Piano Notes On Harbeth SHL 5

Although speakers will dictate how piano notes would sound like, factors such as quality of recording and ancillary equipment play a part as well. Piano notes will sound "fat and thick" on the Harbeth if comparison is made with leaner or more precise speakers with extended high frequencies such as Dynaudios, Revels etc. It is difficult to ascertain which sound is more accurate, neutral or natural as everyone has their own benchmark.

May I ask what amps are hooked up to the SHL5 when piano sounded "fat and thick"? The Harbeths are inherently warm and organic sounding speakers with smooth highs, and a warm and smooth amp may just exacerbate things.

The Krell is a good one(tried an FPB400CX and matching Krell pre with some Harbeths). Not too sure about the Cary tube preamp though.

Bass slam can be improved with close attention to speaker placement, even if the SHL5 is in a large listening area. Closer placement to wall boundaries, especially the wall behind the speakers will tend to balance out the lack of punch in the bass whilst producing a more pronounced midrange.

Trumpets and strings(acoustic guitars) usually sound good on the Harbeth. Good observation on the bass texture of the Harbeth vs tight bass of the Dynaudios. The thin-wall cabinet of the Harbeth box that promotes resonance gives the bass(and lower mids) the texture and organic bloom -good for blues and jazz pieces but falls short in rock and dynamic music with lots of transients.

Rgs92, there is nothing wrong with your ears. It is typical of any ardent or overzealous fans to come into the defense of the Harbeth on the user forum. That can happen on any manufacturer's forum, and the same thing can be seen on the Naim forum. Though I have to admit that some chaps on the Harbeth user group seem to be totally stuck on the speakers and regard the Harbeth as somewhat flawless and most natural speakers in the world.

I do agree that the Harbeth lacks that extra bit of detail and resolution causing it to sound slightly soft and rounded in the highs. In comparison to ultra-revealing and transparent speakers out there, one can consider the Harbeth to be mid-fi. There are many other high-end speakers that offer more detail, resolution and tighter punchier bass but too much of detail may render the sound to be bright, cold or analytical. I believe balance is the key to a musical speaker and/or system. Everyone has their own benchmark or reference as to how their music should sound like so inevitably one speaker will not cater to all listening preferences.

Back to the quality of piano notes on the Harbeth. Martykl made a good point. The quality of piano recordings do differ greatly with the use of different recording techniques. Although the tone of piano sound warm and soft on some recordings, it can sound lean and bright on other recordings with a crisp and lighter feel. Thankfully the different tonal quality of the piano on various recordings shows through the Harbeth. If they all sound the same then it would be worrying.

Mikey8811, I'm looking at an alternative speaker to complement the SHL5s. I will be keeping the Harbeth as I still like what they are capable of doing. Like Rgs92, I am looking for another speaker with more resolution and detail than the Harbeths so that I can have best of both worlds. In my opinion no speaker can do it all. You gain some in one speaker and lose some in another.

Yes, I was looking at the Dynaudio C2 Sigs but not at the point of getting them. I have briefly listened to the Confidence C1's three years ago and they do have the resolution and detail that are absent in the SHL5. Nevertheless, the C1s also do not have the warm organic bloom and sweet airy highs of the SHL5s. No doubt the C1s are a high-grade mini-monitor, but I'm not sure if I can live with the squeaky clean sound of it in long-term and connect to it emotionally(on a good day I can listen up to 6 hours with the SHL5). To top it off, the C1s have limited bass response and does not go low down the frequency spectrum. The C2s look good but I would be more interested in a bookshelf than a pair of large floorstanders at this point of time in my life due to personal priorities.

In other words, I am looking to acquire another bookshelf for short-term thrills. The Harbeths are keepers in my main system. My other backup PSB monitors failed to live up to expectations and have been relegated to HT duties.