Harbeth P3ESR v Spendor SA1v Proac One

[admin_exported]

Hello all

I am looking at upgrading my speakers, a pair of B&W CM1 s to go with my naim cdx (xps) nac102 (hicap flatcap), nap 180.

As much as I like the speakers I feel a "warmer" speaker could improve on too much brightness and too much uncontrolled bass. I don't want a woolly speaker or rolled off highs, I love the detail I am getting with the system. Given the amp's power 2x60w I would like the speaker ought to be easy to drive as well.

I can easily audition Spendor SA1 but would have difficulty in getting hold of Harbeths or Proacs. Has anyone had to compare any combination of the three speakers mentioned in view of the two areas mentioned? I would also like the speaker to be fairly quick, I found the CM1s a bit slow at times.

All suggestions appreciated.

Thanks

Pat

 

[Anonymous]

Im interested in answers on this one, as I have heard very good things about the Harbeths warmth and sound. depends how much room you have behing the speaker and how much bass your looking for as well.

 

[Anonymous]

Stereophile have done a review of the Harbeth P3ESR very recently and they also breifly contrast the sound with the SA1s. David from Frank Harvey Hifi recently suggested that the ATC SCM7 did much of what the SA1 does for a lot less money and I doubt you'll find any hint of treble rolloff with them. The nSats are very good too, but audition before buying as they're not for everyone.

I'd suggest trying the SA1s if they're easy to audition, even just for a point of reference. They do have a slightly rolled off treble giving them a slightly dark character. The Harbeths are less warm apparently.

 

[Anonymous]

It's really hard to get hold of the Harbeths here in the South-West. You need to travel to London to have a listen. The reviews for Harbeths are reall good and as pointed out they are pretty close in comparison ( I have seen the review, thanks). I think that the only option at the moment is to listen to Spendors and if I find them too dull I may need to go for Harbeths, with a "blind" buy.

 

[Anonymous]

If auditioning all isn't an option, that sounds like a good approach. Can you try ATCs too?

You've got Gulliford Hifi in Exeter that may have the Proac Response D1. That could be worth a punt too.

 

[Anonymous]

I just bought the Harbeth P3ESR rosewood version, I feel its sound stage is actaully better than its higher models when I try it at the showroom. However, physics is physics, you cannot expect much low end bass on this speaker unless you team it up with a sub.

I used it with my Arcam A38 integrated and also tried it with my AR LS1 with two Bryston 4B, even the 100W from the integrated amp is enough to drive it, the approx 500W per channel 4B definitely do a better job. If your amp is only at 60W, you might be looking to upgrade it after you have the new speaker.

Mind you, most small size monitor are labelled for and can be driven by lower output amp for marketing reason, but to get the most out of it and get a more open sound, it is always the more power the merrier.

 

[Bodfish]

Before I rationalised/side-graded/down-graded my system, I used to have a pair of P3ESR's sat on the end of five-figures worth of DNM amplification and they were quite easily the best 'bookshelf' speaker I've ever heard. I did a little write up of them on this forum if you search on my user name I'm sure it'll pop up.

I wouldn't personally class Harbeth as 'warm' sounding per se - they are 'natural' sounding speakers and your amp is more than capable of driving them. If you 'have to' buy blind (and I would over the SA1 and D1) I'd encourage you to have a good look at Harbeth's user group which contains a huge amount of information and eminently sensible advice about the products and hifi in general.

Oh, and I'd also suggest they are at their best on a light-weight open framed stand such as the Something Solid XF.

