Harbeth 7es3 vs HL5

Thanks Pdreher and Jaybo Sounds logical to me. I have moved the dunlavys as much as possible given the rm boundries-- still too bright; have tried every combination of amps (4) and pre's (3) also I have the brightness tamed as much as possible but still too bright. I had a previous house with a long wall and the dunlavys sounded complety different and much better. I would think the smaller harbeths might be too small I really do like a simple 2 way design though. I guess its time to sell some audio gear and back off this hobby a little - Still fun though

Ryder Any suggestions as for a high quality audiophile speaker that would not be bright and fatiguing like the Dunlavy's and have a great midrange. Something I could actually listen to for extended periods. The last great speaker I had that fit that bill was the Mirage M1 and those were very hard to drive. There are way too many speakers with too much treble extention.I do have a brighter than ave room.I guess my price range is 5K used. Thanks

I forgot to add that if you are solely into natural midrange especially voices, there are few that can match the Harbeth. The Harbeth only lacks the resolution and high frequency extension when compared to speakers that are more revealing in nature ie. Revels, Dynaudios etc. or analytical and bright Thiels(sorry). It's all relative. Those who are into speakers that have extended highs will think of the Harbeth being rolled off in the highs.

It depends on the type of music one listens to as well.

To each his own.

TimK, you can put Spendor SP range and Harbeth in your shortlist if you are looking for natural midrange with smooth highs and low listening fatigue. Both these speakers have BBC heritage and sound quite close although not exactly similar. Used Spendors may be cheaper than the equivalent Harbeths. The advantage of the Harbeth and Spendor is they are easy to drive and don't require high powered amplifiers. A good quality integrated which is able to provide a decent amount of current will be more than sufficient.

Another speaker with less piercing highs is Sonus Faber. My experience with the older Cremona range and Grand Piano reveals these to be even more rolled off in the highs than the Harbeth as if a blanket is covering these speakers. The midrange and clarity isn't as good as the Harbeth and the sound is quite colored. The higher SF models(Guarneri Homage upwards) are better in this regard.

There may be other speakers that fit the bill. Others can probably recommend.

Another contender might be a pair of used Avalon Ascendants. Might be slightly over your budget but you wouldn't need a sub. They are very musical and don't have an etched high end. I listened to the Harbeth's and liked the tonal signiture of those speakers. The avalons are just more focused, transparent and musical in my opinion.