Harbeth Monitor 40.1 specific

[ryder]

I think Rockadelic's choice of music like Eagles(folk and country rock) is still okay. The guy who auditioned my Plinius amp with his Proac speakers was actually listening to some "black/thrash metal" music by a group called Absu, a band from Texas. There is no way I am letting him play those type of music with my Harbeth speakers. Led Zeppelin's style varies from hard rock and metal to slower blues-rock and folk rock. The latter should still sound good with the 40.1.

Anyway, give the 40.1's more time and play around with placement. These are truly great speakers in an optimised setup with the appropriate choice of music. Good luck.

[harbethpr]

We have been discussing customer feedback this morning in our office. Frequently we hear from customers thrilled by their Harbeths and it even surprises us what types of music they listen to! Examples of recent conversations: Hip-Hop (rap) on C7, Drum and bass (customer with M30 in studio), R&B (C7, amazing vocals) and of course Alan is a bit of an old rocker and likes his 70s rock such as ELP, Genesis, Ace etc. etc..

As Alan said, the common thread is not this or that type of music, it is playing whatever you like at a reasonable (as Alan says, socially responsible) level. Look after your ears! You only have one set! Oh and don't forget, in the X-Factor video sound engineer Robert Edwards talks of how the Harbeth's give the full sound at a sensible level; that's exactly what they're designed to do.

[harbethpr]

Alan covered loudness and the impact on design here as well: http://www.harbeth.co.uk/usergroup/s...ead.php?p=5984

[rockadelic]

It all depends on what type of music the these bands are playing, how loud the output is, whether they are pro or amateur bands who cant afford good equipment, whether you are standing right in front of the speakers or a couple of metres from the middle of the stage. I have listened to good blues rock played at the crazy elephant pub & great music played by the band called energy at the fire pub many years ago. Good acoustics can be heard at the bala clava pub at suntec or at the hard rock cafe. If your system can reproduce close to what these places produces then you got a pretty solid system. On the other hand, I have been to a heavy metal concert by the band, megadeth...i had to sit at furthest point bacause it was "ear bleeding loud!!" Regards.

[DJLEC]

Ryder,

The sub you saw is actually a pair of REL's that have been relegated to Home Theater duties only. There is a 50" plasma opposite wall of the fireplace that you cannot see in the pictures. I was originally using the REL's with my Spendor SP100's to good effect. I bought the 40.1's to get away from using the subs. Harbeth did not disappoint here.

I am using a Classic 60 amp that has been modded.

New pre is coming so this will be very interesting.

DJLEC,

I saw the pictures of your system in your photo album. I spotted a subwoofer on the far right of the room. May I ask if you are using the sub with the 40.1? The 40.1's in my friend's system were placed further away from wall boundaries, both front and side walls. I was wondering whether the bass presence and punch would improve with a sub(or ideally a pair). May I know which model of Audio Research amps are you using to drive the 40.1? The Leben is a nice amp that sounds sublime with selective types of music but lacks the punch and drive to cater for a wider variety of material.

Thanks in advance.

[ryder]

DJLEC,

Thanks for your response. I can see that your room is not very big, so you can probably get away with the subs especially with the 40.1. I don't use any subs with the SHL5 in my small dedicated room of 11'x17'x8' but after relocating the speakers to the main living hall of considerably larger space the inclusion of the sub is quite necessary.

Hope your new pre would yield even better results with the 40.1. One thing that is for sure is the better the partnering ancillaries the more beautiful the music would become. I still can't get the Leben CS600 off my head as the experience with this tube unit just recently has demonstrated the potential of the Harbeth in taking on a different sonic character with each and every component. I'm still lusting for the Audio Research CD7 that was matched with the Leben, the first CD player that I thought sounded a lot like vinyl.

[hifi_dave]

If you liked the ARC CD player I would definitely recommend you listen to the EAR/Yoshino Acute and the stunning Rega Isis - two of the best players I know of and even closer to vinyl.

[ryder]

Ear/Yoshino Acute brands are not too popular here as I believe they are not carried by any dealers here. I was told the Rega Isis is something really special and I had seen the player myself which was built like a tank. Unfortunately the price is just too much for me. The Isis is in fact substantially more costly than the already excellent Audio Research CD7.

Anyway, at least now I know how far can my SHL5 go. Okay I think this is getting a bit out of topic since this thread is about the 40.1. Cheers.

[coredump]

DJLEC,

Thanks for your response. I can see that your room is not very big, so you can probably get away with the subs especially with the 40.1. I don't use any subs with the SHL5 in my small dedicated room of 11'x17'x8' but after relocating the speakers to the main living hall of considerably larger space the inclusion of the sub is quite necessary.

Hope your new pre would yield even better results with the 40.1. One thing that is for sure is the better the partnering ancillaries the more beautiful the music would become. I still can't get the Leben CS600 off my head as the experience with this tube unit just recently has demonstrated the potential of the Harbeth in taking on a different sonic character with each and every component. I'm still lusting for the Audio Research CD7 that was matched with the Leben, the first CD player that I thought sounded a lot like vinyl.

have you heard the CS300 (normal version)? it is better than the CS600 and whatever pre and power amp that they produced.. and it's way much cheaper IMHO

[ryder]

Coredump, I only had the chance to listen to the CS600 and didn't listen to the CS300. It is surprising that the CS300 sounds better than the CS600 since the latter is a more elaborate piece with more tubes in it. Anyway I reckon the CS300 will struggle to drive the 40.1 in a large room with its 12W rating especially when listening in far-field configuration.

