Help me choose: Harbeth 30.2 or SHL5+ XD in a 10 x 13 feet room?

op

i have had every harbeth model - based on your info provided i would advise going with the m30.2 over the super 5 -- you will get too much midbass boom with the 5 without true low end

get a rel sub (a t9 would be plenty) to fill in the bottom, and enjoy

other spurious advice... consider/try proac... more incisive than harbeth brings you closer to the performance

Hello I use the 30.1's in a square room 11x11 areal problem of course but they work great. Quite forgiving and just big enough and contrary to urban legend I listen to and enjoy hard rock on them. Among other attributes they bring forth the subtleties of a Jerry Garcia tone really well when you get them totally dialed in.

Best JS

In my opinion the M30s and the SHL5s are just going to be too much speaker for that room. Even the C7s will be tricky to set up right.

The P3s will be much easier to integrate into that room. They are a bit different than the other Harbeths (sealed boxes) and can be placed closer to the walls. You will probably want one or two subs (REL T/5x would be my suggestion, one may do the trick (depending on your room) but two may be easier to integrate (eliminate nulls and peaks, DSP can be your friend). Don't underestimate the P3s; the only concern would be if you listen to music crushingly loud and like to feel your pants legs flapping from the bass. The M30s in that room would practically force you to listen near-field so reflections will be less of a concern; add a couple of subs and crank those babies 'til you reach audio nirvana!

I have the Harbeth M30.2XD’s with a REL S/510 in an 11.5x11.5 room with much treatment, and they sound fantastic. I have the Harbeths about two feet from the front wall and just over 3 feet from the side walls.

@etph thanks. I’d love to hear about the treatments that you have and how you decided on them. Did you do some measurements with REW and then decided on what to get? It will be awesome if you can post a photo of your setup.