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
Sorry to hear you’re not liking them. Keep breaking them in and don’t give up for several hundred hrs
Sounds like you're new to the BBS monitor philosophy - which are the Harbeth's pedigree. Yes, they have a different "sound". Spendors and the old Rogers also. Live with them for a while and I promise you will become a convert. Nothing else will sound the same after your ear gets trained to what "reality" sounds like.
rrcpa,
I will agree with your analysis. You did not mention some other brands
like Graham, Monitor, ATC, etc. Was that for the sake of brevity?
Not sure 24" out from the wall is going to cut it. You using the correct stands? Try spiking them to a concrete paver.
Yes, like any other loudspeakers they need time to break-in. Give the speakers 200 to 300 hours before they start loosening up as music will flow more freely from the speakers, sounding more unforced.

The amplifier plays a huge role with the Harbeth as you can alter the presentation to your preferences with different amps.