Enjoy. My advice is to just relax and listen with your eyes closed. Find out which speaker you enjoy listening to most rather than the one which sounds most impressive. Which has the most realistic sounding vocal or instrument? Which renders a three dimensional soundstage?
Our brains seem to be attracted to loud and bright. Yet when relaxing and listening for longer periods this can often turn to listening fatigue.
I do not think there is actually a ‘British sound’ in speakers as they all sound so different - B&W’s, ATC, Naim etc. The reason british speakers are so highy sought after has little to do with their nationality but merely the fact that we have so many world class companies building loudpeakers.
For my part and with naim amplification I have found ATC speakers to offer the most rewarding listen because they have all the speed of naim’s own speakers but are incredibly wide bandwidth designs at their respective price points.
Jonathan
How did it go? I have Harbeth P3ESR , they produce a lovely transparent sound and aren’t the last word in bass. Very pleased with them
Well I made it to the dealer, eventually. To start with, this little day trip was to take place after my doctors appointment, which is along the way to said dealer. My appointment was almost 2 hours delayed, or backed up. After that fun time, I set out on my way to the dealer, which should of been another 2 1/2 hours. Road construction and Toronto rush hour traffic, detours, bad weather, it ended up being around 4 hours further. I got there about half an hour before he closed, so I did not get to hear any of the speakers. My real purpose of the trip was to trade some gear I have towards ordering a Chord Mscaler, so I made sure that transaction was done first. There was no time to demo anything on the day, so it will be pushed back until the day I pick up the Mscaler, with no doctors appointment preceding it. I did however get to physically see three of the speakers, the Proac tab ten Sigs look gorgeous, but are really tiny, much smaller than I imagined. He did say they are quite good for a small moniter. The Kudos super 10’s had been boxed up and sold, I think he said, so nothing on those. The Harbeth Compact 7’s I saw, they look really nice, but no time to hear them, since they were not hooked up. The Audionote I saw too, again, not hooked up, and there was a color mismatch between the two speakers, like one was sat in sunlight, while the other was not. I kind of ruled them out anyway, because of that, and he said they HAVE to be placed in a corner, and up against the wall to work properly, which does not work for me. On a positive note, he has a pair of Neat Ultmatum MF7’s, so I mentioned my local dealer has MF5’s for sale in mint condition, fairly cheap. I asked him his thoughts on those, since he told me he had a pair of MF5’s at one time too. He said that he MUCH preferred the Neats over the 4 speakers I wanted to demo, he also said the Harbeth’s were “boxy” sounding, but some people like that sound, whatever that means. He said the guy who traded the MF7’s in moved to a 30k Kharma speaker, and the guy who had the MF5’s moved to a 24k Kharma speaker, so he thought the MF5’s would be a really good move for me, and they are NOT a speaker he is selling, those are at my local dealer. I also asked him about a Nagra integrated he had for sale, and he praised it to no end, he said Nagra is by far the best sounding brand he carries, which includes Naim by the way. All in all, a disappointing day, demo wise, but I got some good info, and I will make sure I have more time to listen when I pick up the Mscaler in a few weeks. On top of all that, traffic was even worse coming home, and I have to go for another surgery in January, although it is only for cosmetic reasons.
Oh dear, we were all so excited to hear your findings, a bit of an anticlimax!
I have to say I’ve never found that with 30.1, and I went from ATC SCM40. I can’t speak for other speakers in the Harbeth range.
All the best for that and I hope you look beautiful again.
I don’t really know what he meant by boxy sounding, but that was his comment. Sorry everyone, very anti-climactic I know, it bothers me too.
No apology necessary.
…it happens.
Perhaps those MF5s are meant to be
As the owner of harbeth M30.1, i would dispute that they have a boxy sound (whatever that is), they do have a traditional “boxy look”. I was at the nyc audio show and basically three rooms impressed - in a good way, by not being overly impressive
I am hoping to get a listen to the Harbeth’s in a few weeks when I pick up my Mscaler, as I am still very curious about them. Meantime, I am going to my local dealer tomorrow, for another listen to the Neat MF5’s. I am bringing my Chord TT2 with me, he has a Blu2, which I will hook up to it, and plan on driving the MF5’s directly from the TT2, believe it or not.
The TT2 struggled to drive the Neat’s, an amp will definitely be needed if I opt to buy these. Not really sure what I am doing yet, so I still want to hear all the other speakers I mentioned up top. Took a few photos of the Neat’s though.