 

[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

Having heard all three together on a Naim system I hope this will be of help. They are, of course, my own opinions based on my personal preferences and experience. The Harbeth speaker is the most natural sounding of the three, in that real musical instruments sound lifelike and produce a large expansive sound stage. The bass is very tight and controlled, a hallmark of sealed box designs. Tiny ports can 'chuff' badly and cause massive distortion in the low frequency range of a small speaker. The overall presentation is that of a seamless frequency range and great musical involvement, you soon forget the speakers. The Spendors are close, after all they do have BBC backgrounds with similar ideas on cabinets, for example, but a rolled off treble makes them sound a bit shut in and distant, pleasant though, but don't match the Harbeths 'naturalness' and clarity. The ProAcs are punchier in the upper bass with a slight prescence dip that makes them sound a bit distant and a treble uplift that adds extra sparkle at the frequency extremes. At high volumes the ProAc's never get 'shouty', due to the prescence dip, and so benefit being played loud. All the speakers are beautifully constructed using the highest quality parts and materials. The Harbeths use a traditional BBC cabinet approach with screwed on front and rear panels, to reduce cabinet colouration. Using alternative amps and CD players( Sonneteer, Sugden ) the general outcome was the same.

 

[paradiziac]

John Darko's blog has a review of the P3ESR.

I reached a very similar conclusion with the C7 ES3.

Great for acoustic, jazz, vocals.

Otherwise boring.

I felt before dismissing them I should have tried them with lots of power, but ironically that is not recommended by their designer, as the aforementioned reviewer points out.

If you like a fast speaker and/or beat-driven music, don't get Harbeths without first hearing them with your amp.

 

[chebby]

.

 

[wulff]

After comparing almost all of the usual suspects when it comes to small speakers (except for the SA1) I bought the Harbeth P3ESR. Together with the ATC SCM7 and 11 they produced a clear window to the music with no apparent colorations. The music seemed to occur free of the boxes with precise and excellent dynamics. However the ATCs had a "dead" sound compared to the richness of the Harbeths. Especially voices were very life-like on the Harbeths. The ProAcs and most of the other speakers had colorations that made them sound a little "boxy".

As others have stated the Harbeths are not warm sounding, but neutral. I use them with a wide range of music (vocal based, singer-songwriter, krautrock and electronica). They do not sound boring.

 

[paulhh1967]

@ Harbeth boring :wall:

The Harbetties are speakers for music listeners and lovers, definitely not boring when feeded with real good music.

 

[audiokid]

I think the Doug Brady chap has hit the nail on the head.

I can't see why you would opt for the Spendor over the Harbeth. They have some similarities, but the Harbeths just have more realsim and clarity IMO.

The Proacs are a different signature. They have greater frequency extremes and appear to have more detail on first listen, but after home demos, the Harbeths win every time for me. The Proacs might be suited to louder volumes and rock / electronic through.

I do like the Proac D2 over the D1, but stepping up the ladder, I prefer the Harbeth M30.1 to all the aforementioned. They're amazing!

 

[HiMyFi]

I can't see why you would opt for the Spendor over the Harbeth. They have some similarities, but the Harbeths just have more realsim and clarity IMO.

This! Couln't agree more. Much sharper sound overall.

 

[Richard Allen]

Hi.

The Harbeth P3s are in the classic BBC design and I think look absolutely beautiful on their website. My SM35C is in the same ilk as the P3 and that does go loud compared to other closed box designs. Without ports you won't get the chuffing previously mentioned here and, of course, will play closer to a wall.

My vote is for the P3. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

 

[chebby]

Spendor make the S3/5R2s for about £900 per pair. These are deliberately designed to be more in the 'classic' BBC mini monitor style than the SA1s and could be worth tracking down if SA1s and Harbeths are a little too expensive for you.

In a different vein completely (to infinite baffle bookshelf speakers and KEF LS50s) there are the Guru Juniors for £800.

 

[eddie_baby]

John Darko's blog has a review of the P3ESR.

I reached a very similar conclusion with the C7 ES3.

Great for acoustic, jazz, vocals.

Otherwise boring.

I felt before dismissing them I should have tried them with lots of power, but ironically that is not recommended by their designer, as the aforementioned reviewer points out.

If you like a fast speaker and/or beat-driven music, don't get Harbeths without first hearing them with your amp.

