JimP Posted June 15, 2008 Report Posted June 15, 2008 OK picked up a pair of Harbeth P3ES-2 locally at a decent price. Hooked up to my old Bryston B60R integrated (60wpc 8ohm) fed by 840c (spinning CDs and also fed optically by a macmini). I need to cook this in for awhile, but damn it sounds really nice. Listening to Beck/Sea Change now in nearfield mode. I'm really enjoying the freedom from headphone strapped to my head (of course, if I'm going to rock out with my ___ out, I still reach for the headphones so as not to disturb the household). I still have an Omega sat/sub system on order to mate with my Almarro flea power amp for a setup in a different room. I may be done with headphones -- keep 2 or 3, otherwise they're superfluous. (btw, the reason I'm not going monster he-man floor standing speakers is that living space in HK is tight, take your average room space in the US and divide by four...)
Dusty Chalk Posted June 15, 2008 Report Posted June 15, 2008 Harbeths are supposed to be good. Glad you like, and thanks for the impressions. If you ever get the urge to try something else, you have to try something from the BBC LS3/5A lineage of speakers. And/or Quad 12L's. And I've actually managed to make mah Dynaudio Special 25's sound good in nearfield listening.
Augsburger Posted June 15, 2008 Report Posted June 15, 2008 Congratulations Jim, the Harbeths are a very nice accurate monitor and Harbeth has more than enough models to help you upgrade through the audio chain and down the road to poverty. I spend more and more time when I can listening to my speaker systems, but there are always times for some good headphone listening. Don't give up on your cans until well after the honeymoon period with the speakers has run its course. I am a firm believer in break/burn in for speakers so I would be interested if you notice any improvement or changes over the next three months.
n_maher Posted June 15, 2008 Report Posted June 15, 2008 Oh man, I love those Harbeths - time for some desktop speaker stands.
guzziguy Posted June 15, 2008 Report Posted June 15, 2008 Oh man, I love those Harbeths - time for some desktop speaker stands. I'm sure that Steve could fix you up with a nice combination speaker stand and diaper holder.
aerius Posted June 16, 2008 Report Posted June 16, 2008 You know what's fun? You can test out your Harbeths with a test recording made by the Harbeth designer himself. Linky to the post. You'll need the MP3Pro codec for winamp to play it at full quality. The interview & discussion is also quite informative.
JimP Posted June 22, 2008 Author Report Posted June 22, 2008 Am I the only one to 'Click here to see boobies'? Uh, I did it twice. Anyway, I am very much enjoying these Harbeths. So much so nearfield, that I sold my K1000 (waiting for Dusty Chalk to go berserk on me). I'm still waiting for my Omega Super 5/Deep Hemp Cube subs for a separate application. For headphones, I still use HD650 and DT880-600ohm, but I've pretty much gone over to speakers.
guzziguy Posted June 22, 2008 Report Posted June 22, 2008 Am I the only one to 'Click here to see boobies'? Uh, I did it twice. Anyway, I am very much enjoying these Harbeths. So much so nearfield, that I sold my K1000 (waiting for Dusty Chalk to go berserk on me). I'm still waiting for my Omega Super 5/Deep Hemp Cube subs for a separate application. For headphones, I still use HD650 and DT880-600ohm, but I've pretty much gone over to speakers. That's my view on the K1000. It's a "speaker" for people that live in apartments, condos or otherwise can't play a regular speaker system. The K1000 gives a lot of the speaker experience without disturbing neighbors, family members, etc.
Fitz Posted June 22, 2008 Report Posted June 22, 2008 Am I the only one to 'Click here to see boobies'? Uh, I did it twice. I've done it more times than I'd like to think.
Dusty Chalk Posted June 22, 2008 Report Posted June 22, 2008 So much so nearfield, that I sold my K1000 (waiting for Dusty Chalk to go berserk on me).(goes berserk on Jim P)
Augsburger Posted June 23, 2008 Report Posted June 23, 2008 That's my view on the K1000. It's a "speaker" for people that live in apartments, condos or otherwise can't play a regular speaker system. The K1000 gives a lot of the speaker experience without disturbing neighbors, family members, etc. Ahhhh welcome to the club. X2
JimP Posted June 23, 2008 Author Report Posted June 23, 2008 (goes berserk on Jim P) I knew it! (groveling in a bloody pulp now...) Truth be told, one of the things I'm very sensitive to is comfort - I tried my best 'hairshirt' routine. I loved Grados (had PS-1, HHF-1, RS-1) but ultimately couldn't stand them on my head. I loved the K1000 even more but the temple pressure always bothered me. Maybe it's my head shape. So the headphones I'm keeping - HD650/HD580 and DT880-600ohm are the most comfortable, if not sonically the best. I don't have a lot of experience with speakers or nearfield application, so the Harbeths were a bit of a punt for me. With some extended listen now, I am very pleased, even at low to medium volume, the soundstage is holographic (and more natural than headphones??), and all the detail I appreciated with the headphones, is still there with the Harbeths. Don't want to sound like a Harbeth fanboy (I'm sure there are other speakers that deliver the goods), but this would rank as one of the most satisfying audio purchases I've made in a long time.
