Harbeth Super HL5 plus Break-in


The following is an excerpt from the Harbeth User Guide:

"After exercising your new Harbeths for just a few hours they will be fully ready for a lifetime of enjoyment".

After going to the Harbeth site it pretty much said the same thing as the user guide but added that the supertweeter would take a little longer to break-in.
My new Harbeth's sounded the same after I put on around the first 100 hours so I believed the above until around the 120-150 hour mark I noticed (or so I think) the midrange sounding more realistic to the point of more enjoyment! I don't know if I'm actually hearing an improvement or I'm just getting used to the Harbeth sound since the 5's are my first experience with Harbeth in my listening room.

I would like to hear others that have owned or still own the Super 5's and whether or not you have experienced the same thing as me or something else.
routeman21
I have never owned a speaker that didn't stop changing through 250 hours or so. 
Mainly the bass is impacted as the driver suspension, motor assembly and surrounds have loosened their grip slightly.  Also the tweeters tend to sound smoother because of their own break in but also a warmer overall sound signature caused by more efficient bass response.  
The most drastic changes happened to a set of PSB towers where the bass became so elevated as to dominate the sound and I had to sell them.  
My Harbeth C7ES3 also increased its bass response and was left with a very nicely smooth tweeter after 250 hrs.  

So far I have ~ 200 hrs on the SHL5+'s and they have definitely changed their sound since out of the box. 

In the mean time the SHL5+'s tonality can be altered with things like placement from wall (24" mimimum), toe in -on axis yields a stronger bass response/ smoother top end, mild toe-in yields a more forward sound - all impressions at a nearfield listening setup.
Stand height brings the air and sparkle with a higher tweeter at or slightly above ear level.  Grilles off also make for more transparency, dynamics and air.  
avanti1960,

You responded to my Spendor D7 vs. Harbeth SLH5+ discussion. Thanks for returning. At right around the 100 hour mark of burn-in with my new Harbeth's I was going to give up and put them up for sale because I wasn't hearing any improvement. I didn't like the sound at all. Too soft sounding and thumpy overall with my CJ tube amp. Now at approx. 150 hours I am experiencing what others have spoke & written about them. There is definitely an increase in the musicality of the sound, the bass has tightened up and the overall texture and tone is more to my liking. There definitely is more sparkle. I did try to toe in a little bit but returned them to their original angle which is more toed out like I do with all of my speakers. I get a sharper center stage. I cannot pull them out more than 24" rom the front wall. I am hoping for more improvement but am not sold on them just yet. I am fussy an am always looking for more refinement but don't want to spend too much. Impossible I know. I am considering moving to Magnepan 3.7i with twin woofers. I owned the MG-IIIa Maggies for 18 years before selling. Also, Devore Fidelity looks interesting. For now, I will keep listening to the Harbeth's and hopefully keep hearing improvements. Maybe I'll actually keep them for awhile (Don't bet on it). Thanks for your input, as always!
Sorry to hear you’re not liking them. Keep breaking them in and don’t give up for several hundred hrs