Harbeth or Silverline? Please vote

[Mcanaday]

Hello all,

I have already benefited a lot from advice on this site helping me to pick out speakers for a new system. *I am close to a decision, and having finally thought through the various factors wanted to put my finalists to a vote.

Here are the factors:

--the amplifier is the Creek Evolution 50a
--the room is small 9x11 (I will be able to pull the speakers out about 2 feet from the wall.)
--this is a row house, so I need a speaker that performs well at low levels. (i.e. neighbors).
--my musical taste is eclectic. *I listen to jazz, acoustic, rock, and r and b. *
--I would rather not *use a subwoofer, although I wouldn't rule it out down the road.

So I am looking for an easy to drive speaker, that is not too fussy about placement (although will not be jammed against the wall), matches well with the Creek 50a, performs well at low volumes, and does a range of music well.

I had nearly settled on the Dynaudio Excite x12 before reading that they really sound best with quite a bit of volume. *This has led me to go back and reconsider two of the *speakers that forum members seemed to suggest for conditions like mine most often:

1) The Harbeth P3esr

2) The Silverline Minuets Supreme Plus

So I wonder if those of you who have an opinion would care to vote as to which you think is the better choice, given the above described conditions? *I should say too that the cost differential is not a huge factor to me in that both are within my speaker budget, and while I recognize the Silverlines are a great deal, I am going to live with this decision for a long time. *

With many thanks again,
Margot

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Hello all,

I have already benefited a lot from advice on this site helping me to pick out speakers for a new system. *I am close to a decision, and having finally thought through the various factors wanted to put my finalists to a vote.

Here are the factors:

--the amplifier is the Creek Evolution 50a
--the room is small 9x11 (I will be able to pull the speakers out about 2 feet from the wall.)
--this is a row house, so I need a speaker that performs well at low levels. (i.e. neighbors).
--my musical taste is eclectic. *I listen to jazz, acoustic, rock, and r and b. *
--I would rather not *use a subwoofer, although I wouldn't rule it out down the road.

So I am looking for an easy to drive speaker, that is not too fussy about placement (although will not be jammed against the wall), matches well with the Creek 50a, performs well at low volumes, and does a range of music well.

I had nearly settled on the Dynaudio Excite x12 before reading that they really sound best with quite a bit of volume. *This has led me to go back and reconsider two of the *speakers that forum members seemed to suggest for conditions like mine most often:

1) The Harbeth P3esr

2) The Silverline Minuets Supreme Plus

So I wonder if those of you who have an opinion would care to vote as to which you think is the better choice, given the above described conditions? *I should say too that the cost differential is not a huge factor to me in that both are within my speaker budget, and while I recognize the Silverlines are a great deal, I am going to live with this decision for a long time. *

With many thanks again,
Margot

So can you audition the speakers yourself?

I would view all opinions w/ a grain of salt.

Of course all speakers sound better at a good volume like 90-105 dBC (or 70-85 dBA), as opposed to 60dBC (or 50 dBA). The X12 isn't the only one.

 

[cornelius]

So can you audition the speakers yourself?

I would view all opinions w/ a grain of salt.

Of course all speakers sound better at a good volume like 90-105 dBC (or 70-85 dBA), as opposed to 60dBC (or 50 dBA). The X12 isn't the only one.

I vote for Harbeth P3's. Harbeths are actually designed to perform at lower volume levels (they sound nice loud, too). The P3ESR is a broadcast monitor that's designed to be listened to all day, at reasonable levels.

I use a pair in a co-op apartment building, so I have to be careful of neighbors, and I don't use a sub. I listen to all kinds of music, including a lot of soundtracks/TV - It sounds like with the music that you're into, the Harbeths will work well...

The Creek should have enough power to drive the P3's - they're easy to drive and also easy to place...

Check out the Harbeth User Group if you have any other questions...

 

[GranteedEV]

Hi Margot, and welcome to AH. The biggest issue I see is the size of the room. Because it's so small, you're going to have a lot of reflections floating around off of boundaries. My personal goal for that reason would be to select speakers which produce less wide-dispersion - something you won't achieve with a tweeter mounted flush in a baffle.

As far as the silverlines, I can't help but be skeptical of those specs. 88.5db/w/m efficiency out of a 3" woofer that's got extension down to 55hz? Sounds fishy to me. The harbeths in comparision use a 5" woofer, yet only achieve extension to 75hz with an efficiency of 83db/w/m - i don't buy the Silverline spec sheet.

For speakers of this type, i'd lean towards a Salk Sound WOW1 or EMP E41.

That said, going back to my earlier note, I wouldn't recommend speakers of this type. I would personally be looking at something like the KEF LS50s or KEF R300s

 

[macddmac]

+1 on the LS 50's or the E41's. I use a sub with my E-41b's though. I've heard the LS 50 in a larger room than yours and didn't feel as though they were lacking in bass at all.
Cheers, Mac

 

[TLS Guy]

Hello all,

I have already benefited a lot from advice on this site helping me to pick out speakers for a new system. *I am close to a decision, and having finally thought through the various factors wanted to put my finalists to a vote.

Here are the factors:

--the amplifier is the Creek Evolution 50a
--the room is small 9x11 (I will be able to pull the speakers out about 2 feet from the wall.)
--this is a row house, so I need a speaker that performs well at low levels. (i.e. neighbors).
--my musical taste is eclectic. *I listen to jazz, acoustic, rock, and r and b. *
--I would rather not *use a subwoofer, although I wouldn't rule it out down the road.

So I am looking for an easy to drive speaker, that is not too fussy about placement (although will not be jammed against the wall), matches well with the Creek 50a, performs well at low volumes, and does a range of music well.

I had nearly settled on the Dynaudio Excite x12 before reading that they really sound best with quite a bit of volume. *This has led me to go back and reconsider two of the *speakers that forum members seemed to suggest for conditions like mine most often:

1) The Harbeth P3esr

2) The Silverline Minuets Supreme Plus

So I wonder if those of you who have an opinion would care to vote as to which you think is the better choice, given the above described conditions? *I should say too that the cost differential is not a huge factor to me in that both are within my speaker budget, and while I recognize the Silverlines are a great deal, I am going to live with this decision for a long time. *

With many thanks again,
Margot

The Harbeth speakers will be just fine for your application. They have a nice BBC balance. Forget the Silverlines.

 

[PENG]

If restricted to those two, Harbeth, otherwise I would consider the KEF LS50. That little one can sound good even in a bigger room but without the grille they are not cat proof because the shiny moving cones can be irresistible.

 

[Swerd]

If I had to pick one of those two, I'd go for the Harbeth speakers.

They are quite expensive, but in the long run, you might be more satisfied with them as opposed to the Silverline.

As far as the silverlines, I can't help but be skeptical of those specs. 88.5db/w/m efficiency out of a 3" woofer that's got extension down to 55hz? Sounds fishy to me. The harbeths in comparision use a 5" woofer, yet only achieve extension to 75hz with an efficiency of 83db/w/m - i don't buy the Silverline spec sheet.

I also wonder if a 3¼" woofer can really deliver sound both as low as 55 Hz and as loud as 88 dB.

Remember that the Harbeth is a sealed cabinet, and the Silverline is ported. That can make a difference in both bass depth and loudness.