Harbeth Owners - I Need Some Help

Thanks for the info, guys. I'm checking out Sound Anchor since they have that "open" top plate design which someone told me is best for Harbeths because of the lossy cabinets. Supposedly allows them to flex more properly but we may be getting into some minute actions that don't mean a thing. Why are these Sound Anchors so expensive - I mean why are they $600.00+ for the four post versions? I'm currently checking the Skylans which are substantially less expensive but their website doesn't give much info; dimensions, etc.

Skylan customizes their stands and they have one specifically for your model Harbeth. The tops are not open, however, and I don't have an opinion on that. Some people will tell you not to use a rigid stand with the Harbeth, their thinking apparently being that a lossy cabinet needs a lossy stand. I don't think one follows from the other, however. Give Skylan a call. Noel is a hoot to talk to.

I know what're you're saying, Drubin. I try to calculate the physics between a lossy cabinet and rigid, sand filled stand (with flat plate top), or one "Linn style" with an open top like the Epos which is not sand fillable and I just get confused. On the other hand we have Sound Anchor with an open top but pre-filled solid posts. If I could find the Harbeth users website I'd check that out.

By the way, I'm using them in a small (11 x 13 x 8) plaster room and have already used my 9wt 300B Air Tight amp and 100wt SS Muse model 100. The Air Tight, at moderate volumes, produces a far more involving and musical experience; the Muse is rather bland and colorless in comparison. Any suggestions for a more powerful tube or more musical SS "driver".

Harbeth Users Group: http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/harbethspeakers You may find this group to be a bit "un-audiophile" in some respects (cables don't matter, etc.), but it's less hostile than it was just a few weeks ago when a certain well-known reviewer was a daily fixture.

I expect that Dodgealum is correct that the Harbeths are less sensitive to ancillary components than many other speakers. (I don't know if this is an indictment of the speaker or not.) But they still respond, and some people do like them with tubes. As with everything, you will want to experiment. I've only used my Rowland amps with them (so my comment above about sensitivity to other components is based more on intuition than experience), but would love to try something else to see how they respond. Keep us posted.

Dan

Dan--most assuredly not an indictment of the speaker. I think it speaks to the essential musicality of the design. I'm not sure that I would classify any speaker as great (or even acceptable) that only "worked" with the right combination of select cables, amps, etc. For the most part these speakers simply do not "work" -- period. Their owners then spend countless dollars and hours they could be enjoying music trying to find just the right combination of esoteric components to obtain a sound that they convince themselves (for a time) works. I cannot tell you how many speakers I have heard over the past year and a half that simply don't sound "right" and never will regardless of what you put in front of them. I can still remember the moment I first heard the Harbeth's--over five years ago. I knew I was going to buy them after the first minute of the first song I heard. Additional listening was only conducted to satisfy the analytical side of my head. I say better to start with a speakers that gets the essentials right and then build a system around them that complements and enhances their performance. Why do you think so many other "world class" models from long established and esoteric brand names show up regularly on the Audiogon and scaring up a pair of Harbeth's is pretty tough to do? I think their are so few speakers that sound right through the critical midband and therefore people tire of whatever coloration exists that distances them from the music. I don't mean to sound like a Harbeth zealot--I will insert the customary caveat that these impressions are entirely subjective and will admit also that there are a few other good designs out there. However, after a determined effort and countless demos I can say with a high degree of certainty that there are precious few speakers that sound anywhere near as real as the Harbeth's and you will need to spend at least 5K (or more) to own them. They are the best value in audio today for music lovers who do not want to ride the equipment merry go round.

On the subject of stands--I think you can make a good case for open style stands that do not interfere with the intended vibration of the lossy cabinet. Whether you can hear the difference between those and a pair of stands with a fixed top plate I'm not sure. The top and bottom panels of the speakers are the smallest of the lot and therefore probably flex much less than the others and therefore may contribute little to the sound. The Sound Anchors seem to give you the best of all worlds--open top plate but a heavy and rigid anchoring of the speaker. I just happen to think they look like bupkiss.