Why do Harbeth speakers have such a cult following

Hello Egoben,

Although I have interest in the Harbeth line of speakers, I have not yet had the opportunity to have heard the P3ESR's in person and have a few questions for you if you do not mind.

In regards to your post; ".....fills the room perfectly, big sound, enough bass, punchy, with great balance....." I like how small mini monitors can seem to "disappear" imaging wise, but due to their small size, they often seem to miniaturize the size of instruments, if you will. Like toy violins, cellos and toy pianos, etc. Do you feel the sense of the instrument's scale is lost at all with such a tiny speaker as the P3ESR?

Also, you mentioned that they are easy to drive with your tube amp. I'm a tube lover as well and am curious which tube amp you are using with your P3ESR's?

What size room are you playing these in and how close are you able to place them to the wall that is behind the speaker without suffering any sound degradation?

Thank you for your help!

Thank you Egoben! Your post was very informative and very helpful to me. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me on this. I've read many positive things in regards to the new 30.1....I'm sure you will love it!

Yogiboy,

There is some truth to what you say....." I think you should think twice about going for the larger Harbeth......... Bigger is not always better. "

This reminds me of back when I was purchasing my reference speakers, Dunlavy SCIV Signatures. In the dealer's large showroom, I was able to compare my SCIV's with the larger SCV's. They both had the same sonic signatures, but the larger SCV's were that much better in every respect.

I then actually talked in great length with John Dunlavy, the designer of these speakers and he said that because of the size of MY listening room, the smaller SCIV's would outplay the larger SCV's. Although the SCV's are technically the better speaker, they were just too big for my room to handle properly. So it is of paramount importance to match your speakers to the room that they will be playing in.

I'm sure that Egoben has taken his room into consideration and feels the sonic gains that he will achieve with the larger 30.1's in the majority of his music replay will far outweigh what it may lack in the select few of his recordings.

Your point is very well worth considering though, as many probably forget the important role that your listening room plays in sound reproduction.

Hello Egoben,

You are very fortunate that you were able to audition both sets of Harbeths in your room. I would love to be able to that.

I appreciate your tip in regards to using dedicated speaker stands instead of a shelf, bench, etc.

Have you found a particular brand or style that seems to work well for you? Did you use the same type for both the P3ESR and 30.1?

Hello Michaelkingdom,

I enjoyed reading your thoughts in regards to your SHL5's. I believe that the sound of any speaker is greatly influenced by the room that they are playing in as the room becomes an extension of the speaker's cabinet.

So every room has varying nodes, reflective surfaces, as well as absorbing surfaces, etc. I think that this may be one reason some feel a particular speaker may sound warm and laid back and others may feel the same speaker may sound cold or lean or more upfront. So many variables in this hobby!

Thanks Egoben. I don't know that either of those would be available here in the States. I've many people seem to like Skylan stands with the Harbeth line of speakers quite a bit. They are in Canada and would be no problem for me to get those. I probably will give them a try or maybe custom build some out of wood myself. We'll have to see how ambitious I get!

Thanks Egoben. I don't know that either of those would be available here in the States. I've many people seem to like Skylan stands with the Harbeth line of speakers quite a bit. They are in Canada and would be no problem for me to get those. I probably will give them a try or maybe custom build some out of wood myself. We'll have to see how ambitious I get!