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Recommendations for speakers that sound great at lower volume levels.

I have a pair of Harbeth SHL5 Plus and they sound wonderful when I crank them up. But at moderate to low volume levels they sound disappointingly flat and unengaging - instruments are less palpable, bass has less bloom, and soundstage has less air and dimensionality. I drive my speakers with a tube integrated - a Line Magnetic 845 rated at 26 watts of power. My Harbeths are rated at 86db. Would a higher sensitivity speaker be helpful? Or how about a good quality small shoebox sized pair of speakers coupled with a subwoofer? Or not. What speakers are going to deliver music you can feel at low volume levels? What say all you wisened audiophiles?
128x128neptune123
joey54
431 posts
 
I owned the Harbeth SHL5 Plus and earlier versions of the SHL5 and they all sounded great at low volumes. I actually bought them for that reason. The issue is more likely to be your amplifier. Harbeth's, when used with SS amps like Ayre, Aesthetix, Naim, Musical Fidelity and many others excel at low volume. 

I've have never heard a Harbeth speaker that sounds good with any tube amplifier though many others will disagree. If you like your amp you should work with a Line Magnetic dealer to find the right speaker for your requirements. You might also find a dealer who would loan you a SS amplifier to try in your system to see if the Harbeth's might actually meet your low volume needs.

Good Luck!
jgoldrick's avatar
jgoldrick
138 posts
 
I have Salk Exotica Raal monitors.  I can highly recommend them for low level listening.  I marvel at the sound every day.  I listen a good portion of the day while working.  
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,408 posts
 
Quad ESL.
terry9
2,210 posts
 
This afternoon I was listening to my Quad ESLs at very low volume: pure magic. BUT not bass you can feel - I think that's impossible at low volume.
audioman58's avatar
audioman58
3,832 posts
 
Spatial Audio Labs X3, and X 5 open baffle speakers.
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