Mine is 202/200 , HiCap ,CDX 2, Nat 03 and Clearaudio Emotion, I like to listen at quite low levels.
Very happy with them, if you like Heavy Rock or Garage or whatever I wouldn’t go near them but with tastes like Baez, Eva Cassidy and a lot of Radio3 I am very content. I also have the dedicated HiFi racks stand, if you get the P3 Esr I would recommend these stands at the highest height ( they are available in three heights - get the highest)
I had Harbeth 30.2 on a Naim Nova and then Harbeth SHL5+ both 40th Anniversary Editions. I then had the Harbeth SHL5+ on a Naim Supernait 2, HiCapDR and Naim NDX2.
I found the Harbeths amazing on voice - sparse Jazz (you know - the sort of thing they like to demo systems with). Trouble is I don’t like Jazz.
I found the Harbeths on that setup to be hopeless at rock music or anything with fast dense dynamic range changing sequences - like classical. They just got flat and almost monotone.
Harbeths are your classic thin walled British monitor speaker built on a 21st century take on the BBC principles.
In the end - I accepted I couldn’t make them work for my music, my system and my room.
Now I use B&W 805D3 prestige edition. They are every bit as good at vocals and delicacy but are amazing at rock and pop too. They were far superior on my system and have now allowed me to upgrade via a NDX2/282/HCDR/250DR to NDX2/252/SCDR/300DR and I just hear more and more and get a better and better performance out of the B&Ws.
In my opinion one of the best stand mount speakers out there.
Thanks Marka, that sure makes me think twice, I better do more extensive testing before committing to the brand I guess. I do like Jazz myself, the short demo I had yesterday was mostly with blues type of music, and I thought they sounded great. Keep in mind, I am using a non Naim amp (Belles) which is 125 Watts into 8 Ohm, 250 into 4 Ohm directly connected to a Chord Dac/Pre. Who knows, I may not like the bigger Harbeth’s, but the P3esr’s definitely checked all the boxes. I am looking for a speaker I can listen to at lower volume, late at night in an apartment building. They will not be my only pair of speakers however, I also have a pair of Dynaudio XD 600’s(active) that I am keeping, in case I need to crank some Zeppelin or Sabbath during the daytime.
I can always change my mind on the Neat MF5’s too, they do rock well for sure.
I had exactly the same experience. You can’t go wrong with PSESR or 30.1 or 30.2. Just depends on room size and how much bass your room is able to cope with.
These speakers have a certain magic or musicality.
The P3ESR is a very good speaker. If you value tonal purity and a natural sound, the P3ESR will be the ticket. Some who tried the Proac Tablette 10 Signature and found it a tad bright went back to the P3ESR for its superior tonality.
As Halloweenman has aptly mentioned, the setup of the speakers in the room is crucial in determining the actual outcome. Properly tuned the Harbeth can play rock music admirably well. Equipment, speaker stands and placement of speakers in the room will all contribute to the sound of the system.
If I hadn’t owned a bigger Harbeth(SHL5 Plus) I would have got the P3ESR for a second system. I picked the Dali Mentor Menuet instead but most of my listening is carried out on the Harbeth Super HL5 Plus.
I have had harbeth shl5plus and they are delightful . I could not get them to do rock very well . they did not go deep enough . My son who has a very discerning ear HATED them . he called them various names . i love their midrange but ultimately i could not live with them . They were replaced by tannoys exactly the same size [ tannoy eaton legacy] . these go deeeeeeeep and really rock if you want. lovely with all sorts of music. had them for nearly 2 years now
Used the sn2 with the shl5plus amongst other amps costing 5 more
I just noticed a theme here, the two guys who did not care for the Harbeth’s were using an SN2. I owned one at one time, and was not thrilled with it, could it be that the Harbeth’s need better amplification?
Yep. Absolutely. On some stuff the Harbeths were awesome. I could get quite emotional actually with some songs through them. The hairs on my arm would literally stand on end with vocal and acoustic stuff. But anything that was kind of 80s, processed, or had a lot going on in it just sounded flatter I’m afraid.
Definately a room / taste (also musical taste) thing.
IMHO, the thin wall BBC type of speakers are similar to Quad ESL 57s in a way that they are unmatched when it comes to revealing instrument timbral colors and make vocals believable.
They are superb with vocals and spoken word one evening I played Smiley’s People all the way through in one sitting on my Blu Ray player, it was stunning . One of my best audio experiences .
Promised myself Hitchhikers’ Guide To The Galaxy in one sitting at some point.
Im my modest room 30.1 have enough bass for rock music for my taste (I’m no bass head). Bass guitar and bass drum are not as good as ATC SCM40 but very good for a ported speaker. I played some bass guitar test tracks through and the bottom E string (about 40Hz) plays really well.
I tried SHL5 Plus many moons ago and didn’t really get on with them. Just not for me.
Personally, I wouldn’t go less than about 100w with 30.1. I also prefer heavy stands such as Custom Design SQ404 third filled with sand (custom made to fit 30.1). They need space around them too.