Moving up the Harbeth line


I was fortunate to move my home office to another room which is a bit bigger than the previous one. Dimensions are 12x13 with almost 20-foot ceilings. As much as I love my Harbeth P3esr's, I can't help but notice that they've been outclassed by the bigger room, especially the high ceiling. This pair of speakers has been a mainstay in my home office/study for a number of years, and I find it to be a perfect fit for my listening habits and music preferences. But in the new setting, it's not able to fill the room as well as it used to. For examples, horns and piano now sound much smaller and distant. So that got me thinking of an upgrade. I have been using a Raven Audio Blackhawk MK3 for a few months and would want to stick with it if possible. There are very few speakers that have allowed me to make an emotional connection with the music, and Harbeth is certainly one of them. So my preference is to stay with the brand.

Now, before the 'search bar is your best friend' folks come swinging at me, I have read a few threads on similar topics but they all seem to be inconclusive, or at least I'm not able to decipher a reasonable consensus. Having spent way too much money on this addiction, err, hobby, in the last 12 months, I have to resort to buying used equipment only, and that too has to wait for at least 2-3 months. So, doing an in-house demo is going to be difficult if not impossible. And, AFAIK, there are no dealers nearby (Dallas area) either.

I would love to hear from people who have moved up the Harbeth food chain. The M30.x seems to be a logical next step, but I see an equal number of negative opinions (too polite, too boxy, pipe and slippers) as positive ones. Is there anyone who thinks that the M30 retains the same magic as the P3esr's but serves it in relatively bigger portions? Because that's what I'm mainly looking for to be honest -- a bigger version of P3esr. Or do you think the cons negate the pros offered by the bigger cabinet size?

Next up is SHL5+. Again, the opinions vary widely. Some are saying that this particular model deviates the most from the classic Harbeth sound. Another concern is that my room might be too small for them (?). Also, I cannot pull them more than one and a half feet from the front wall. Is that going to result in ugly bass problems?

I'm not against trying another brand, but would prefer an opinion that is based on an actual comparison with Harbeth speakers.
128x128arafiq
My experience with the models is that they are a family, but not a nuclear one.  The P3ESR is like an only child.  The Monitors (30 and 40) are one set of siblings while the C7ES3 and the SHL5+ are another set of siblings.  They are all cousins and you can tell they are family, but the siblings' similarities are much more noticeable.
I found a used pair of Super HL5+ in rosewood at a very reasonable price. Should be getting it in a few days. I'll compare it to 30.1 for a month or so, and decide if I want to keep the SHL5+ or replace with a 30.2.

Right now, I'm really loving the 30.1. It's by far the most engaging speaker I've ever owned. Let's see how the SHL5+ competes with it.
Just to clarify, the M30.1s will stay in my home office for a long time. The SH5+ are for the media room, and will be replacing SF Olympica II.
I'll be interested in hearing your thoughts on the 30.1 compared to the Super HL5 Plus.  I have those and the P3ESR and have had some listening sessions at a friend's house with the 40.2, but haven't heard any of the 30 series.  The fact that you like them better than the P3ESR says a lot.  I go through a lot of gear and nothing is "sacred", but if there's anything I have a hard time imagining leaving my system, it's the P3ESR.  I went through a lot of speakers trying to find the "goldilocks" speakers for my near field computer system and have been super happy with mine.
I've owned the SHL5s, the 30's and the P3s and IMO, it's all about how they interface with your room.  In my room, the 30's did not work at all - sounded like everything below 80hz was missing.  The little P3s do much better for me.  The SHL5s worked much better in my room and I don't know why people keep saying they don't work well in smaller spaces.  I really wanted the 30s to work out, but they just didn't.