2. speakers
  3. 1295580656

Bryston & Harbeths - Good Match?

I have a Bryston 4b SST2 amp and am looking to upgrade from my Vandersteen 2ce Sigs. I like the Vandy’s but I think they are a bit large for my 15’ x 18’ room.

I have been looking at the Harbeth SHL5’s and I have not seen much written about them with the Bryston. Does anyone here have any experience with this combination?

I am also considering the Totem Mani 2’s, Dynaudio’s and a few others. I really hate giving up the low end of the Vandy’s so I am looking for something that might come close in my small room. I really don’t want to go the sub route.

I am looking at used speakers and my budget is in the $2k to $4k range. Any comments and or suggestions are welcome. Oh, I listen to a wide range of music. From Diana Krall to Elvis Costello to Jimmy Buffett.

Thanks.
ben77059

Showing 2 responses by kbarkamian

kbarkamian
647 posts
 
Totem
They're also very room sensitive. They need breathing room. Not sure if your room is big enough for the Mani-2s. Sounds crazy for a monitor speaker, but just going by what I've heard people say several times. One or two were dealers.
kbarkamian
647 posts
 
Half of my post got cut off some how. Damn iPhone...

The Totem Mani-2 is a very hard speaker to drive. A friend's McIntosh MA6900 went into protection mode on a regular basis when driven slightly past normal levels. His room was on the smaller side too.

The 4B SST2 is a very strong amp, but it may actually be on that fine line of enough or not enough. I'm a huge Bryston fan and own a B60, so it's not a shot at it. Any normal to difficult speaker will be fine with it. The Mani-2 is beyond difficult.

I'm also a huge fan of the Mani-2. When properly driven, which is almost impossible, and some room to breathe, it could be one of the best speakers there is, regardless of price. There are a ton of people out there who've given up and sold their Mani-2s because they're almost impossible to live with.

I've never owned them. Just going by what friends and dealer's have told me about their experience with them. I've also read the same thing countless times on forums.
More to discover