i bought a pair of HL-5 a couple of months ago, and my assessment is: they are close to perfection. The most natural speaker I've listened to. My view is that the goal of a speaker is to reproduce music in the most natural way possible, and this is what these guys are about. They don't aim to unnatural levels of detail, which is what lots of audiophiles seek. They aim to reproduce the experience of listening to live music. Also, compared to excessively detailed speakers, they are less fatiguing, and they are more forgiving: if you have a bad record, it will still sound like a bad record, but you can generally listen to it. I also own a pair of ESL-57, which is a wonderful speaker. The HL-5 are in my opinion better. And I find myself listening to more music than with the Quads.
Are Harbeths really "all that?"
Hi,
I am not actually in the market for new speakers (heck, I just GOT new speakers) but I am intrigued, lately, reading about the Harbeth line on this forum. Are those little Harbeths (their "entry level," can't remember the model number right now) as fabulous as most reviewers seem to suggest? What kinds of music do they excel at? What kind of power do they need?
I am not actually in the market for new speakers (heck, I just GOT new speakers) but I am intrigued, lately, reading about the Harbeth line on this forum. Are those little Harbeths (their "entry level," can't remember the model number right now) as fabulous as most reviewers seem to suggest? What kinds of music do they excel at? What kind of power do they need?