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KEF LS50 or Harbeth P3ESR for desktop system?

Currently:

Spendor S3/5
SVS SB-1000 sub
McCormack modified Micro Power Drive
McCormack Micro Line Drive
HRT Music Streamer II DAC connected to the PC
AQ cabling

Speakers are 5' apart on the desk.  2' from back wall, no side walls within 6', vaulted ceiling.
Near field - I'm 5' away from them.

Piano jazz, movies on the PC, podcasts.  I don't try to break my ears.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the current setup, but, well, you know...

KEF LS50 (not wireless), or Harbeth P3ESR (maybe even Anniversary Edition)?

Thanks,
Bruce
bbarlow690

Showing 2 responses by seanheis1

seanheis1
623 posts
 
I would say Harbeth for tonal accuracy. The KEFs are more metallic sounding. KEF has the advantage of being close to a point source (coherence) and brings more weight to the party in the lower mids and bass.

My vote Harbeth but with the added condition of a REL T5 sub. 
seanheis1
623 posts
 
With near field listening and in the sweet spot I am hearing things from the Beatles I've never heard before! Things like Ringo's bongos that was lost in the background now come out to the forefront and you can almost hear every individual finger hit the skins... Crazy!
It's not really crazy. What's happening is that other frequencies are being turned down so things like Ringo's bongos will come forward...even though they were supposed to be in the background. Audiophiles are often times audio-voyeurs, so I can imagine the fun. ;-)  
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