Harbeth SHL5

Audiolab 9000N
"Robert Harley -- Sat, 11/15/2008 - 14:46
It's the Cambridge 840W amplifier (200Wpc). Lowish-sensitivity speakers really benefit from putting 200W or more behind them, particularly in dynamics and bass definition."

This is Robert Harley's (editor of the Absolute sound) comment/recommendation on amplification for the Ushers - and from my experience I am beginning to think that even 150w may not be adequate for the Ushers to perform thier best.

Cheers
Sid
 
I had a feeling that the Ushers have wooly bass as I've faced the same problem at times too but after hearing it this saturday with an Ayon CD-1s feeding directly into a Symphonic Line RG7 with no pre in the path, I have a feeling that the speaker just needs loads of current to sound its best which very few amps are able to supply reliably.

To be honest, that was some of the tightest bass I've ever heard. The control on the woofers was impeccable. I doubted the speaker before especially when we did a 1 to 1 with a Contour 1.3SE at a friend's place. Now I know that it was just the chain and not the speaker.
 
sidvee said:
hi square_wave - That is what i thought so too, but for some reason the bel canto is unable to grip the woofers of the 718's well enough. I still hear wooly bass, ie ill defined- which is consequently deteriorating the whole audio spectrum. I dont know if it has something to do with the digital switching design but i am hoping that a traditional solidstage design will fix this. I know it is not related to breaking in becoz I have close to 100 hours or so on the 718.
Cheers
Sid
Click to expand...

Hi Sid
I have had one customer use an Evo 500 and we both heard this combo at his place and it didnt sound as good in terms of having the ultimate bass control/quickness. The overall performance increased when a shindo pre was added into the loop but we never got the feeling that it performed as well (in terms of woofer control) as say the Mccormack that ROC has or even the Stratos (the same customer has an extreme version). This is my only experience with the Bel Canto and the Be-718 so I dont know whether I should draw any conclusion from it. However I do in general like the sonic characteristic of these amps (in the mid to upper mid) - overall softer.

cheers
 
odyssey said:
Hi Sid
I have had one customer use an Evo 500 and we both heard this combo at his place and it didnt sound as good in terms of having the ultimate bass control/quickness. The overall performance increased when a shindo pre was added into the loop but we never got the feeling that it performed as well (in terms of woofer control) as say the Mccormack that ROC has or even the Stratos (the same customer has an extreme version). This is my only experience with the Bel Canto and the Be-718 so I dont know whether I should draw any conclusion from it. However I do in general like the sonic characteristic of these amps (in the mid to upper mid) - overall softer.

cheers
Click to expand...

I am in total concurrence with you on this Sridhar, I did try to pair the Bel canto s300 few times with the be718 and 3 or 4 different pres and the BE718 and was never satisfied. I will report back with the stratos in the chain, but my gut feel is that it will perform quite well, especially the extreme version, with its extra reserves and >60amps current delivery. I am very eager to listen to the be718 when they strut their stuff.

ROC - glad to see your conclusion as well - all this points to the fact that a good 'pedal to the metal' SS amp. is required to drive these babies to their best.

Cheers,
Sid
 
reignofchaos said:
I had a feeling that the Ushers have wooly bass as I've faced the same problem at times too but after hearing it this saturday with an Ayon CD-1s feeding directly into a Symphonic Line RG7 with no pre in the path, I have a feeling that the speaker just needs loads of current to sound its best which very few amps are able to supply reliably.

To be honest, that was some of the tightest bass I've ever heard. The control on the woofers was impeccable. I doubted the speaker before especially when we did a 1 to 1 with a Contour 1.3SE at a friend's place. Now I know that it was just the chain and not the speaker.
Click to expand...

ROC, this proves another of my theories, that the Be718's can withstand significant amounts of upgrades in other parts of the chain, so they may be the speaker for people looking to get off the upgrade bandwagon for a while:). At-least that was my conclusion when I bought a pair and now plan to hang on to them.
Cheers
Sid
 
Nice to see some Harbeth related discussion here.
I recently heard them at Singapore.
Sid, I think you should immediately talk to the Singapore dealer because he had a 2 year old SHL5 which he was offering me at 3000 Singapore Dollars and obviously the shipping would be lot cheaper.
 
Hi Sid,

Here is the info on the Singapore dealer as given in the Harbeth site:

Name Mr. Jimmy Goh
Company CD Acoustic Equipment Pte
Address 1 Coleman Street
#03-14 The Adelphi
Singapore 179803
Phone + 65 63362467
Fax + 65 63 362467
Email [email protected]

Regards
 
sidvee said:
hi square_wave - That is what i thought so too, but for some reason the bel canto is unable to grip the woofers of the 718's well enough. I still hear wooly bass, ie ill defined- which is consequently deteriorating the whole audio spectrum. I dont know if it has something to do with the digital switching design but i am hoping that a traditional solidstage design will fix this. I know it is not related to breaking in becoz I have close to 100 hours or so on the 718.
Cheers
Sid
Click to expand...

