you in the Twin Cities?
(I’m in St. Paul.)
And was it the P3ESR’s? I was in about 6-8 months ago and listened to some Super HL5Plus (I think). They sounded really good to me, but it wasn’t like I was blown away. But it’s a big goofy room with a lot of stuff going on. Suboptimal.
Yes sir, I am very in Savage. It can be dangerous visiting that store. On a side note, Audiogon has really been a fascinating place this year. I have bought a lot of gear there.
The pair I mentioned hearing was one of their larger three way models. Someone who was interested in them popped in a personal fave CD. I think that may have been part of the problem. Poor music choice…
I have read so many rave reviews of Harbeth speakers that it stunned me. I’ll have to try again, somewhere else.
I went through a number of reviews of the Buchardt Audio S400. Great reviews in general. However, due to the passive driver in the back, they need to play loud to play at their full potential.The passive driver simply needs a certain amount of pressure to get going. I am very curious about the active version though.
Hi aangen,
What part of the mid-range was forward? For instance, would it be a male or female vocal that would excite the range that bothered you?
I believe the excite range is a proper way to describe it.
I think, it is better to find the good place for them. And to make sure everything was worked.
I bet the sound is amazing. What electronics are you using? Have you thought about using IsoAcousics stands?
Thanks for sharing!
Steven, I too have my P3’s on the desktop, with one close to a window in direct sunlight. I drape a piece of fabric over it to prevent possible fading of the veneer over the years compared to the one in the shade. Not very beautiful, but it might be worth doing.
HiFi Racks made me a pair of matching stands about 10" high that sat on mini spikes. The Isoacoustics stands have high praise, but are a bit ugly, and the HiFi Racks ones were about the same price. I have a habit of piling files up and knocked the speakers off the spikes too often, so went for these
which are very good value at $20. You reverse the upper pad and get enough upwards angle, then I trimmed to size with a knife.
It is a bit of a luxury having such nice speakers for near field, I use them ambient then stop to have proper listen from time to time.
I use an Audiolab M-One, a brand (from the IAG stable (Quad etc.) and designed in the same office) that make superb DACs and budget integrated amplifiers. Source is an Aries Mini + Roon.
Lots of people over here use Rega with P3s and I was thinking of swapping to a Rega Elex-R and Bluesound Node 2i. A seriously good system would be the Elicit-R and TEAC NT-505, the DACs both being Roon Ready.
It should be said that whilst the P3ESR are magnificent speakers, Harbeth are broadly designed more for different room sizes rather than budgets. P3’s are basically a portable mini-monitor. For smaller rooms the M30.2 or C7ES3 are preferable, as they use the 8" driver (only the P3 has the 5" driver, all other Harbeth use the 8" mid-bass). The M30.1 are the smallest with that driver, the C7ES3 are slightly bigger cabinets, but have wider dispersion and the SHL5plus are designed for larger rooms, the tour de force with that driver and a super-tweeter. So three different speakers for different jobs and the cheapest to the most expensive is only a difference of 37%. So it really is not about the money, it’s more about the right speaker for your room. If you have a really big room, then there is the full range M40.2, but few people will have the space for those. So the idea of using P3ESR in a large room with a subwoofer or two is a nice idea and lots of people do it, but it’s not really the Harbeth philosophy.
Alan Shaw, who is Harbeth, has nothing against subwoofers, they just don’t make them as the technology is so different to their other products and he doesn’t have the time to do the research to make a Harbeth subwoofer.
One final thing about Harbeth. Unlike lots of speakers that need space behind and are often fired down a room, I found Harbeth need little space behind (min 1 foot and 10 degree toe) but like a bit of air at the sides, so I’ve found them better fired across a room.
So in a small space, using KEF, P3 or whatever, rather than putting them in corners hoping for maximum width of soundstage, it may be better to put them closer together, not ti near the side walls. The P3 image great as close as I put them, under 4 feet apart.
p.s. Every time I see a pair of those Buchardt, I’m tempted to try them out. They look fabulous as well.
Interestingly, before I picked up the Cambridge CXA80, I had an old Audiolab 8000A in there. The 8000A sounded fine, but the Cambridge is definitely an upgrade. The sound is richer, fuller, more detailed. I really like it, and it was a bargain. Running the Thorens through the NAD phono stage has been a huge step up from the built-in preamp in the Audiolab. (Should have tested the NAD with the 8000A, I suppose!)
the M-One looks cool, that’s for sure.
Anyway, back on topic, I’m pretty much convinced the P3ESRs are the way to go. They would be so sweet for this particular slightly-beyond-nearfield configuration, and I see myself always having a similar office/den setup.
For a larger room, yeah, the 30.2’s (or whatever Harbeth calls them when it’s time for me to get some), will be on the next wishlist.
The CXA80 is a big unit and not ideal for sitting under a desk in an office, especially when being used for a single source.
Cambridge Audio produce fabulous items, over 50 years they’ve used top teams of in-house and consulting engineers, all done in Cambridge and now London. It’s jointly owned by Julian Richer, who own’s the UK’s only national chain of 50+ audio stores.
yeah, i hear ya there. In my first post you can see the credenza my stuff is on, so nothing needs to hide under a desk.
I’m about 6 feet from the speakers when I’m working. The CXA80 has a remote (which the 8000A didn’t have), and I can control Roon from computer.
Now I just need a robot to take records off the shelves and place them on the turntable. I’m sure someone’s working on that.
there are no new ideas.
Was tempted back in the day by those 100-CD changer units, I will say that.
I would advise strongly that you listen to the Proac D1 or a secondhand response 1SC. I suspect you may alter your list if you do. I own the LS 50 in my small system and the proacs blow them away particularly on bass
