Hi, I have been using a Harbeth SHL5 for two months now and twice owned the same Special 25 (I sold it to my friend and when he put it up for sale I bought them again) They are both great speakers but I like the harbeths better wihtout a doubt. When I first got the Special 25 I was really amazed at the frequency range of the speaker: I had a Rel Stratta and I sold it right away and the treble was sparkling but not bright at all. The problem for me was that they are in your face, the bass was a little boomy (even thought I had the speakers two feet from the wall) and also they are "cold" speakers, by that I mean analitical and it made me tired after listening for a while. I used them first with a Musical Fidelity integrated, later with a Audio Research VS-55 and lsp-16 pre-amp and lastly with a Pathos One ll. My friend used a BAT tube pre-amp and a monster BAT 300 watts solid state. With all those combinations the Special 25 presented the same personality. I have a very long room and the more distance that I put between me and the Spcial 25 the better they sounded, the problem is that I wanted to seat 7 or 8 feet from the speaker and not across the room at 16 feet. From them I went to a Magnepan 1.6 and later to a De Capo I. Probably if I have had the time to work with the acoustics in my room I could have kept them
Two months ago my friend was selling his Zu Druids and he invited me to audition at his home but he wanted to show me his new SHL5 first. He was using a passive pre-amp and a Cary 805-C. Well, it was probably the first time that I can say that my jaw dropped, what a soundstage, Ana Caram was playing and her voice was floating right above the axis of the speakers, for me it was an eye opening moment. And I thought the Special 25 were very balanced speakers until then. After that I honestly didn't care for the Zus anymore but John gave me a sweet deal and I bought them without the audition. I took them home but I could not stop thinking about the Harbeths. A week later I called my friend again and I proposed to give him back his Zus, my amp in exchange for his Harbeths, some money, swap DACS, etc.. that kind of deal, He is like me and he loves to trade things for the sake of making a deal. Now I don`t feel good about it because he is missing his Harbeths very much and even thought I should do the honorable thing and reverse the deal, I am not returning this speakers and he is presently getting a new pair of SHL5s. I am using them with Naim's cheapest pre and amp. The sound is "golden" compared to the Special 25 "silver". It is warm and sparkling and the amount of bass is equal to the 25's but it is way tighter and no boom at all: I have them in the same spot that I had the Dynaudios but I tried them also very close to the back wall and the bass was very tight with absolutely not a hint of boominess. They define and detail as good but with more transparency and at the same time the sound is not in you face at all. I have listened for whole days and I can't get enought. The other thing about the SHL5 is that in big classical musical(Mahler) and small jazz trios(Monk) the instruments sound like if each one had his own amplification and space, there is no confusing instruments with this speaker. I never paid much atention to soundstage and depth and I can not recall how the 25 were in this regard but this is something that you will notice inmediately with the SHL5, when properly positioned, "image" suddenly for me is not an ethereal thought anymore but a concept as real as "bass" or "top end"
I don`t know anything about the Audia amps but in my room the contest is not even close and that`s coming from someone that really likes the Special 25.
Two months ago my friend was selling his Zu Druids and he invited me to audition at his home but he wanted to show me his new SHL5 first. He was using a passive pre-amp and a Cary 805-C. Well, it was probably the first time that I can say that my jaw dropped, what a soundstage, Ana Caram was playing and her voice was floating right above the axis of the speakers, for me it was an eye opening moment. And I thought the Special 25 were very balanced speakers until then. After that I honestly didn't care for the Zus anymore but John gave me a sweet deal and I bought them without the audition. I took them home but I could not stop thinking about the Harbeths. A week later I called my friend again and I proposed to give him back his Zus, my amp in exchange for his Harbeths, some money, swap DACS, etc.. that kind of deal, He is like me and he loves to trade things for the sake of making a deal. Now I don`t feel good about it because he is missing his Harbeths very much and even thought I should do the honorable thing and reverse the deal, I am not returning this speakers and he is presently getting a new pair of SHL5s. I am using them with Naim's cheapest pre and amp. The sound is "golden" compared to the Special 25 "silver". It is warm and sparkling and the amount of bass is equal to the 25's but it is way tighter and no boom at all: I have them in the same spot that I had the Dynaudios but I tried them also very close to the back wall and the bass was very tight with absolutely not a hint of boominess. They define and detail as good but with more transparency and at the same time the sound is not in you face at all. I have listened for whole days and I can't get enought. The other thing about the SHL5 is that in big classical musical(Mahler) and small jazz trios(Monk) the instruments sound like if each one had his own amplification and space, there is no confusing instruments with this speaker. I never paid much atention to soundstage and depth and I can not recall how the 25 were in this regard but this is something that you will notice inmediately with the SHL5, when properly positioned, "image" suddenly for me is not an ethereal thought anymore but a concept as real as "bass" or "top end"
I don`t know anything about the Audia amps but in my room the contest is not even close and that`s coming from someone that really likes the Special 25.