Spendor D7 vs. Harbeth Super HL5+

Anyone who has heard both? Comparisons? I own the Harbeth. Curious about the difference with the Spendor. What brand and type of amp used. Thanks!

routeman2105-31-2020 5:07am

Showing 6 responses by twoleftears

twoleftears Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 5,313 posts 06-01-2020 at 04:55pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete Heard the SHL5+ in one system, and I actually found them rather bright. In the same system/room I preferred PMC Twenty/24's. Different system/room. Heard the Spendor D7 vs. Spendor Classic 100. No contest. The Classic 100 was far superior in every way, full-bodied, balanced, impactful. D7 sounded malnourished and unnatural in the treble by comparison (perhaps it wasn't fully run in). Heard the Harbeth 40.2 in a third locale and loved it--either it or the system/room had a very different presentation to the SHL5+. Going on aural memory alone, preferred the 40.2 by a short head to the Classic 100.
twoleftears Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 5,313 posts 06-02-2020 at 05:30pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete Well said @prof BTW, if you ever decide to go with standmounts for your second system, I'm pretty sure you would really enjoy one of Fritz's offerings.
twoleftears Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 5,313 posts 06-03-2020 at 05:14pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete In the D7 vs. Classic 100 comparison (remember: made by the same company), it wasn't just the D7's tweeter that I didn't like, it was the whole upper/mid range that sounded undernourished and constrained and unnatural by comparison to the '100, plus overall there was considerably less impact compared to the wave launch offered by the '100. It's a real pity this model isn't more widely auditionable in the U.S. But people (spouses) want narrow speakers for the décor, and Spendor now actually vaunts this narrowness in its print ads. A sad thing.
twoleftears Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 5,313 posts 06-04-2020 at 06:16pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete I do question the presence of that "supertweeter" in the SHL5+, that isn't there in other Harbeth models. I know the BBC model that it's based on had one too, but why?
twoleftears Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 5,313 posts 06-07-2020 at 08:53pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete FWIW=0. Stereophile reviews and rankings are notoriously unreliable. Their love affairs with some (just some) speakers are inexplicable.
twoleftears Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 5,313 posts 06-09-2020 at 04:55pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete Remember, people, that Spendor still actually makes the Classic line of speakers, that derives from the BBC heritage. https://www.spendoraudio.com/classic-loudspeakers/

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