Dusty Chalk Posted June 23, 2008 Report Posted June 23, 2008 ...the temple pressure always bothered me...Yeah, I have to admit -- I doubt I'd wear it 8 hours a day....the soundstage is holographic (and more natural than headphones??)Of course it is -- with music that was recorded for reproduction on speakers (I.E. most of it). The only exception would be binaurally recorded music, and that would have a more natural soundstage on headphones (vs. speakers), but that's the exception, not the rule. For most of the music I listen to, soundstage is nonexistant -- neither headphone nor speaker -- so I don't care. Most of the time.
JimP Posted July 4, 2008 Author Report Posted July 4, 2008 OK my Omega Super 5's and Cube Hemp Sub have come in. I've hastily set them up, using some cheapo bookshelves as ad hoc speaker stands. My camera sucks but the finish is birdseye maple front and mahagony burl side/top. Only have them out of the box for few hours now, so can't comment on sound yet (but sounds very promising, quite disorientating that a single driver speaker can deliver this fulsome sound). My 4.5wpc 8ohm Almarro get's them plenty loud at 9 o'clock volume. Using cheap DVD player to Apogee miniDAC as source for now. Haven't had time to unpack the matching sub. The Super 5's are bigger than I anticipated, the Super Hemps must be huge in comparison.
Nenso Posted July 6, 2008 Report Posted July 6, 2008 wow congrats man.. looks so nice.. I hope we can get some impressions soon
JimP Posted January 27, 2009 Author Report Posted January 27, 2009 Same stuff, but finally got around to setting up in new apartment. My aspiration to set up a proper 2-channel system in the living room is a no-go, with my 17 month old daughter now running around (what was I thinking buying this stuff?). However, the fall-back set-up in my den, in near field suboptimal arrangement (shown in photo**) sounds amazingly good. 80% of my listening is through this, and when I need a headphone fix, good old HD650 or HD580 single-ended through GS-1 is sufficient. The LDVI sitting on top for that last drop of balanced headphone experience or to nudge up the ambient temperature (as good as it sounds, it'll probably go sometime this year). My desk/computer is about 3-4 ft away from this setup, speaker single driver is about ear-level. macmini-->optical out-->840c-->GS-1 as preamp*-->Almarro A205AmkII (4.5wpc)-->Omega Super 5 (custom side ported) *did not intend to use as preamp, but works fantastic as preamp to give me precise and wide volume control with Almarro, the lack of which use to drive me crazy with this amp) **camera flash makes it look like the left speaker grill is dented. weird (My Leben CS300 + Harbeth P3ES will be set up in the bedroom, fed by Airport Express-->miniDAC as source. Not sure which I like better, will keep both systems for now).
Hopstretch Posted January 27, 2009 Report Posted January 27, 2009 Nice setup! I like my GS-1 a lot as a preamp, too.
JimP Posted January 27, 2009 Author Report Posted January 27, 2009 Headamp should market the preamp feature more prominently - it's a fantastic preamp.
aardvark baguette Posted January 27, 2009 Report Posted January 27, 2009 I'm a bit surprised to hear the Omega's can hold their own against Harbeths. Unless I misinterpreted your post.
Dusty Chalk Posted January 27, 2009 Report Posted January 27, 2009 Dang, those Omega Super 5's look nice! I'm a big fan of nearfield setups, even when they're not necessarily meant to be.
aardvark baguette Posted January 27, 2009 Report Posted January 27, 2009 Yeah, I was looking at the omega website today. Their maple finish would match my desks perfectly
JimP Posted January 28, 2009 Author Report Posted January 28, 2009 I'm a bit surprised to hear the Omega's can hold their own against Harbeths. Unless I misinterpreted your post. I'm prevented to set either up in a full-room set-up on proper stands, etc, so who knows which is better that way. In nearfield like the photo, I like the Omegas a bit more - more 'live' sounding if that makes any sense. (the piece that unlocked my enjoyment of the Omegas is the GS-1 as preamp - now I can make micro volume adjustments over a wide range, which is important sitting so close to the speakers).
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now