I’ve owned several Harbeth speakers and if you like the midrange magic of the P3s, I would consider the Harbeth SHL5s. They sound bigger and fuller than the P3s, without sacrificing the mids. I don’t think they will give you the “in the concert hall” levels without subs, but you were considering adding them later anyway. Great speakers, IMO, and within your price range used or possibly as a demo.
Speaker choice
I listen to music at my living room second floor which is open space linking to first floor and about 12ft x 15 ft.
My source is a Naim uniti atom network streamer and my amp is a Pass Labs XA30.5. I use to run this set up with a small harbeth p3ESR. But I couldn’t feel the speaker is not enough as the space is too huge for it. Now I have sold my speakers I m looking for a floor standing pair or a bigger XD speaker.
budget : within $5k used unit. I will buy a subwoofer eventually to enhance the bass if needed. Need to save up.
I listen to mostly pop and orchestra music. I enjoy good and sweet Treble , clear , detail and musical vocal with lots of air and tight and solid base. I like my music that gives me the feeling that I am physically at the concert hall.
Which pair of speakers I should consider ?
11 responses Add your response
You have a small room, you need to buy a speaker for a small room that plays big. If you ask a question like what is the best speaker, with 50 people responding, you will get 50 different responses which won’t get you anywhere. I just moved from a 27’ x 15’ room to a 12’ x 16’ room, had to get new speakers because my other speakers were too large. i can list off many speakers I looked at but I’ll just tell you what I was looking at so you can make up your mind: floorstanding with multiple small woofers, midrange, and a Beryllium or Diamond tweeter. I also put in 2 rel t7x woofers. Only you can determine which speaker sounds best so I would recommend attending a few audio shows or travel to a couple of dealers to actually listen to speakers. |
Ascend's ELX towers. |
There is a Volti Audio Razz in blue on the US Audiomart which is a good deal. I auditioned the Razz a few days ago and pretty much sold but I am going to get the higher model Lucera or Rival…when I make up my mind when I can fly to Volti audio for a more extensive audition. There is a used pair of the Razz on the Volti audio web site.. |
These Joseph Audio speakers will do everything you’re looking for including throwing off an expansive 3D soundstage and disappear as a sound source, and you wouldn’t need a sub unless you want one as they go down to about 25Hz. The dealer allows for 30-day returns, and at $2799 they come in well under your $5k budget. Best of luck. https://tmraudio.com/fresh-arrivals/joseph-audio-rm33si-limited-edition-floorstanding-speakers-pair/ Here’s a review that nicely captures its sound characteristics… https://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/476/index.html |
| Post removed |