Piano Notes On Harbeth SHL 5

Hi

Thanks for the replies so far.

The recording is of the Keith Jarrett Trio on "Up For It" - Live in Juan-les-Pins. I looked at the liner notes to see what piano it was ;) - they sometimes say but not the case here. They did mention that there was rain onstage and leakage causing Gary Peacock's bass to be water affected and the piano to be waterlogged.

But triviality aside, I have liked the Harbeth's so far on many Blue Note quartet and quintet recordings where trumpets are usually too biting and the bass notes do reveal the different textures although they are not as tight as on the Dyn's that I was surprised to not be equally impressed by piano trio recordings. Hell, I even thought they sounded fine on US3's "Hand On The Torch" too even without the bass slam.

But rock, now that is a different matter...

Ryder, the amp was a Krell FPB 200 driven by a Cary SLP 05 - that is a neutral amp so I cannot presume that it imparted much warmth.

As the OP, I am pleasantly surprised that this post has lasted for so long. I passed on the SHL 5's for the reasons I mentioned, which seem to be shared by Rgs92.

So which speaker has the best of both worlds? To paraphrase Ryder, bass(and lower mids) with the texture and organic bloom of the Harbeths with a slightly rolled off top end which makes harsh recordings listenable (for Jazz and Blues)but yet extended and resolving enough to make music with lots of transients (like Rock or Pop) enjoyable.

Ryder, I saw on another thread that you were asking about the Dynaudio C2 Sigs? Are you thinking of replacing your SHL 5's?