Dipping toe in water

i'll certainly be putting mine in for the full beadblasting, grooved, rewired, dampened mods from origin live.. then the counterweight from michell.

Then id probably slap it onto a gyrodeck SE or somesuch :-)
 
sideshowbob said:
So, what Harbeths did you get to hear WM? Spill the beans, you know you want to...

-- Ian
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Just for you Ian ;)

4-picture2.jpg
 
Yes Ian, HL5's in the very attractive Eucalyptus veneer.

Early reports of them being a sonic disaster were greatly exaggerated :D

I just thought the picture would help Michael decide whether they were domestically acceptable, given the use of the Mac for scale ;)
 
Are these the ones that Noteworthy are trying to shift? Have you bought them?

I haven't had much experience with HL5s, but if they're anything like the rest of the range it's no surprise that WM doesn't like them.

-- Ian
 
Cheers merlin :) . They're definitely fine. TBH my wife wouldn't have a problem with BIG speakers (within reason), it'd more likely be arty-farty design (come on down Sonus Faber :D ) that she'd hate. Harbeths are about as minimalist as you can get. Rectangular box, plain grille, no bullshit. My wife would love them :)

Michael.
 
'I need a deck that will look good on my rack'

quote of the year;) up yours horned one,great stuff Paul:)
 
Yep those are the ones and no I haven't bought them - just borrowed them for a try out.

Yesterday they were a disaster, the bottom end was an uncontrolled mess to put it frankly - I think Neil would agree.

I've spent most of the day experimenting and I can see the attraction :)

In my room however, and with my personal tastes, they are flawed in a couple of areas. Firstly the bottom end is, for want of a better expression, soggy. They go deep but sound rather warm and cuddly in a BC1 kind of style. They seem to lack control, and whilst the first attempts were ruined by a rather nasty room interaction (due to using the wrong height of stand - please note Mana users), even whn optimally placed, they are too soft.

The second disappointment was just how pronounced the recessed presence area was. It does sound very uncoloured, but vocalists are forced back into the soundstage which has not happened with any other speakers I have tried. The top end is smooth and has excellent resolution - no problem with the metal dome - but it does seem to add a certain character to the sound compared with my references.

I'm disappointed. I really wanted to like these and I do in many ways. They have the the body and solidity I look for and find missing in many modern loudspeakers. They image well and they seem very neutral. In short they are a very good speaker IMHO.

But switching back to the Proac 1sc, everything just sounds more realistic and lifelike to my ears. Of course the little Poracs lack the body and scale of the Harbeths, but they are more open and natural. Just goes to show how personal loudspeakers are.
 
it could have gone in either,but i felt the compliment should be in your thread,out of respect,after all,yours is a 52'er:)
 
merlin said:
Firstly the bottom end is, for want of a better expression, soggy. They go deep but sound rather warm and cuddly in a BC1 kind of style.
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Doesn't sound right. They do like power, and dyed in the wool Harbethians seem to be of the solid state rather than valve school, be interesting to try them with a really beefy solid state amp if you haven't already. Having said that, you'll never get super-fast, clean, stunt-fi bass out of Harbeths, but then again, you rarely get that sort of bass anywhere in the real world other than from hi-fi equipment. But since I've only ever had a brief listen to HL5s at a show (up against P3s and C7s, out of which line-up the C7s easily won I thought) you may be right for all I know.

Try a pair of C7s. And then try a pair of M40s. ;-)

-- Ian
 
Merlin
I didn't read too closely before, but are those HL5s or SHL5s?
There is quite a difference between them (more perhaps than the 16 years between introduction would suggest - although the HL5 was in production for a long time). 1,200 quid is waaay too much for a pair of HL5s, if that is what they are.
OT, someone on the Harbeth User Group is using, I believe, a pair of those Velodyne EQable subs, with his M40s.
I don't think WM would like Harbeth TBH, but he is from a different dimention and seems to like those Kestrel thingies. Different strokes etc.
 
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love the McIntosh amp... heard one of those at the scottish hi-fi show... was quite a stunning listen.

what id like to know is how does a single one of those fare against my 8000Q and 4 monos... given the end price is around the same... would be an interesting listen thats for sure.
 

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