I found this a very interesting and good review of the Harbeths. Still would love to own a set one day, they are still on my must own list.

 

[Macspur]

John Darko's blog has a review of the P3ESR.

I reached a very similar conclusion with the C7 ES3.

Great for acoustic, jazz, vocals.

Otherwise boring.

I felt before dismissing them I should have tried them with lots of power, but ironically that is not recommended by their designer, as the aforementioned reviewer points out.

If you like a fast speaker and/or beat-driven music, don't get Harbeths without first hearing them with your amp.

I found this a very interesting and good review of the Harbeths. Still would love to own a set one day, they are still on my must own list.

You won't regret it and never found the boring... great with any genre.

Mac

www.macsmusic.blogbubble.net

 

[nopiano]

Spendor make the S3/5R2s for about £900 per pair. These are deliberately designed to be more in the 'classic' BBC mini monitor style than the SA1s and could be worth tracking down if SA1s and Harbeths are a little too expensive for you.

In a different vein completely (to infinite baffle bookshelf speakers and KEF LS50s) there are the Guru Juniors for £800.

The Gurus are super, I agree, but sadly they seem to be out of production, according to the UK website. Eleswhere, there is mention of China and manufacturing problems. Just a shame, actually.

 

[chebby]

Spendor make the S3/5R2s for about £900 per pair. These are deliberately designed to be more in the 'classic' BBC mini monitor style than the SA1s and could be worth tracking down if SA1s and Harbeths are a little too expensive for you.

In a different vein completely (to infinite baffle bookshelf speakers and KEF LS50s) there are the Guru Juniors for £800.

The Gurus are super, I agree, but sadly they seem to be out of production, according to the UK website. Eleswhere, there is mention of China and manufacturing problems. Just a shame, actually.

I wrote that three years ago.

 

[nopiano]

Spendor make the S3/5R2s for about £900 per pair. These are deliberately designed to be more in the 'classic' BBC mini monitor style than the SA1s and could be worth tracking down if SA1s and Harbeths are a little too expensive for you.

In a different vein completely (to infinite baffle bookshelf speakers and KEF LS50s) there are the Guru Juniors for £800.

The Gurus are super, I agree, but sadly they seem to be out of production, according to the UK website. Eleswhere, there is mention of China and manufacturing problems. Just a shame, actually.

I wrote that three years ago.

Sorry, chebby, hadn't noticed. I thought this was a recent thread!

 

[Al ears]

Spendor make the S3/5R2s for about £900 per pair. These are deliberately designed to be more in the 'classic' BBC mini monitor style than the SA1s and could be worth tracking down if SA1s and Harbeths are a little too expensive for you.

In a different vein completely (to infinite baffle bookshelf speakers and KEF LS50s) there are the Guru Juniors for £800.

The Gurus are super, I agree, but sadly they seem to be out of production, according to the UK website. Eleswhere, there is mention of China and manufacturing problems. Just a shame, actually.

I wrote that three years ago.

Sorry, chebby, hadn't noticed. I thought this was a recent thread!

It is very recent in a geological time sense.... 🙂

Having said that I was going to respond until I noticed thread was started in 2010.

 

[nopiano]

Spendor make the S3/5R2s for about £900 per pair. These are deliberately designed to be more in the 'classic' BBC mini monitor style than the SA1s and could be worth tracking down if SA1s and Harbeths are a little too expensive for you.

In a different vein completely (to infinite baffle bookshelf speakers and KEF LS50s) there are the Guru Juniors for £800.

The Gurus are super, I agree, but sadly they seem to be out of production, according to the UK website. Eleswhere, there is mention of China and manufacturing problems. Just a shame, actually.

I wrote that three years ago.

Sorry, chebby, hadn't noticed. I thought this was a recent thread!

It is very recent in a geological time sense.... 🙂

Having said that I was going to respond until I noticed thread was started in 2010.

I see what you mean about timescale! I found the thread I muddled this with; not that different!

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/harbeth-c7es3-vs-atc-scm11