Piano Notes On Harbeth SHL 5


Hi

I heard this speaker recently and the slightly rolled off highs are pleasant to listen to on most recordings. However, one thing seemed to bother me - piano notes seem fat and thick. This seems in contrast to more neutral speakers like Dynaudio where the treble is more extended, rendering piano notes more crisp. I have had people say to me though that they thought the tone of the piano sounded more natural and real on the Harbeth's, so is it only me and do real pianos sound that thick?
mikey8811
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.
harberth speakers reckon back to the age of Bozak's...very musical but definately not state of the art in definition. They are a most conventional speaker with pleasant tone...that's it. Oh, and to answer your question...NO, a piano does not sound thick:O) Live music is vibrant, dynamic, transparent, crisp and full of action. Harberth's are more on the mellow yellow side. You can try to bandaid the situation with upstream cables and gear, but the signature will still be there.
Try Avalon if you are seeking tonality, detail, and dynamics.

I absolutely adore the sound of piano on my system. It took some component and wire matching, but nothing at this level is plug-and-play.