2. speakers
  3. 157654-7527

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
big_greg
6,554 posts
 
big_greg,

He said any competently designed amplifier played back at the SAME volume would be indistinguishable from any other.

I believe he is right.

Give or take the odd tube design, but even they are now sounding like SS amplifiers!
I'd invite you to come listen while I switch my amps from the 4 ohm to 8 ohm taps or between triode and ultralinear.
bobheinatz
705 posts
 
I have owned and enjoyed Harbeth's 5's.  There are numerous posts here that I think are just way off.  You either like the sound of Harbeths or you don't.   In my experience there was no getting use to the sound before I liked it. It either sounds like music or it doesn't.  
Alan Shaw may be a great designer and his crossovers are seamless but his speakers sound better with the grills off and sound best with a good tube amp. 
donjr
1,335 posts
 
I will tell you that your stands will make all the difference in the world with the Super HL5's. I'm not sure what you have those speakers sitting on but the bottom of the speakers needs to be sitting on something that has an open bottom. If you're in the U.S., check out resonantwoods.com. I have the Linear II stands and it made all the difference in the world. Don't listen to anyone on the Harbeth forum. They're very nice people but they've succumbed to brain washing. I used to own the C7 and went with their recommendation on stands and it was wrong. Once those speakers went onto a stand that wasn't a completely solid surface, they opened up to the point they sounded like a completely different speaker.
routeman21 OP
110 posts
 
donjr,

I am using the Skylan 18" stands with the columns unfilled.
rcalderon
19 posts
 
Placement, placement... please. It takes a while because a small adjustment is noticeable. Right speaker pointing somewhere between nose and left shoulder, and Of course  the same but oposite side. Yes it is a lot of toe in. It took me several months of trial and error. But when you find it you’ll know. I’m 3’ feet from front wall and 41/2 from side walls. Speakers are around 8pm’ apart. This will be different for every room. I would really like for you to experience them when properly placed, give it try, they do sound amazing, have fun with it. Good luck
More to discover