Here, on This World Is Too _____ For You Wells enlists the help of the Metropolis Chamber Ensemble who add violin, viola, cello, double bass, and french horn to Wells on synths, vocoders, drum programming, electric guitar, vocals, live drums and violin. As you might imagine, this is lovely music if you love the sound of real things and the Harbeth recreated a stirring rendition on my desktop that had me leaning in for even more in-my-head goodness. I am a fan of nearfield listening and do it most days, something I rarely talk about, when I’m typing or reading or looking at things on the screen.

I also do a fair amount of new music exploration here as well so I rely on my desktop system to get out of the way so that music gets into my head in as pure a form as possible. And this is one area where the Harbeth NLE-1 excel as they offer crystal clear sound that feels nearly untouched by the technology that makes them tick. The Harbeth’s also have a very nice physicality without overwhelming, a nice balance of force and delicacy.

The NLE-1 have a claimed frequency response of 75Hz – 20kHz, ±3dB in free-space according to Harbeth, which translated into enough for my tastes in the nearfield even with bass heavy music like the Tricky produced and tasty Lonely Guest thanks in part to their near-wall placement and the bass reinforcement that brings to the table (or desktop).

Annahstasia’s debut LP Tether, released on Brooklyn’s drink sum wtr back in June, should come with a box of Kleenex. A simple folk-inspired soulful record, Annahstasia’s husky voice is about as touching as a human voice gets, here accompanied by herself on acoustic guitar with more and less subtle help from drums, bass, brass, strings, backing vocals, piano and more, I leaned in just enough so the Harbeths were firing right into my ears, closed my eyes, and felt as one with this soulful touching music.

Uplifting to the point of soaring, this experience was about as delightful as it gets with the NLE-1s acting as a perfect interpreter, translating recorded sound into pure music energy. Delicacy, refinement, touch, and presence pitched perfectly into my head and heart. Bravo.

When I listen to music on the hifi, I want to be as completely in-the-moment as possible and the quality of reproduction allows that to happen more easily and for more extended periods of time the more engaging it is. The Harbeth NLE-1 delivered this kind of seamless entry into the moment of all the music I asked them to play by offering a wonderful combination of physicality and refinement that made every musical moment magical.

Link do recenzji: Harbeth NLE-1 – Twittering Machines