I have 3 pairs of Harbeth speakers. The 7s, Super Hl5s, and the M30s.
The M30s are wonderful, even having some bass. But I play classical exclusively and all of these need help in the bass. The HL5s seem a little dark, but I use Tubes and maybe they just need a high power transistor Amp to really shine. I have 70 watts of EAR power but maybe it needs more. Something to consider....Benchmark seems to be the call of the day for that, IMO, if you want value.
As I said, the M30s are beautiful but lack real bass, of course.
The 7s also lack real bass but are uncannily transparent. As Tom Gillett, or Sam Telig once quipped, I feel as if I "can reach out and goose a first violinist." I presumed no sexist intent, but that line led me to buy them.
After I bought them, I bought a brand new pair oh SHL5s, thinking that I would keep the presence, but gain bass. I got more bass (not "real'bass but more than I had), but lost the immediacy. I find the 7s so tactile that I now prefer them above the others and will fill in the bass very soon. But the 7s are so immediate, it's ok (for now) to miss some bass. There is more bass than the 3s, which I have heard but don't own. But its weird for a lower speaker in the line to be preferable to a more expensive and larger sibling. I even asked Harbeth about this, but got no reply (big surprise...).
So my ideal would be a pair of 7s with a good and flexible sub. Hearing good things about SVS......
I hope this helped someone!
