I thought I’d post this mini review about my impressions of these two competing mini monitors, I know some members here will be interested. I own both so I have no axe to grind when making these comparisons and each has its own virtues and pitfalls.
The Proac’s have a more extended treble that is both drier and a more forward, the Tablette’s throw loads of detail at you, whether your ready for or not. Harbeth’s highs are sweeter and much more refined, it sounds that’s very balanced with the rest of the speaker and they tread a perfect line between levels of detail and finesse. Listening to “Delphia” from the Freddie Hubbard album Red Clay, Joe Henderson adds Flute accompaniment during the introduction, with the Tablette’s it was obvious that we were hearing a flute and it was clearly etched in space. The P3ESR felt more like an organic part of the mix but it took a few seconds of careful listening to register what kind of wind instrument I was hearing, this was a surprise. The Harbeth’s trumped this with a close to perfect depiction of the notes leaving Ron Carters electric bass; it was there on the Tablette’s but by comparison sounded a little blurred.
Midrange is what these speakers are all about and in this department it’s the Harbeth’s that sound the most natural to me. Female voices clearly stand out from the rest of the mix and all the nuances and inflection in the voice are delightfully teased out, again it’s a slightly sweeter sound. The Proac’s make female voices actually project slightly forward from the mix, but it’s a slightly more angular and edgy sound, which worked fine with Tory Amos but I’m not sure how well it would sit with someone like Diana Krall for instance (sorry I couldn’t tell you). On classical the P3ESR are without peer, string instruments have both the correct amount of bite and warmth and despite their small size give enough weight and scale to satisfy the illusion of being at a concert hall. This is the one music genre that I didn’t really feel the Tablette’s worked, violins in particular seemed to sound a semitone higher and there was little body or weight to them either. On chamber music they faired better being very lucid and detailed, allowing you to hear all the little creaks from chairs, movement and breathing.
Turning my attention mid-upper bass and on the Tory Amos track Hotel (From the Choirgirl Hotel) the quantity of bass from the tiny Tablette’s is impressive, giving a very real sense of scale and menace and even making the walls vibrate a little. The P3ESR have a little less in terms of quantity but it’s just that bit better defined; looking at the speakers balance they don’t sound bass light. The one problem with the Harbeth bass is I don’t find it very nimble, try getting it to rock and it sounds like it’s lagging behind and just can’t keep up. On a number of occasions I was disappointed with the get up and go from the P3ESR, listening to vinyl version of Bad Mans song by Tears for Fears it had nothing like the impact when through the Tablette’s. Again a track I thought the Harbeth’s would excel, it was making nice noises but it just didn’t move me in the same way.
Sound staging is again an area where mini monitors do well and both are excellent in this department. The Harbeth’s do a much better job of portraying depth, though for the most part they perform just behind the plane of the speakers. The Tablette's project slightly forward of the speaker plane and sometimes into the room, the width is about the same but their portrayal of depth is not so convincing. With the Proac’s you get a seat in the first four rows to the Harbeth’s 8th row seat. In terms of imaging the Proac’s give you a laser-etched outline of both musician’s and instruments, personally I love this but it’s not for everyone. The Harbeth’s counter with a solidity and real presence. With both speakers sound stage width is outstanding, both are rock solid with placement.
In that important area of dynamics and timing the Tablette’s easily show the P3ESR a clean pair of heals. The Proac’s have more sensitivity and more headroom to play with, their drivers also seem to stop and start quicker. The Harbeth’s simply refuse to play any louder regardless of how far you turn the volume dial and when things start to get a little frantic they start to sound lazy.
I’d like to sum up my personal thought with a few consideration’s or recommendations starting with the Harbeth’s. For instance I wouldn't match them with either a warm sounding amp or a Tube amp, for me the sound was start to veer to close to syrupy thickness and it I don’t feel it would have enough power to drive them. Also with a few tracks I played on vinyl such as Kraftwerk, Daft Punk or anything with electronic noises or beats they left me feeling totally underwhelmed, just not right for this kind of music. Finally fresh from the box the Harbeth’s sounded very good, I've noticed little change from when they were brand new. These speakers love acoustic instruments and voices and I doubt you’ll be unhappy if your tastes are classical, jazz blues and even a little pop music. If I were giving marks for finish and construction they’d get a very solid 10/10.
The Proac’s treble sounded a little too sharp when new and I had to replace the grills during the first two weeks of the run in period. This does calm down eventually to a place where it was more palatable; I think they are smoother than previous versions of the Tablette’s. They require less power to drive them, and will go loader, a tube amp may even be adequate but I'd prefer a warm sounding tranny amp such as my Creek. Steer clear of bright sounding amps or ancillaries though. The Tablette’s are less music genre specific the only downside being I wasn’t really convinced by their depiction of large orchestral forces. Fit and finish would be an 8/10
During the listening session one thing clearly emerged. That was it really depended on the track I was listening to as to my speaker preference, even with the same artist on the same album the I found little things I preferred from track to track that would completely reverse my inclination to say this was the better speaker.
