work well enough in my room. Subsequently I tried the Pulsar2’s and they were not my cup of tea. I actually like the original Pulsars better, but I’m a British speaker guy at heart so that would make sense. My current speakers, the Graham Audio LS5/9’s, do the trick for me. I compared them head to head with the Pulsar 2’s, and while both have their strengths, at the end of the day I preferred the Grahams, but that’s me. Your taste may differ.