2.0 Speaker setup for 3-4L - Harbeth Acoustic Portrait Genelec?

[vineetrad]

Hi,

I want to get a good 2.0 setup. I am only interested in music, no movies, tv watching etc. Priority are great vocals, transparency, soundstage and a non fatiguing sound. I will listen at low volumes and I don't care much about deep bass extension.

I am considering three options:

1. New Harbeth P3ESR or 2nd hand SHL5s and a suitable integrated amp
2. Acoustic Portrait Kaavi actives or the full Thyiaga Integrated amp + Floorstanders
3. Genelec 8340 SAM series / 8331 (these I will get a friend to hand carry from the UK)

What would you suggest? Any other good active speakers or speaker+integrated amp setups in this budget?

Thanks

 

[raghupb]

Since you are based in Bangalore, you have the opportunity to hear out all of them.
AP is based here, so no worries. Harbeth has dealers in town.
Genelac don't know.

When allocating such huge monies, trust your ears.
All of the above are good products for your use case.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[liverpool_for_life]

Any other good active speakers or speaker+integrated amp setups in this budget?

Are you open to import?

 

[arj]

Hi,

I want to get a good 2.0 setup. I am only interested in music, no movies, tv watching etc. Priority are great vocals, transparency, soundstage and a non fatiguing sound. I will listen at low volumes and I don't care much about deep bass extension.

I am considering three options:

1. New Harbeth P3ESR or 2nd hand SHL5s and a suitable integrated amp
2. Acoustic Portrait Kaavi actives or the full Thyiaga Integrated amp + Floorstanders
3. Genelec 8340 SAM series / 8331 (these I will get a friend to hand carry from the UK)

What would you suggest? Any other good active speakers or speaker+integrated amp setups in this budget?

Thanks

What kind of Music do you listen to and whats your room size ? my experience with Genelac is 0 hence cannot comment on it, but Harbeth and AP are different speakers and have very different presentations and Bass responses hence your room is very important.

While you may not want sub bass, Mid bass and bass is important even for a guitar or a tabla hence you must aim for a 3dB point of at least 45-50 Hz in room response

In my experience the Harbeth P3 is very limited in bass and unless you listen to vocals/string quartets or have a very small room with speakers near the walls avoid it.( there are many who love it for its magical midrange..). it may be fantastic with a great sub though. The SHL5 is the better complete speaker although its midrange is not as expressive as the above but it gives full range sound. Put it with a good amplifier and you have a good setup. i believe there is an LFD amp available in the Forum which is great synergy with it. Is it available used ?
But this can significantly exceed your budget.

AP is a fantastic system since the Speaker to Amp synergy is all optimized and you actually get a system which has synergy. you can contact Siva for an audition. I would say listen to AP first and see how you like it and then decide on others.

I would consider the AP to be more dynamic and natural..the SHL5 is more "sweet" sounding ( unlike the Harbeth Monitor series which is more natural)

 

[prateekatasniya]

Hi,

I want to get a good 2.0 setup. I am only interested in music, no movies, tv watching etc. Priority are great vocals, transparency, soundstage and a non fatiguing sound. I will listen at low volumes and I don't care much about deep bass extension.

I am considering three options:

1. New Harbeth P3ESR or 2nd hand SHL5s and a suitable integrated amp
2. Acoustic Portrait Kaavi actives or the full Thyiaga Integrated amp + Floorstanders
3. Genelec 8340 SAM series / 8331 (these I will get a friend to hand carry from the UK)

What would you suggest? Any other good active speakers or speaker+integrated amp setups in this budget?

Thanks

I have GENELEC 8040b pair + 7060b Subwoofer.
My uncle has GENELEC 8341 pair+ 7360a subwoofer.
Best thing about genelec is you can change the sound as and when needed without affecting the quality of music.
It has a active crossover , built in DAC, bi amplified speaker- 8340, tri amplified 8331.

 

[prem]

Vineetrad, you can look at a used Rethm Saadhanas with a good 2a3 SET amp

 

[jai1611]

Add Blumenhofer to your list. The Listening Room should have them on demo. Easy to drive speakers so suitable amps should be not an issue

 

[vineetrad]

Vineetrad, you can look at a used Rethm Saadhanas with a good 2a3 SET amp

Thanks. Are you aware of anyone who is selling a pair? Would rather buy speakers at these high costs from someone in Bangalore or else I will need to go get them myself.

 

[vineetrad]

Add Blumenhofer to your list. The Listening Room should have them on demo. Easy to drive speakers so suitable amps should be not an issue

Is the Listening Room still functional in Bangalore? I am unable to find them on Google.

 

[vineetrad]

I have GENELEC 8040b pair + 7060b Subwoofer.
My uncle has GENELEC 8341 pair+ 7360a subwoofer.
Best thing about genelec is you can change the sound as and when needed without affecting the quality of music.
It has a active crossover , built in DAC, bi amplified speaker- 8340, tri amplified 8331.

Yes I already use a pair of Genelec 8341 for work so I am very familiar with their sound and probably a bit spoilt in terms of sound quality. The GLM and SAM room compensation is amazing. They sound amazing on good recordings but are ruthless with slightly bad ones (as they should when mixing). However it can be a bit of a pain when tracking or just trying to listen to music to enjoy it. That's the reason I am considering the Harbeth and Acoustic Portrait speakers - as I understand it they are both largely flat and transparent but still more enjoyable to listen to music on than high quality studio monitors like the Genelec or Amphions.