The Proac’s have a more extended treble that is both drier and a more forward, the Tablette’s throw loads of detail at you, whether your ready for or not. Harbeth’s highs are sweeter and much more refined, it sounds that’s very balanced with the rest of the speaker and they tread a perfect line between levels of detail and finesse. Listening to “Delphia” from the Freddie Hubbard album Red Clay, Joe Henderson adds Flute accompaniment during the introduction, with the Tablette’s it was obvious that we were hearing a flute and it was clearly etched in space. The P3ESR felt more like an organic part of the mix but it took a few seconds of careful listening to register what kind of wind instrument I was hearing, this was a surprise. The Harbeth’s trumped this with a close to perfect depiction of the notes leaving Ron Carters electric bass; it was there on the Tablette’s but by comparison sounded a little blurred.
Midrange is what these speakers are all about and in this department it’s the Harbeth’s that sound the most natural to me. Female voices clearly stand out from the rest of the mix and all the nuances and inflection in the voice are delightfully teased out, again it’s a slightly sweeter sound. The Proac’s make female voices actually project slightly forward from the mix, but it’s a slightly more angular and edgy sound, which worked fine with Tory Amos but I’m not sure how well it would sit with someone like Diana Krall for instance (sorry I couldn’t tell you). On classical the P3ESR are without peer, string instruments have both the correct amount of bite and warmth and despite their small size give enough weight and scale to satisfy the illusion of being at a concert hall. This is the one music genre that I didn’t really feel the Tablette’s worked, violins in particular seemed to sound a semitone higher and there was little body or weight to them either. On chamber music they faired better being very lucid and detailed, allowing you to hear all the little creaks from chairs, movement and breathing.
Turning my attention mid-upper bass and on the Tory Amos track Hotel (From the Choirgirl Hotel) the quantity of bass from the tiny Tablette’s is impressive, giving a very real sense of scale and menace and even making the walls vibrate a little. The P3ESR have a little less in terms of quantity but it’s just that bit better defined; looking at the speakers balance they don’t sound bass light. The one problem with the Harbeth bass is I don’t find it very nimble, try getting it to rock and it sounds like it’s lagging behind and just can’t keep up. On a number of occasions I was disappointed with the get up and go from the P3ESR, listening to vinyl version of Bad Mans song by Tears for Fears it had nothing like the impact when through the Tablette’s. Again a track I thought the Harbeth’s would excel, it was making nice noises but it just didn’t move me in the same way.
Sound staging is again an area where mini monitors do well and both are excellent in this department. The Harbeth’s do a much better job of portraying depth, though for the most part they perform just behind the plane of the speakers. The Tablette's project slightly forward of the speaker plane and sometimes into the room, the width is about the same but their portrayal of depth is not so convincing. With the Proac’s you get a seat in the first four rows to the Harbeth’s 8th row seat. In terms of imaging the Proac’s give you a laser-etched outline of both musician’s and instruments, personally I love this but it’s not for everyone. The Harbeth’s counter with a solidity and real presence. With both speakers sound stage width is outstanding, both are rock solid with placement.
In that important area of dynamics and timing the Tablette’s easily show the P3ESR a clean pair of heals. The Proac’s have more sensitivity and more headroom to play with, their drivers also seem to stop and start quicker. The Harbeth’s simply refuse to play any louder regardless of how far you turn the volume dial and when things start to get a little frantic they start to sound lazy.
I’d like to sum up my personal thought with a few consideration’s or recommendations starting with the Harbeth’s. For instance I wouldn't match them with either a warm sounding amp or a Tube amp, for me the sound was start to veer to close to syrupy thickness and it I don’t feel it would have enough power to drive them. Also with a few tracks I played on vinyl such as Kraftwerk, Daft Punk or anything with electronic noises or beats they left me feeling totally underwhelmed, just not right for this kind of music. Finally fresh from the box the Harbeth’s sounded very good, I've noticed little change from when they were brand new. These speakers love acoustic instruments and voices and I doubt you’ll be unhappy if your tastes are classical, jazz blues and even a little pop music. If I were giving marks for finish and construction they’d get a very solid 10/10.
The Proac’s treble sounded a little too sharp when new and I had to replace the grills during the first two weeks of the run in period. This does calm down eventually to a place where it was more palatable; I think they are smoother than previous versions of the Tablette’s. They require less power to drive them, and will go loader, a tube amp may even be adequate but I'd prefer a warm sounding tranny amp such as my Creek. Steer clear of bright sounding amps or ancillaries though. The Tablette’s are less music genre specific the only downside being I wasn’t really convinced by their depiction of large orchestral forces. Fit and finish would be an 8/10
During the listening session one thing clearly emerged. That was it really depended on the track I was listening to as to my speaker preference, even with the same artist on the same album the I found little things I preferred from track to track that would completely reverse my inclination to say this was the better speaker.
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