Waiting for your observations.
I thought the class d did bass rather well.:mad: That is exactly what most folks use them for.
 
Hi square_wave,
Rest assured that the anomaly (loose bass) is only with the Be718 + belcanto s300 combo - atleast from what I have heard. The belcanto s300 drives my b&W n805 as well as the dynaudio focus 110 and my paradigm studio 40's and studio 20's very well.
It could also be a bel canto and usher incompatability period - as sridhar mentioned similar observations with another bel canto amp. I am convinced about the bel canto implementation so much so that i am planning to get their ref 1000 monoblocks in the near future.
Cheers
Sid
 
Recently I heard the Sonus Faber Cermona Auditor with the optional stnads paird with Audio Research amplification and front end..

Wow i was mesmerized. I liked it better than a big hulking pair of Wilson Sophia(i think that was it).

Never have been a fan of the BE718s however.
 
pradeep_gg said:
Did u get your SHL5, I am asking as I am also very inclined towards those...would like to hear your feedback...
Click to expand...

No I did not. Realized that the size of these speakers would restrict placement in my smallish listening room which in turn would compromise the sound. These need generous breathing room from the room boundaries, maybe 3-4' from the rear and 2-3' from the sides.
Cheers
Sid
 
I have fallen in love with the Harbeths ever since I heard them in Hongkong. The Super HL5 was retailing for 27,000 HKD and the Compact 7ES-3 was for 21000 HKD....Just loved them for their sheer musicality and a pleasing, natural sound...I heard the Spendors and the ATCs also but the Harbeths beat them flat out with my kind of music although I would suggest the ATCs if the music genres are more varied...
Sidvee I think it would make sense for you to go to Hongkong and try and get them in your baggage....if you are going to spend $900 on duty and some more on the shipping, it makes sense to take the missus along for a holiday and get them......I think it will fit into a proper suitcase quite easily ....
Atleast that is how I plan to get mine after I have saved up enough :)....

You can also try and get in touch with the Thailand and Singapore dealers if they give a better price.....Bangkok is not too far and much cheaper....
 
panditji said:
I have fallen in love with the Harbeths ever since I heard them in Hongkong. The Super HL5 was retailing for 27,000 HKD and the Compact 7ES-3 was for 21000 HKD....Just loved them for their sheer musicality and a pleasing, natural sound...I heard the Spendors and the ATCs also but the Harbeths beat them flat out with my kind of music although I would suggest the ATCs if the music genres are more varied...
Sidvee I think it would make sense for you to go to Hongkong and try and get them in your baggage....if you are going to spend $900 on duty and some more on the shipping, it makes sense to take the missus along for a holiday and get them......I think it will fit into a proper suitcase quite easily ....
Atleast that is how I plan to get mine after I have saved up enough :)....

You can also try and get in touch with the Thailand and Singapore dealers if they give a better price.....Bangkok is not too far and much cheaper....
Click to expand...

Thanks Panditji,
You must be referring to the 7es3 - becoz the SHL5 are quite large and AFAIK would not fit in a standard suitcase except a really large one and will need 2 of those. Regardless unless I change my listening room, which unfortunately I do not have the luxury of doing so, these are not going to work so I am going to stick to medium book shelves for now.
Cheers
Sid
 
panditji said:
I heard the Spendors and the ATCs also but the Harbeths beat them flat out with my kind of music although I would suggest the ATCs if the music genres are more varied...
Click to expand...

Panditji, unfortunately ATC and Harbeths are almost on the opposite poles when it comes to setting them up. Harbeths can run on an entry level Marantz amp and sound at 80% of its potential...whereas ATC needs serious amps and source components to sound good. Even the tiny SCM11 will demand all that. They reveal everything thats in the setup, good and bad !!
Once you give them their due, they are a sonic heaven !! That is not something I expect guys in Spore and HK to give having seen the way they stack up equipments...almost like sabji mandi.

Yes, the SHL5 needs a lot of space to work with...anything less than 250 sqft is not going to work. Even if you control the bass, you will not be able to take that big midrange sound field it creates.
 
I've mine set up in the living/dining room which is approximately 5x8m. No particular room treatments/corrections are implemented; just the normal wall-to-wall carpeting, curtains and furniture. IME the SHL5 is not at all a difficult speaker to position. It started singing at its best from the day I set it up. I hope to get hold of the famous Skylan stands someday, till then they will have to be happy with my humble Ikea Lack sidetables :)
 
Hmmm.I did not consider that aspect sir....you probably are right as I heard the SCM 11s and 19s with a Plinius 9100 Integrated....the Harbeths were actually paired with a Marantz amp and sounded extremely nice...but when I asked to change the amp to an Accuphase Integrated, that got me crazy for their sound.....
The ATC bookshelves were again super when paired with the Plinius.....I am sure even better amplification could make them sound even better but for a start Plinius was making them sound very very good.....
Thanks for the insights though Dr. Bass...they were extremely helpful
 
Unleash_me what stands are you using now ? are they open stands ?

Apparently wooden lossy open stands work best with them..
 
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