Have you listened to both CS300 and CS600 driving the SHL5? I envisage this combination to sound spectacular in a smallish room of 11'x17' thereabouts. There is just something special about tube amps that most solid-state can't emulate in the midrange and highs. Furthermore, the combined Leben and ARC CD7 which is also a tube unit has taken the system to even greater heights. Nonetheless solid-state amps still hold the advantage in terms of dynamics and bass slam, generally speaking.

[coredump]

well, didn't hear them with SHL5 but with Rockport Mira. Yes a Mira with a 4ohm load and 89db..... and the cs300 makes the Mira sing with joy. as a result, cs300 landed in my room but not the Mira (as the latter is beyond my reach at that point of time). pls note that leben is not as fine as lavardin in terms of performance.

btw, my target is the Rockport Mira if I got the space to accommodate it

to add: see the numbers of award that the cs300 (normal) has won; it does speak something abt this integrated

[Kathylim]

I auditioned the CS300 and the CS600 side by side, to use with the 40.1. I started with the 600 and then moved on to the 300. It was a difficult call but what made me decide on the 600 was its ability to hold orchestral pieces together better. The limitations of the 300 were more obvious
then. Plan to get the CS300XS next. Fun amps....not perfect but which are?

[Jmohd]

well, didn't hear them with SHL5 but with Rockport Mira. Yes a Mira with a 4ohm load and 89db..... and the cs300 makes the Mira sing with joy. as a result, cs300 landed in my room but not the Mira (as the latter is beyond my reach at that point of time). pls note that leben is not as fine as lavardin in terms of performance.

btw, my target is the Rockport Mira if I got the space to accommodate it

to add: see the numbers of award that the cs300 (normal) has won; it does say something abt this integrated

coredump,

Rockport mira was my dream before Thiel. Heard them with Naim doing heavy metal at ear spliting level. Realy a rocker...after sold my Thiel and now love Harbeth even more.
Before getting 40.1, i've listen to the Mira with MBL components (was told that the dealer just became the authorized dealer in SG) and IMO no match against Harbeth.

I've heard cs300XS, unable to drive SHL5 properly..

[coredump]

ya, there is a change in dealership in sg. both of them are from different camp; one being gentle, musical and the other aggressive and powerful. M40.1 is the fantastic speaker in its own right.

[ryder]

I've heard cs300XS, unable to drive SHL5 properly..

May I know what is the size of the room when the CS300XS was driving the SHL5? How far were the speakers from the listening chair? Thanks.

[moqadam]

Hello,

Firstly, I would like to take the opportunity to say to all and to Mr. Alan: happy Christmas and whish best New Year.

I have two questions to determine whether I purchase S-HL5 or M40.1:

- What the improvement between M40.1 over S-HL5? Is the M40.1 having significant improvement in resolution or just meant for a large room? And does keep the warm side and emotional as other Harbeths?

- And can M40.1 work perfectly with my room size? Im asking this because I noticed in some posts that; work better ONLY in large room Vs good for all rooms Vs need space around it! So im bit confused.

I need precise answer because I don’t want the sound to be TOO loud or irritating or bommy bass and cause ear fatigue. I need a perfect room match; also process the sound at best quality possible.

My room size in meters is: 7L X 3.5W, height 2.7. And there is some furniture’s and TV, and im using Krell amp.

Many thanks to all.

Sincerely.

[DSRANCE]

I compared the SLH5 and 40.1 (both recent production) in a not very large space and thought the 40.1's were better overall, especially in the lower mid-upper bass transision. A different room may well hugely influence the outcome though. I can't help but let my enthusiasm for the 40.1 come out though ;)

[hifi_dave]

My listening room is roughly 'L' shaped, the main section being approx 14 x 14 ft with a section 8 x 7 ft tacked on. The M40.1's work really well here with no sign of boom or bloom. As tight as a Duck's ar*e I believe. The speakers are no more than 18 inches or so from the walls and are sat atop the wonderful Something Solid stands.

If anything, they are tighter and cleaner than the SHL5 in this situation even though the M40.1 bass goes deeper and louder than the SHL5. You would never accuse the M40.1 of being 'boomy' or fatiguing. All of the Harbeth's are sweet and clean with no trace of irritation.

The M40.1 has the clarity and communication of the other Harbeth speakers but with the weight, solidity and power capability that the smaller models can't manage. I would definitely have it at the top of my wish list if i was auditioning speakers.

[Jmohd]

Hi Moqadam,

My room size is similar. I have the SHL5 and M40.1. I would go with the M40.1.
For the room size, sound treatment is very important.

Pls see my set up here and here

[hifi_dave]

Nice system and the sound treatment looks effective and unobtrusive. In my room I have absorbent panels on the wall behind the speakers and some to the sides, plus some diffusion in the form of racks of equipment to one side and the rear.. Seems to work well.

After reading a few comments on this forum, I was initially worried about using the M40.1 in my room but they work perfectly and I am very pleased. So are my customers, which is just as important.