Harberth P3ESR vs Ascendo C5

[rahul_muzik]

Hi

Both of these speakers are quite top notch but with their different sound signature , i like to listen to jazz,vocals but sometime i do like rock. I read many reviews about harberth being on warmer side(good for mids) but ascendo for its neutral & coeherent nature.i just want to know if any one has listened both of them, how much is vocals or midrange suffer in ascendo c5. there are quite few audiophile who have choosen ascendo over harberth. they can shed somelight in.

More over is the mid range of harberth really being the true sound or its colored sound which is more appealing. But will it do justice to airy instruments which should sparkle when struck. really confused.

In addition to this, magneplanar 1.7 is also quite appealing in hifimart. all of these products dont have much difference in price level, so just got to think what to do

 

[sidvee]

Hi

Both of these speakers are quite top notch but with their different sound signature , i like to listen to jazz,vocals but sometime i do like rock. I read many reviews about harberth being on warmer side(good for mids) but ascendo for its neutral & coeherent nature.i just want to know if any one has listened both of them, how much is vocals or midrange suffer in ascendo c5. there are quite few audiophile who have choosen ascendo over harberth. they can shed somelight in.

More over is the mid range of harberth really being the true sound or its colored sound which is more appealing. But will it do justice to airy instruments which should sparkle when struck. really confused.

In addition to this, magneplanar 1.7 is also quite appealing in hifimart. all of these products dont have much difference in price level, so just got to think what to do

I have not heard the C5 but I have the heard models that are higher in the model line up and I have heard most of the Harbeths (owned the shl5 for 3 yrs).
For the ascendo C5, the same coaxial driver is used till the D series, so what I heard in the C6 and C8R (which I own now) should be tonally similar to the C5. The midrange IMO is less warmer than the Harbeth, but more transparent and truer to the source, whereas through the Harbeth midrange sounds warm for all recordings. So I would call the Ascendo more accurate in this respect. Similarly vocals sound much more pristine through ascendos and more resolving.
Regarding air, it depends on which speaker you are listening to in the Harbeth lineup, in the Shl5 the super tweeter helped greatly in that regards, and IMO sounds similar to the C8R which has a rear ribbon tweeter, however I felt that due to the higher resolution of the ascendo, the decay's (of high hats) and high frequency ambience (triangles) sound better and more realistic. However the biggest strength of the Ascendo IMO lies in the coaxial driver that really mimics a point source and the speaker images like mad, just disappearing into the sound stage(even the C8R which is a mammoth speaker). There is absolutely no connection of the sounds being produced in the stage to the cabinets/location of the speakers. Some of the best imaging/sound staging I have ever heard.
All this being said either speaker is excellent, so one has to hear both to decide what their preference would be.

Cheers,
Sid

 

[arj]

What amp are you planning to drive the speakers with ? the amp and room have the biggest impact on sound.
YOur room size and placement option (Near the wall or away form it) is also critical for this decision

 

[rahul_muzik]

My room size is 21ft x 10ft. presently the electronics i have are entry level but im thinking to go from backward.Upgrading one by one,starting from speakers as suggested by profx professional . As you rightly suggested , speakers placement place a key role, started reading in various audiophile website,thanks for the pointer.

Presently my electronics are : Denon amp connected to himedia player via evo dac.

 

[sidvee]

Of the two, IMO the Harbeth will be more forgiving of partnering electronics and the ascendos will be more choosy. So do consider that when you plan to buy. My Ascendo's C8R shine with with my upstream equipment, however the Shl5 was quite indifferent, mostly again IMO due to the warm signature/less transparency of the Harbeths.
Cheers,
Sid