Joseph Audio Perspective2 vs Harbeth SHL5+

@prof Thanks! I have to say that your observations were spot on. I didn't mention how well the speakers disappear. But this is one area where I can say that the SHL5+ stands shoulder to shoulder with the Perspectives.

When I was writing the comparison, I was very well aware that I was comparing SHL5+ to a speaker that retails for twice the price. At its asking price, the Harbeth SHL5+ is a phenomenal performer. It does so many things right, and definitely brings the special IT factor that makes it stand out amongst a crowd of similarly priced speakers. Hopefully, my comparison didn't come out as a knock against SHL5+. It is still a speaker that I love and have no hesitation in recommending to anyone in the 10K~ price bracket.

@ryder Agree with you about the bass response (or lack thereof) on SHL5+. Personally, I think the use of a subwoofer (or two) is a must to get maximum performance out of SHL5+. Nonetheless, it is a great speaker by any measure.

I have only heard its big brother, 40.x, a couple of times -- once at a dealer, and another time at an audiophile’s home. I feel that it addresses any shortcomings in SHL5+ and builds on its strengths. Although for some reason, it didn’t have the family resemblance with SHL5+. It sounded like a speaker from a different company. I would love to be able to own the 40.x at some point in this journey, but for now it is a little too rich for my blood, even at used prices. I wonder if anyone has compared it against JA Perspective2 or Pearl for that matter.

arafiq

How happy where you with the soundstage DEPTH on the Harbeth?

As I've said before, that was probably the biggest deficit when I had them.  For some reason their soundstage was shallower than pretty much any speaker I've owned, things "pulled in to the room" rather than "back wall melting away depth" I get with other speakers.

I've mentioned that the Harbeth have a bit more natural "texture" vs the Joseph speakers (which are super smooth).  I've found that my CJ tube amplification, especially my CJ preamp, gives a bit more body and cut-through-the-air texture to the sound, so it gets closer to the best of both worlds.  (Vinyl helps with that as well).

@prof I was quite satisfied with the soundstage depth of SHL5+, but it all depends on your reference point. It is quite possible that you were getting better depth from other speakers and the SHL5+ fell short in comparison.

Also, note that I’m still fussing around with finding the best position for the Perspectives. Initially, I had them towed in at almost the same angle as my Harbeths. On Saturday, I reduce the angle by quite a bit, so now the toe-in is minimal (maybe 15 degrees), and I noticed that the soundstage got even wider. The funny thing is that the center image is more ’filled out’ and the vocals are dead center. I usually got this effect with other speakers when the toe in angle was greater. These JAs seem to be different in this aspect. I will continue to experiment with positioning next weekend.