Speakers (and system) for a small-ish room

Finally took the plunge and bought the Harbeth P3esr's along with the Naim Unitiqute today. Have been playing it for the last 2-3 hours. Right now, the stands are on order so they're sitting on a really small console which is not very sturdy. Only 6 inches from the wall and only a little over two feet apart. The first word that came to my mind after listening to them is 'polite', followed by 'balanced'. Obviously, with the speakers being only 2 feet apart, there's not much of a soundstage.

Definitely a very different presentation from my KEF LS50w's. So far I have not found them to be as enjoyable as the KEFs. The KEF's imaging is more precise. But I guess I should wait for my stands and position them properly before forming an opinion.

I used to build a small system with speakers being 2 feet apart and I got a clear soundstage. Remember to keep some distance between the wall and your speakers. The sturdiest speaker stands I have ever used are DIY. I stacked three Concrete Blocks ($1.35/each) sold by Home Depot and glued them in between as a stand. If you think they are ugly, you may wrap them with a fabric in the color you like. 

Now I built a medium system in my living room and learned that the  Stereo Imaging is influenced by the length of audio cables. The imaging with a pair of 3 meter long cables is larger than the imaging with a pair of 1.5 meter long cables. They sound like the difference between watching a 70 inch and 46 inch LED TVs in my living room.

To see if your Unitiqute is powerful enough, you may use this Calculator to find out.

I’ve been faced with similar issues. I own with very good impressions; Tetra 120u, Totem - Rainmakers, Dreamcatchers, EPOS elan 10, Silverline minuet supreme plus, Silverline 17’s
finally what has evolved is keeping them as I purchased and switch them around periodically. If I narrow the list to most favorite...
EPOs elan 10, Totems ....I enjoy them all for various reasons, the last two mentioned stand out more often it seems. 
Good luck!

So a quick update on the P3s...

Initially, I was not much impressed with the little Harbeths. Since then I bought new stands (based on @yogiboy ’s recommendation) and filled them with play sand. The stands gave me the flexibility to place the speakers about 1.5 ft from the wall and roughly 4 feet apart.

I cannot believe the impact that stands have had on the performance of these speakers. I can say without hesitation that these little gems are everything they’ve been cracked up to be, and then some more. My initial fears of the Naim Unitiqute being underpowered were unfounded. In my room (10x13 and 12 ft ceilings), the amp is more than sufficient. This is my first Naim gear, and I must say that I’m really impressed with the control and finesse this little guy brings to the table.

So how do they compare to the KEF LS50 wireless? I think it’s a very difficult decision to make. They both bring something to the table that I enjoy. I still feel that KEF is one of the best mini-monitors that I’ve owned in terms of imaging and clarity. They definitely hold their own when listening at moderate to high volume. I have them set up in a much bigger room than the one housing the P3s, so obviously that has to be taken into consideration.

Now on to the Harbeths ... it takes some time to get used to their presentation style. But, boy once you’re on the hook, they are addictive. I had only read about their mid-range prowess but it is something that has to be experienced first hand to relate to the reviews and high praise. I can safely say that it is the best $1150 I have spent in this hobby so far. There’s a certain fullness and tonal balance in the overall sound that I had never experienced before. Bass might not be their high point, but what you get is taut and controlled and very satisfying. Not once did I feel like I need to add a sub to the mix. The sound is delicious as it is. I can listen to my music for hours with zero fatigue. Last year, I had demoed a Sonus Faber Olympica 1 driven by expensive tube gear at a dealer. I remember being smitten by the effortless and holographic sound. I know that the Nami Unitiqute is SS and not really a powerhouse but somehow there is a certain ’tubyness’ (if that’s a word lol) that reminds me of the SF combo I heard.

For low to moderate level listening, I feel that the Harbeths far surpass the KEFs. There’s something just so intimate and comforting about their sound. The KEFs hold their own when cranked up though, this is where I think the P3s start to show some weakness, but that’s probably the intended design choice.

In short, when I feel like listening to my music, my feet tend to walk themselves toward the study (P3s) somehow. Oh, and lastly, my wife who usually doesn’t care much about how the speakers look told me that the P3s are classy and blend in with the overall decor of the study.

I was on the fence a few weeks ago, so thank you to everyone who encouraged me to give the P3s a try.

So glad you have come to like them. I love mine too. They are indeed glorious with a midrange to die for, a very clean bass and no harshness at all. The little Naim will indeed be enough in such a very small room. But as you say at higher listening levels you are already experiencing limitations - I think those are from the Naim and not from the Harbeths. Of course such small speakers have dynamic limitations, but they would be far less with a beefier amplifier (I use a refurbished 2x100 watt Quad 405-2 in my 18 sq m study). Alan Shaw recently demonstrated them at the Bristol Audio show using a 2x100 watt Yamaha AS 701. In a larger room they can also benefit enormously from a subwoofer (or preferably two, plus Antimode 8033 room eq). I did that as an experiment in our living room (using a refurbished 2x140 watt Quad 606-2), and the result was pretty spectacular even if the system could not quite fill this large room. Integration was perfect, making for a strange sensation of deep bass seemingly coming out of these tiny boxes.
As for stands, the crucial thing is to have the tweeters at ear height, and as accurately as you can achieve.