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In Reply to: My Harbeth experience posted by Guth on April 8, 2007 at 11:49:44:
For my profession, I'm very sensitive to voice alterations and the Harbeth's didn't sound natural to me. I wouldn't say they're hollow in the midrange, maybe not as rich as the Spendors, but not exactly hollow or sterile as many other brands are. I found that coloration more in the lower treble and it was similar to the kind of timbre you get from your voice when you speak trying to blow air through your nose at the same time by keeping your soft palate open, but way slighter. Once I detect those kind of colorations I can't stand them, but I can perfectly live without any bass below 60Hz or any treble above 12KHz. It's nice having it, but not necessary to enjoy music. OTOH having a clear and natural midrange is mandatory for me.Cheers.
Follow Ups:
The Harbeths are not perfect by any means, but the midrange and vocal rendition are not where their weaknesses lie.
________
"Occasionally we list eccentrically, all sense of balance gone."
You wouldn't move the Harbeths with a SET :-D They were mated with a Classé integrated which I don't think has that kind of coloration for other Classé gear I've listened to with other speakers.
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Nait 5i is anything but a neutral performer. I agree it sounds interesting in terms that it can boogie quite well but if you want to hear what Harbeths can, you need to find a better amp.Harbeths are definitely more - way more - neutral than the Spendors you are writing about. This doesn't mean they are more fun to listen to - that's a completely different matter. Many speakers that flirts with a linear response and a studio neutrality can be a pain in the ass to match and can sound more boring in studio conditions. They are definitely not for everyone.
My thoughts on the topic are: classic Spendors will bring you more of a pipe&sleepers atmosphere. They are ultimately more pleasent experience if you are tolerant towards their lack of dynamics, upper bass boxiness and a touch of artificial mid sweetness that many Spendor fans like. This character is very dominant and stay almost regardless of what amps you pair them with.
Harbets are far more reflective towards what you feed them with, but they are not so cruel and brutal in revealing all the mistakes you made upstream your system as some other, even more respected studio monitors such as ATC. Nasal quality described above comes from an amp (or even more likely - a preamp) it was paired with - that's not Harbeths for sure. They can boom only as a consequence of a wrong room conditions or amplification.
My objection with Harbeths is that ultimately they lack ATC's absolute chameleon character in a sense that I have never heard them neither in outstanding nor underwhelming performance. They are very decent, they have their own level of performance they rather retain, but they have their own limits. If you are seeking for a truly exceptional studio monitor type of speaker, UK style, try your lack with ATCs. Be exceptionally careful with what you are matching them with and you will go where hardly any dynamic speaker can take you today. With my ATC 20s I made a progress from an almost unlistenable performance to my current sound where a friend of mine, owner of the new Quad 2805, thinks I'm trying to fool him with hiding a pair of electrostatics with a woofer, instead of ATCs.
I've auditioned more than a dozen different speakers with the Naim gear (including a number of diffent Spendors) so I can say that my experience with the Harbeths is not a characteristic of the amp.I've heard that ATCs in the past and thought that they sounded wonderful, provided that they are fed ample amounts of power.
All the best,
Guth
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