 

[vineetrad]

What kind of Music do you listen to and whats your room size ? my experience with Genelac is 0 hence cannot comment on it, but Harbeth and AP are different speakers and have very different presentations and Bass responses hence your room is very important.

While you may not want sub bass, Mid bass and bass is important even for a guitar or a tabla hence you must aim for a 3dB point of at least 45-50 Hz in room response

In my experience the Harbeth P3 is very limited in bass and unless you listen to vocals/string quartets or have a very small room with speakers near the walls avoid it.( there are many who love it for its magical midrange..). it may be fantastic with a great sub though. The SHL5 is the better complete speaker although its midrange is not as expressive as the above but it gives full range sound. Put it with a good amplifier and you have a good setup. i believe there is an LFD amp available in the Forum which is great synergy with it. Is it available used ?
But this can significantly exceed your budget.

AP is a fantastic system since the Speaker to Amp synergy is all optimized and you actually get a system which has synergy. you can contact Siva for an audition. I would say listen to AP first and see how you like it and then decide on others.

I would consider the AP to be more dynamic and natural..the SHL5 is more "sweet" sounding ( unlike the Harbeth Monitor series which is more natural)

Thanks for the detailed response Arj. I am personally leaning strongly towards the Acoustic Portrait speakers. I was about to purchase when the Harbeths came up in conversation. The small P3ESR I can get a friend to bring over in September and potentially may be a SHL5 I can get second hand.

I still most likely will go with the Acoustic Portaits. I have a smallish 12x13 feet listening room and a 16x10 feet living area (that extends into an long attached open dining area a further 17 feet long. With the smaller room I can add carpet and acoustic treatment/bass traps if required. It is also quite full with furniture. I prefer vocal, acoustic, country, sufi and jazz. Just want to hear the Harbeths once before that.

 

[Naturelover]

Is the Listening Room still functional in Bangalore? I am unable to find them on Google.

Very much so. Only they don't have a website.
The Listening Room
B-5/6, Smilee Greens, Estate Cub, Huskur Road, Bangalore - 560099
Cell 9845534952

 

[Orez]

Any other good active speakers or speaker+integrated amp setups in this budget?

At this budget, the good part is that you can easily look at other active speakers or even passive ones which are used in the Pro segment. The advantage of this route is that you get to audition these in your house! I could audition a lot of these speakers at home and so decision making became easier.
There are many brands in this segment other than the ones you mentioned. You can check regular ones with presence in India like Adam, Eve Audio, Dynaudio, Neumannfsw etc. There are many site in India which list these Pro equipment only online so you will be able to get the names of brands available in India.
At your budget, the three way actives also easily fit (e.g. Dynaudio Lyd 48). On the passive side Pro segment options, check the highly rates Amphion (they are based at Bangalore). You should be able to audition all of these at home from the Pro segment resellers. All the active ones comes with DSP like the Genelac SAM series you mentioned.
What I did was essentially google "Active Monitors" and then found sites/ dealers selling these in India. Happy auditioning at home, there is nothing like it !

 

[Naturelover]

@vineetrad , what did you get?

 

[Nitin K]

Hi,

I want to get a good 2.0 setup. I am only interested in music, no movies, tv watching etc. Priority are great vocals, transparency, soundstage and a non fatiguing sound. I will listen at low volumes and I don't care much about deep bass extension.

I am considering three options:

1. New Harbeth P3ESR or 2nd hand SHL5s and a suitable integrated amp
2. Acoustic Portrait Kaavi actives or the full Thyiaga Integrated amp + Floorstanders
3. Genelec 8340 SAM series / 8331 (these I will get a friend to hand carry from the UK)

What would you suggest? Any other good active speakers or speaker+integrated amp setups in this budget?

Thanks

You can add Dynaudio to your list. Excellent non fatiguing speakers but need a powerful amp to drive them.

 

[kratu]

Since you are based in Bangalore, you have the opportunity to hear out all of them.
AP is based here, so no worries. Harbeth has dealers in town.
Genelac don't know.

When allocating such huge monies, trust your ears.
All of the above are good products for your use case.

Cheers,
Raghu

I remember seeing a Genelec showroom on St. Mark's Road.

 

[kratu]

Hi,

I want to get a good 2.0 setup. I am only interested in music, no movies, tv watching etc. Priority are great vocals, transparency, soundstage and a non fatiguing sound. I will listen at low volumes and I don't care much about deep bass extension.

Thanks

It's good that you have clarity on what you want. The qualities you have specified are aspects that many audiophiles would desire in a sound system. I too have similar preferences. You mentioned that you use Genelec for work. I'm assuming that you are into sound engineering?

In terms of suggestions, our forum members have already given you a list of possible options. You should explore as many music systems (and combinations as possible). There are dealers like Audio Dynamics, Audio Planet you can contact. And also, some of the forum members might be open to having you at their homes.

I'd second the idea of auditioning AP first. Their new pair of floor standers are really good in many aspects. Paired with their integrated amp or tube pre and SS power, they can check quite a few of the boxes for you. It's been a while since I've listened to Harbeths. They might not work for every genre or listening preferences.

BTW For low-volume listening especially for non-fatiguing sound, great vocals you should definitely explore tube amplifiers (esp. at the pre-amp stage). These are personal preferences and might not work for everyone.

 

[Jayant_S]

Hi Vineet,

I'm not clued in with the brands out there but your needs wrt transparency and clear vocals sound exactly like what my setup does for me
Since you're in Bangalore, you're welcome to come over and audition at my home.
I can also second the advice of auditioning at Audio Planet. I've been a repeat visitor for multiple auditions. They've got a large range of combinations to check out for dedicated stereo.