Harbeth speaker owners in India

[Dr.Bass]

So no question about it that the P3 mid range is probably the best in the Harbeth range but then the other speakers have to do more work than the P3..

How is it then that a bigger ATC sounds better than a smaller ATC in all parameters ? Same holds for Proac, B&W, Wilson, Tannoy, Focal...many more

 

[doors666]

How is it then that a bigger ATC sounds better than a smaller ATC in all parameters ? Same holds for Proac, B&W, Wilson, Tannoy, Focal...many more

they use better drivers...

 

[sidvee]

The slight lack of low end slam did not take away anything from its wonderfully pure and present midrange and highs. The bass is less but clean. Not many would say these things about the bigger harbeths IMHO.

This only goes to show that small speakers are easier to get right than big speakers.

Not sure I would agree Dr. Bass. The P3es do what they do excellently at their price range, but as you move up the range, there is no comparison. For instance there is no comparison of the supertweeter induced smoothness of the Shl5 with rest of the range including the new monitor 30. I have heard all of these except the 40's, and there is no way I can listen to jazz trumpet with the others as the high's sound truncated. As far as the bass is concerned, yes it is harder to get right, but once properly placed in a suitable room and amplified a well executed 8" woofer will outclass any other much smaller design usually in extension and in many cases speed as well. Anyways these are my personal impressions having lived with the Shl5 now for 2 years and having heard the 7es3 and the smaller p3 and more recently the monitor 30 and are subjective to my preferences.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[sidvee]

How is it then that a bigger ATC sounds better than a smaller ATC in all parameters ? Same holds for Proac, B&W, Wilson, Tannoy, Focal...many more

And again here, I am not sure I agree. I owned the ATC SCM19 and heard the ATC SM40. No comparison, at least in the high frequency reproduction, at-least for me the 19 was the winner and I am led to believe that it is because of a better tweeter in the 19. Also I felt that the 19 had superior resolution of details. Anyways again my subjective interpretation. YMMV.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[Dr.Bass]

And again here, I am not sure I agree. I owned the ATC SCM19 and heard the ATC SM40. No comparison, at least in the high frequency reproduction, at-least for me the 19 was the winner and I am led to believe that it is because of a better tweeter in the 19. Also I felt that the 19 had superior resolution of details. Anyways again my subjective interpretation. YMMV.
Cheers,
Sid

Interesting !
I also went through a similar comparison of 19 vs 40, on the same setup, same room, same music, everything the same. I went there to buy the 19 but after hearing the 40, could not find any reason to get the 19. The 19 and the 40 has the same tweeter AFAIK, the SCM20 has a better tweeter though.

Regarding the P3ES vs SHL5, you are right that SHL5 has a more extended top end due to its super tweeter, hence favours Jazz more than P3 does. But then on classic rock the P3 sounds more convincing because of its speed and a more coherent over all presentation IMHO. I dont say SHL5 can be replaced with P3 without any shortcomings. I just liked the P3 more as a speaker, regardless of genres of music.

 

[sidvee]

Interesting !
I also went through a similar comparison of 19 vs 40, on the same setup, same room, same music, everything the same. I went there to buy the 19 but after hearing the 40, could not find any reason to get the 19. The 19 and the 40 has the same tweeter AFAIK, the SCM20 has a better tweeter though.

You are right Dr. Bass, the tweeters of both 19 and 40 are same, my bad, however the mid/bass unit of the 19 is what is called "SL" spec. and is from their higher end classic and tower series, and is the only model from the entry level to sport these. Regardless to my ears the 19 sounded superior and I felt it was more open, airier and better resolving, a fact, I mistakenly attributed to a different tweeter. As I stated earlier, I guess it will boil down to individual preferences. Anyway I am all set to audition the SCM 50 tower series which also has the "SL" spec driver.
Cheers,
Sid
Ps: BTW OP, sorry for the ATC OT.

 

[panditji]

No problem Sid, helps everyone get a perspective on Harbeth and similar speakers...
I know I heard both the SCM 11 and 19 before buying the Compact 7 and the first time I heard the 19, it sounded wonderful being played with a Bryston pre-power....However I heard the SCM 19s and 40s later with pre-power Naim amplification at a London dealer and it sounded very average.... So the thing which convinced me to go for the Compact 7 was that they sounded wonderful all the time at three different locations whereas the ATCs depended a lot on the amplification (maybe even the room)...As I was paying from my own pocket, I expect my speakers to behave and perform at their best at all times and not complain about amplification/room/cables, hence the Harbeths..

But the SCM 19 was tonally better than the 40s when I liked it with the Bryston pre-power..