Pairing NAD Masters & Harbeth [poss. SHL5+ or 40.2]


Good Morning,  I'm new to the Audiogon Forum but have been on here reading/buying for a while.

My question is pretty basic: I have the NAD M12 & M22 and they're currently hooked up to some average B & W bookshelves and Klipsch sub [bored and dissappointed].  To make a long story short, I've been looking at and listening to Harbeths [5's or 40.'s] for a few years and may finally be ready to spend the money. I listen to classic rock, some jazz, a lot of classical and a lot of Billy McLaughlin.


Would the M12 & M22 work well with the Harbeth SHL5+ or 40.'s?  Would I really enjoy my music again?

Anyone have this set up or an experience pairing the two?

Hope for some feedback :)


talc2471

Showing 4 responses by talc2471

Thanks to each of you for the responses.  My room is basically 20 x 20 and it carries into a 12 x 24 kitchen area [32' in total sound projection].  Standing at the island you will be facing the speakers.  I don't have a dedicated listening room.  These will be for everyday/extensive use.  

Why the NAD gear? I guess I just like it and haven't spent enough time exploring other options.   For me personally, there's way too much stuff out there, and I've had good luck with there stuff in the past so I went with the best they have.  Usually paired it with top end klipsch which I liked a lot, but now I want something more refined.  Thought B & W would work and not really impressed.  Like my klipsch better.

I like a really rich/warm sound.  I'm not a bright/high tone guy which is what the B & W seem to give me, even more than the Klipsch [Forte 2].  Gets hard to listen to after a while.  Hoping my equipment can achieve that with the Harbeths. 

ps - im a layman so don't make fun of me for my terminology.  lol
Thank you to all for your replies.  To mgrif104's point, I already own my NAD stuff and I'm generally happy with the stuff.  Once my kids are off to college I will be looking to upgrade.   Nonetheless, I appreciate your feedback and it pretty much confirmed my intuition [there's a thousand amp's & dac's better....but this will work well...but you should buy this...lol]. 

So to the deeper question, the SHL5, SHL5plus, or the jump to the 40.2?  I have a decent size and my wife will hate how they look no matter which one I buy [haha].  I'm leaning toward the SHL5plus. 

I'm looking for general feedback as my closest dealer is over 2 hours away.