Moving up the Harbeth line


I was fortunate to move my home office to another room which is a bit bigger than the previous one. Dimensions are 12x13 with almost 20-foot ceilings. As much as I love my Harbeth P3esr's, I can't help but notice that they've been outclassed by the bigger room, especially the high ceiling. This pair of speakers has been a mainstay in my home office/study for a number of years, and I find it to be a perfect fit for my listening habits and music preferences. But in the new setting, it's not able to fill the room as well as it used to. For examples, horns and piano now sound much smaller and distant. So that got me thinking of an upgrade. I have been using a Raven Audio Blackhawk MK3 for a few months and would want to stick with it if possible. There are very few speakers that have allowed me to make an emotional connection with the music, and Harbeth is certainly one of them. So my preference is to stay with the brand.

Now, before the 'search bar is your best friend' folks come swinging at me, I have read a few threads on similar topics but they all seem to be inconclusive, or at least I'm not able to decipher a reasonable consensus. Having spent way too much money on this addiction, err, hobby, in the last 12 months, I have to resort to buying used equipment only, and that too has to wait for at least 2-3 months. So, doing an in-house demo is going to be difficult if not impossible. And, AFAIK, there are no dealers nearby (Dallas area) either.

I would love to hear from people who have moved up the Harbeth food chain. The M30.x seems to be a logical next step, but I see an equal number of negative opinions (too polite, too boxy, pipe and slippers) as positive ones. Is there anyone who thinks that the M30 retains the same magic as the P3esr's but serves it in relatively bigger portions? Because that's what I'm mainly looking for to be honest -- a bigger version of P3esr. Or do you think the cons negate the pros offered by the bigger cabinet size?

Next up is SHL5+. Again, the opinions vary widely. Some are saying that this particular model deviates the most from the classic Harbeth sound. Another concern is that my room might be too small for them (?). Also, I cannot pull them more than one and a half feet from the front wall. Is that going to result in ugly bass problems?

I'm not against trying another brand, but would prefer an opinion that is based on an actual comparison with Harbeth speakers.
arafiq

Showing 2 responses by audiopacer

@arafiq As it turned out, I got a pair of Harbeth SHL5+ XD and so far I like them immensely; I am having a wonderful time listening to music!! The system, with these speakers, presents a compelling and complete natural sound; I remarked to a fellow audio nut, that I was brought to goosebumps & tears whilst listening to Beethoven's 9th Symphony (Telarc label)-- something that has not happened in ages with my many recent systems; These are gorgeous sounding speakers and I keep going back to - the sound is "right"

-sorry for the double post - I figured moving to your Harbeth thread better than my now deprecated SF post, lol;

FWIW, I got them setup with the TonTrager stands;
room is 13.5ft x 16ft x 9ft and the speakers are set on the window side of the room, which consists of a bay type bump out about 2 feet deep (starts at 8 feet centered in width of the room, and angles back to window which is 4 feet wide and set back about 2 feet);
Floors are hickory and there is a small area rug; The bass becomes sucked out and lean as I move to the center of the room, and is perfect as I move closer to the speakers, and then again further back from center;
I am 100% sure if I did a freq sweep in the various spots in the room the results would confirm the obviousness of the peaks/nulls in this particular space; Where I have found the best sound is about 2/3 back; here the quality of bass (clean/tight impact as well as low extension- I can hear and feel 30Hz ) is excellent. Transients, especially snare drum are so cleanly rendered I am just amazed; The whole enchilada, however, is stunning; When I had the 40.2 they were in a different room (big open basement with carpet on concrete, basement open plan about 35 x 40 x 8.5) and with totally different electronics, but there the results were basically not that great; This is not to say the SHL5+XD are better than the 40.2 in absolute terms; more like the speaker/room synergy matters massively as well as supporting gear, but definitely room trumps all; 
Once the basement remodel is complete (closing off a section to make a new room 14.5 x 21 x 8.5) I'll try it all down there;



@arafiq 
no subs yet; situation might change when in the larger room; The bass response in the current room is dependent on where listening; moving to the center ( about 8 feet from speaker face) is thinnest  due to room mode- and steadily builds traveling closer to speakers or further back from room center;
Room modes are our #1 chief problem in this game;

Your 12 foot ceilings are great ; I suspect the proper stands will do wonders for you;
can't wait to hear about it;

Your Luxman 590 has plenty of grip on the woofer; As i'm sure you know, power cables can make a big difference too- some dim the highs accentuating the bass; 
Cheers