Harbeth HL-P3ES2 specific

[honmanm]

For 21 years I had small Magneplanars (the SMGa model), then after our 3 year old accidentally damaged one of them, my friend kindly loaned the HL-P3s from his uncle's collection of gear. The P3s were here for about 4 months, during which time there was a 2-week period when we had Quad ESL63s on loan.

So I went straight from the 18 year old HL-P3s to brand new P3ESRs. Unfortunately a change of amplifier was also involved, as my Quad 33/303 was sold to help fund the purchase. The stop-gap amplifier is lower powered, a minimalist design but within the recommended power range for the P3ESRs.

To an extent I was taken aback by the difference in presentation between HL-P3 and P3ESR, especially given Alan's care in consistent voicing of the various Harbeth models.

However the owner of the ESL63s allowed me to try the P3ESRs in his own system, and there they did very well (albeit in a big room and a lot louder than I thought they could stand!).

Sometimes I wonder whether the difference comes from the genesis of the original 1990 HL-P3 as a direct LS3/5a alternative - with a similar design brief and possibly similar tweaks to the frequency response - whereas as I understand it the P3ESR is designed to have the same classic "BBC monitor" presentation as the other current Harbeths.

If Alan has the opportunity to do so, it would be very interesting to see a comparison between the frequency response curves of the LS3/5a, HL-P3 and P3ESR and learn what has changed over the years, and why...

The two practical things that have helped low-volume listening with the P3ESRs are an unobstructed wall behind them, and (paradoxically) amplifiers with more generous headroom.

[Cyreg]

Now from Cyrus pre/power/psx to integrated or combi >>> Naim?????????Arcam(withMM)?????

Any way I am glad about the ES2's going out of the way >> always sounding NOT there? Grtz Han

Ok so the next step has been made to a new audiosetup with less equipment, less connections and smaller dimensions ;-)

I did buy an LFD LE III with MM stage > sound is developping quite good after 3 days 24/7 ontime. I'll tell you more about the soundresults in a week!

[honmanm]

This weekend a friend went to have a look and listen at some used Monitor 20s that were for sale locally, and I tagged along with the P3ESRs.

The person selling the speakers had Luxman electronics, ... so that made for an interesting comparison, especially in the large room - about 5m x 9m (speakers on the short wall), solid brick walls, and lots of windows. So a hard but spacious environment.

Back at home the first thing to do was listen again to my own system - despite the amplifier change which cleaned things up a bit, there was still excess HF and fairly weak imaging.

So a mattress was dragged into the living room and that made a "best upgrade evah" change when placed against the wall behind the listening position (coming soon - a subjective comparison of different brands and models of mattress, complete with a matching set of audiophile adjectives). The imaging became what it should be, although with so much reflected energy having been absorbed the vertical height of the image was about the same as the height of the speakers.

The challenge now shifts to introducing enough damping into the living room without triggering "room treatment rage" on the part of the lady of the house. Storing unwanted bedding in the living room appears to be out of the question...

[KT88]

A mattress? Now I've heard everything! How did you get away with that on the domestic front in the first place?

By the way, how did the Monitor 20's fare in comparison to the P3 ESR's? I never understood the difference between the M20's and the HLPES 2's.

[EricW]

I never understood the difference between the M20's and the HLPES 2's.

Hi Bob, pretty sure they're the same speaker, except that the M20 as the "professional" version would have different finish and connectors.

Cello, absolutely incredible workmanship on your P3ESRs, I agree. I own a relatively early production pair in rosewood, and while they're very very nice, recent posted photos suggest to me that the workmanship is getting even better over time. Amazing.

[f1eng]

I haven't been able to find the difference between the P3ES and P3ES-2, so am asking here, I own P3ES myself.
Hope I am not time wasting!
Frank

{Moderators' comment: from memory the P3ES has a beveled cabinet edge and the ES2 a rounded edge. Also the tweeter grille was a little different. Sonically they should be very similar to each other and are both 4 ohm or so. Hope that helps.}