I'd have to go back about fifteen years to remember having what would be generally called "decent" speakers. Big Tannoys, AE 109s or B&W somethings. Then came Quad electrostatics. Then bigger Quad electrostatics. Frankly that marque moved the bar so high I thought I was done. Silly me. Those handsome fellows at Eists produced a more room friendly speaker that had much of the Quad loveliness with a little extra volume and bass. I'll have a pair in walnut please. Thanks.
Then, some time later, I spotted a pair of old but well loved Rogers LS6a stand-mount speakers that caught my eye. Why would I be drawn to them? Well now, some years before that Noel Cloney sat me down in from of a pair of Harbeth Super HL5 speakers. He was actually demoing some other amp or source but they was quickly snubbed as I drooled on the wipe clean couch (very wise investment that) listening to the Harbeths. Noel happily obliged my sonic preoccupation with a wide range of music. Opera, classical, acoustic country, electronica, hard core deep bass electronica, rock, jazz and blues. The speakers handled them all as a sumo wrestler would handle a speed walker. Nothing phased them (no geeky pun intended), they went high, low and wide. The reason I bought the aforementioned Rogers was that while Harbeths are the original BBC domestic monitor the Rogers are built on the very same DNA. The Rogers would keep me going until...
Last week I spotted the very same Harbeths on Cloney's pre-owned/Ex Demo section so I went away and did my sums. The bottom line is by Friday morning they were sitting in my man lounge ( I've evolved beyond you cave dwellers). They really are every bit as clear and accommodating as I remember. The bass is not subterranean but it is accurate, that's something I am quite happy with as Quad, Eist and Rogers are my yardstick. I'm sure with a little more experimentation with positioning I can get more bass out of them but it really isn't an issue. What bass that is there is realistic and pin point precise.
Since Friday I've mostly been throwing CDs at it, simply for quick and easy selection of well known test tracks. As that phase is passing I'm moving more toward vinyl and the sound is ever better. The speakers are quite choosy about the material fed to them, they will show up anything shoddy without mercy but well recorded music is embraced and osculated before it reaches your ears. Subtle details are revealed subtlety. High frequencies, many previously unheard, simply hang there never sharp or spitting. I thought I knew imagery but this is something else. Voices have chest, spittle and bone. Singers seem to be standing in my room signing only to me. The fact that so many singers I like are dead means that can be a little disturbing but it's a small price to pay.
They're not for everyone. Some may say they're "polite", and I suppose they are in the same way an American Highway Patrolman might ask you to "step out of the vehicle sir" is polite. They may be bass-shy but frankly they go deep enough for me. They are rated at 40Hz but my ears think a bit lower. I've thrown upright bass, electric bass, synth bass and organ bass at them and they coped well enough for me.
I don't expect to be changing speakers again for a long time. No really. I promised the wife an' all.
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