I may not have expressed myself as clearly as I should have. I didn’t mean that Harbeths have no bass or have a bass problem. JOF formulates it much better.
Just for fun I re-built my first “all Pioneer” system over the last two years. When I want to listen to rock and get the “thump” sensation, it delivers plenty, albeit at the cost of much less detailed and accurate sound - I’m very happy to go back to the Naim / Harbeth system after a record or two. 
Claude
That’s a great system ryder. I have no doubt that 282/250DR must have been a spectacular improvement over 202/200 with the 5+
Claude
Some of you may have seen this…
…thanks, I enjoyed the interview.
Hi Kolner, at the time I demoed them in the dealers but using my set up, including WAV over LAN from a UServe, it was not a home demo.
Nevertheless, I spent a good 30 mins listening between the AudioVectors and the Ovators. The Ovators were very presentable. They’ve got speed and drive enough to captivate and detail to die for with a big sound that doesn’t seem too boomy, much warmer than the AudioVectors, very musical.
The main point was that I considered them to be too much for my size room and the Compact 7’s are more intimate and engaging and much better at low volume levels.
I would prefer to place my Compact 7’s further away from the back wall however.
Exactly my experience as well.
Thanks for your comments on the Ovators JOF. Sounds like I would like them. Still happy with my 30.2s and Quads though.
Funny, when we moved into our current home. I thought it would be fun to have a 70’s kind of system to rock with. Found a set of very mint JBL L36 Decades, was given a Nakamichi TA-4a receiver and a Nak CD4s it was fun… unless I listened to the big setup in the other room😂
One of the reasons I would never part with the Harbeth is the advantage in low volume listening and low listening fatigue.
Is anyone using larger Harbeths in rooms like 4m x 4.5m? Loving my P3ESRs but wouldn’t mind a “larger” sound. My SuperUniti does well with the P3’s but I wouldn’t like any less power with them.
I once used my SHL5 in a 3.5m x 5.2m space. I would definitely consider the C7ES3 or M30.2 in your room. The added scale and bass would be an upgrade to the P3ESR. Once you experience the added weight and bass there is no going back to the smaller speaker.
A friend who owns the P3ESR listened to my SHL5+ and commented on the big improvement in the bass department. The detail of the double bass, grunt and impact that are missing in the P3ESR.
Alternatively you may consider subwoofer(s) for the P3ESR but personally I would go with a larger Harbeth if the room can accommodate it. Lastly, if you are not too critical with the bass of the P3ESR you may drop the plan. Having said that in my opinion the mid-sized Harbeth models (C7 and M30) are the ones to get if the room can accommodate the size. A larger sound and deeper bass will bring quite a difference to the musical enjoyment.
Just to show the difference in size between the Super HL5+ and Dali Mentor Menuet. The size of the P3ESR is almost the same as the Dali Mentor Menuet.
I am using SHL5+ is a relatively small room. Around 4m wide x 5 m deep. To my ears everything is great! I love them.
I have a dedicated listening room in my man cave at the bottom of the garden. Ideally I would have more space but it’s temporary. We are extending our house next year and everything will move & I will turn the man cave into an AV room.
I am using the 40.2s in a 36 m2 room and it works really well. Just as well as the SHL5+ 40th I had before wrt to the room size. I apologize for the bad picture quality. It’s the only one I have comparing the size of the two Harbeths. The SHL5+ is not small, but the 40.2 is significantly larger!
I use my SHL5 Plus in a 2.85x4m. The sweet spot is rather small but they sound awesome near field to. I’m fully aware of that I’m not reaching their full potential but I have glorious music time with them all day long 
I use SHL5+ in my 5m x 6m listening room and they are the perfect match. I had 40.1s for a while and they were too boomy; I home demoed the Compact 7s and found them too lean. I would like to try the 30.1s some day but I haven’t had the chance yet.
Claude
I use 30.1 in room about the same size and they work well. Very satisfying bass and beautiful sound that fills the room. Any more bass would overload the room. Highly recommend you try a pair!
Some great pics above, thanks for sharing. The SHL5+ looks huge in comparison to the small Dalis and is still discreet compared to the M40’s
Must get some M30.x’s and maybe SHL5+s for a demo.
You should probably start with the Compact 7’s before going higher up the range. I think for a room that size,these would be more than enough. I would also suggest that the Compact 7’s are better positioned a good 500mm from any back wall to give them some air, or at least as much as you can in that size room.
I have no speaker to big problem in my small room with the 5s. No bass issues. No problem at all really. I tend to think people suggesting this never listen to the 5s in a small room and just think that is the truth because they are big.