@JimDog theres more to be had in terms of PRaT higher up the chain. Coming from 150x/Ariva myself I concur that its fabulous at Low-level listening, better then with a 200
Although after complete rehaul with better source, cabling etc. all the traits from 150x can be had again with 200, with better overall performance of all genres (not only rock/boogietypemusic)
The sheer enjoyment of 150x/Ariva is unique in Naim hierarchy (I used a 112x, that is VFM!)
Hi Henkerino
I thought there would be more to be had - which is why /i bought a 250DR. But that one (which had a buzzing transformer) it did not work in my room with my low volume listening habits.
So it’s not clear now which way forward for me.
Although I’m in no rush because my system sounds great right now (272/555DR/150x/Arivas).
How long did you have 150x/Arivas?
And what did you trade up to?
I traded up to 200
After changing transport/source and investing in hi-line and powerlines it shines again @ low-volume listening, and far beats 150x in all styles of music.
Straight off the bat the 150x were considerably better at the genres I grew up with, grunge/metal etc. Now Its equalled if not surpassed even there, so just go for it and Keep trying. Im going for 250 next (non-DR) then 282… The Arrivas respond marvellously with every upgrade.
Funnily enough, I once tried a friend’s 200 in my system.
It was only a short trial - and he had modded the 200! - so again, not a proper test - but in the test neither he nor I could tell the 2 amps apart.
And that was more at medium and higher volumes.
But, yes, I really fancy a 282…
The 150x and original 200 with No other changes were a massive difference (used 202 on both). Not all for the better at first but with more realism added and more flow with the 200.
And as I stated, the 200 will get all the traits back when switching the rest of the system and cables, just so superior to the 150x
Last time I added to this thread, I had just tried running the Neat Ultimatum MF5’s off my TT 2 DAC directly, and realized that they needed more power. My dealer kept my TT2, with my instructions to try a few of his amps connected directly to my TT2, into the Neat’s. Today I was back at his house listening to His Blu2/ my TT2/ a Belles 150A Reference V2 amp driving the Neat’s. BIG improvement, and I finally got to hear what the Neat’s are truly capable of, huge amounts of bass, and very detailed rythmic sound that anyone would consider end game. The problem is, I live in an apartment, so realistically, I will never get to unleash these beasts. As we were talking, he happened to mention that he had a pair of Harbeth P3esr’s there, that he ordered for another customer. Right away I asked if I could possibly hear them, sure no problem he said. Within 20 seconds of hearing these little beauties I knew that Harbeth is the sound I have been looking for. Such clarity, music just flows out of these things, and they just draw you into whatever song you are listening to.I felt like blurting out right away to forget about the Neat’s, Harbeth is what I want, but I was discreet about it, and said I have concerns about not being able to utilize the Neat’s properly in my living situation. I told him I will take the amp, which was very impressive for sure, and I do need an amp to run any Harbeth speaker I get. My Mscaler has arrived, it is at a different dealer about 4.5 hours away (one way), so I plan on going to a Harbeth dealer in Toronto, the day I pick up the Mscaler…to choose the best fit for me. I absolutely love the P3esr, but have concerns that it may lack bass, so I have my eyes directly focused on the 30.2’s as my next speaker, never even hearing a pair, but I really really like what I heard today from Harbeth, and I think my search is almost over. Any 30,2 owners out there that want to chime in?
If you like the P3 so much why bother with the30.2.
I have P3Esr and have heard the30.2 , the reason I still have the P3Esr is that the 30.2 is considerably bigger. The smaller Harbeths produce a wonderful clear sound , having worn them in they are a little bass light but not as much as you might think. It depends on your tastes in music 
. Mine are classical and acoustic ( with the odd bit of Pink Floyd thrown )
I have limited space and the P3Esr do a good job
Thanks for the replies guys, believe me, the P3’s were doing everything right, I did not get a chance to turn it up very loud to see how they hold up. I will demo every model I can before settling on one, I just don’t want to buy the P3’s, and wish later that I chose a bigger speaker. I thought the 30.1/2’s were kind of medium sized? What really impressed me was how great they sounded even at whisper levels. There was 25k worth of electronics in front of them though, which is what I will be using too. My setup will be Naim Core/NDS/XPSDR/Mscaler/TT2/ Belles 150A Reference V2…Harbeth?
