Acoustic Zen Adagio vs. Harbeth S-HL5

What are you using for an amp? Harbeth's need more power than the AZ. I have had Adagio and Harbeth compact7, can't comment on the hl5. I think the Adagio is a really great speaker especially with tubes, but may sound a little cold with SS..IMHO. The Harbeth will work with tubes, but I think are a better match with SS.
Not having any experience with the HL5, I can't give you anymore thoughts. The Adagio bests the Compact7 IMHO. Mike

they are different speakers;

The main strenght of Harbeth is its musicality;and you really do not have to worry much about speaker cables,resonance control and tweaking.....and it is very easy to match as far as amplifiers are concerned.

The Adagio on the other hand is not a finish product.You need to tweak it well to get it singing in its full glory;and the better your electronics the better it will sound.

So if you are looking for something to give you a musical bliss without worrying much about tweaking,go with Harbeth....I have never met anyone who regret buying a Harbeth[...and I have met plenty]The same can't be say about the Adagio especially on the background of the glowing reviews it received

BTW ,I own a tweaked up Adagio in my 3rd system

I agree, the Harbeth SHL5 is not particularly fussy to sound good. For me they worked best with SS amps (Audiosector Patek 40w/ch) and solid core speaker cables (DNM Reson cables). Like most speakers they do need some care with choice of stands and room positioning for a well balanced bass response. But once dialed in, they offer a very pleasing (non-clinical) sound in either a medium or large room. The construction of the speaker and its veneer finish are excellent.