[Quinto]

hmm your dealer isn't all that bad after all, enjoy m8!
 

 

[MorbidToaster]

It would've been a much worse experience if I didn't have a great dealer. 
 
Quote:

hmm your dealer isn't all that bad after all, enjoy m8!
 

 

[Maxvla]

Bout time!

 

[Quinto]

Sure hope you like what you hear, I looove my Harbies, they do everything you trow at them so well, I love the way they do solo piano, which was the primairy reason I sold my other speakers (B&W, Usher and Spendor) and bought these..

 

[MorbidToaster]

I tried them out with a ton of genres at the dealer's and they were the best all rounders. I only think one speaker bested them for a few genres and those were the Shahinian Obelisk. They're 2k more and require even more serious room treatment than regular speakers. 
 
Forget that. Harbeths beat 'em for my most listened genres anyway.
 
Mumford & Sons playing right now. Great record.
 
Quote:

Sure hope you like what you hear, I looove my Harbies, they do everything you trow at them so well, I love the way they do solo piano, which was the primairy reason I sold my other speakers (B&W, Usher and Spendor) and bought these..

 

[jtaylor991]

Quote:

Nothing like speakers. But! Room acoustics is the key. If you are in a pokey bedroom for instance then you are better off with headphones. IMO.

I'm literally in my bedroom. I usually prefer to be cooped up in some form of enclosed space at night (when I usually have time to listen, as long as I can stay awake!), so so far headphones work better for me. Plus, my speakers right now sound really bass light (and as a result far away and unengaging with most tracks) since they're 10 inch passive radiators (Polk Monitor 10s) vs. my new JVC HA-500s which are bass monsters (they've even replaced my 650s for now!) that I've been using a lot. The basshead in me is being reborn

 

[attilahun]

Quote:

It's at about 10:30 right now and they're well above my average listening level (blasting Mastodon). I could push it a little further and have it at 'shake the house' kind of volumes. 
 
 
These are the broken in dealer pair on loan until mine get here next week. But they're basically mine.
 

 
Wow, that's amazing. 
A seriously amazing pairing of legendary amp and legendary speakers. 
 
I'm tired of playing the massive ss wpc race to try and push my B&W 803d into their best range. Really thinking about chucking them and chasing some tubey harbeth goodness. 
 
Thanks for the inspiration!

 

[MorbidToaster]

I still want the 600 eventually (22wpc), but there's no hurry. This 300XS does just fine. 
 
Some people were trying to tell me that its lower power may make it loud but will limit dynamics. I'm in a small room so that's not an issue. I have regular ceilings and live in an apartment. Not worried about it at all. Don't think I'd be worried in a decent sized house either, honestly. 
 
I had Maggies with big ol' mono blocks for awhile. Took up too much space and just wasn't as fun as a little tube amp. I've never heard a B&W speaker I really liked, though I've never heard their upper end, either. Harbeths on the other hand...I've heard all but the 40s and they all kicked serious ass. 
 
I much prefer this low power, sweet, tubey goodness. 
 
EDIT: I think the common misconception with Harbeths being really power hungry is that people push them at the wrong impedance so they seem to need more power. The Leben has 6ohm taps so since the impedance is correct you actually get your rated wpc (15).
 
Quote:

 
Wow, that's amazing. 
A seriously amazing pairing of legendary amp and legendary speakers. 
 
I'm tired of playing the massive ss wpc race to try and push my B&W 803d into their best range. Really thinking about chucking them and chasing some tubey harbeth goodness. 
 
Thanks for the inspiration!

 

[DefQon]

For that money and if I wasn't planning to use a headphone out myself, I'd drop the money on some decent mono-blocks to power something like that.

 

[MorbidToaster]

See that's the thing. I will use the headphone out. It's absolutely one of the reasons I bought it.
 
I was going to do Decware monos for awhile, but once I picked the HL5 for sure that changed.
 
Quote:

For that money and if I wasn't planning to use a headphone out myself, I'd drop the money on some decent mono-blocks to power something like that.

 

[attilahun]

Quote:

I still want the 600 eventually (22wpc), but there's no hurry. This 300XS does just fine. 
 
Some people were trying to tell me that its lower power may make it loud but will limit dynamics. I'm in a small room so that's not an issue. I have regular ceilings and live in an apartment. Not worried about it at all. Don't think I'd be worried in a decent sized house either, honestly. 
 
I had Maggies with big ol' mono blocks for awhile. Took up too much space and just wasn't as fun as a little tube amp. I've never heard a B&W speaker I really liked, though I've never heard their upper end, either. Harbeths on the other hand...I've heard all but the 40s and they all kicked serious ass. 
 
I much prefer this low power, sweet, tubey goodness. 
 
EDIT: I think the common misconception with Harbeths being really power hungry is that people push them at the wrong impedance so they seem to need more power. The Leben has 6ohm taps so since the impedance is correct you actually get your rated wpc (15).
 

 
Great info. Agree on the fun of tubes, more emotional experience. 
 
Big amps and huge speakers can be fun too but you really need the right space which I've learned is hard to find/make. 
 
You're lucky to have a leben and harbeth dealer to audition, it's getting harder and harder to find dealers with the gear we seek. 
 
Enjoy. Looking forward to hearing your listening impressions unfold. 

 

[rrahman]

Well I've made some changes to my set up, so here it is...
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 

 

[longbowbbs]

Quote:

Well I've made some changes to my set up, so here it is...
 
 

Spoiler: Warning%3A%20Spoiler!

 

 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 

 

Excellent rrahman!  Sweet system...Congrats!

 

[DefQon]

rrhman you have two of the same stands I have myself (both from ebay by a seller of chmayu).
 
@MT: Is there any chance sometime in the not so distant future that you will get another HD800/Stax setup to complement your speakers? I wonder....

 

[longbowbbs]

Quote:

rrhman you have two of the same stands I have myself (both from ebay by a seller of chmayu).
 
@MT: Is there any chance sometime in the not so distant future that you will get another HD800/Stax setup to complement your speakers? I wonder....

I think he is working on a way to strap the HL5's to his head....