The latest plus version of Super HL5 is the last model in Harbeth’s range to benefit from its RADIAL2 mid/bass driver. This 200mm example has a revised surround and an injection moulded dust cap. It’s allied to a 25mm dome tweeter and 20mm super tweeter in a 635mm high stand mount cabinet. As ever with Harbeth it’s a thin wall cabinet but unusually it’s the first to have a crossover designed with the “very latest” simulation software. This apparently gives the SHL5plus the flattest response in Harbeth’s range of very neutral loudspeakers. From the amplifier’s point of view it has an easy six Ohm impedance and an average 86dB sensitivity.
This seventh-generation of a 15 year old Harbeth model takes the BBC ‘two cubic foot enclosure’ concept to “new levels of listening engagement”. Price is £3,279 and veneer options extend to cherry, tiger ebony, eucalyptus (shown) and rosewood.