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The Harbeth phenomenon

In my search for a new pair of speakers, I've gone through many threads here and noticed that many owners or fans of Harbeth have almost a love-like connection with Harbeth speakers. It is almost as if the speakers cast a spell upon them. I know many audiophiles love their speakers but Harbeth owners seem especially enamored with theirs. I am extremely puzzled by this phenomenon because on paper Harbeth speakers look average at best and lack many of the attributes that generally make a great speaker.

Their sensitivity of generally around the 86dB mark makes them rather inefficient and therefore, at least in theory, not a good match for many lower powered tube amps, or any amps below 100wpc. Their frequency range is simply inferior to most high-end speakers since they don't go below 40 Hz. This alone should, again at least in theory, disqualify Harbeth speakers from consideration as top high end speakers. And yet I've never heard anyone complain about their bass, while people complain about lack of bass in the Gibbon Nines from DeVore, which is a fantastic speaker. Their cabinets look like a cheap DIY enclosure (disclaimer: I've never seen a Harbeth up close, only pictures). The 7ES-3 is rated B-Restricted, while the smaller and cheaper Usher Be-718 A-Restricted in Stereophile but garners nowhere near the same amount of admiration, praise and following among audiophiles.

So what's going on here? Is this a big conspiracy plot by the company that paid off a few hundred of people to infiltrate audiophile internet forums and a few reviewers? I am of course joking here, but the question is serious. How can speakers so average on paper be so good in real life? I know the opposite is often true, but you rarely see this phenomenon.

Please speak up.
actusreus
mapman's avatar
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mapman
15,679 posts
 
Many speaker designs look similar and in general sound more similar than not as well.

Harbeths are distinctive looking and sounding compared to most others these days as well from what I gather. They are also well made as best I can tell. So they have a distinctive identity among many quality products as a result to help distinguish them from the pack. That's a good thing in general for a product to have, even speakers, where it largely seems that many are chasing essentially the same goals in various subtly different ways.
actusreus OP
733 posts
 
Awesome post Mmike84. I too noticed the similarity to Audio Note, but shockingly to me, some of the more expensive Audio Note speakers go really low, which belies their appearance and size.
I also get the distinctive look argument, but in my humble opinion, it should only work against Harbeth as they look rather dated, especially with their grills on. Reminds me of old Advents.
I'd love to audition a pair of 7ES-3s, but it seems it's easier to find Harbeth lines online than in a brick and mortar dealer.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
4,163 posts
 
This is the most insidious marketing campaign I've ever seen. Actusreus (an anagram for "curates us") is clearly a plant for Harbeth or its U.S. distributor. "We don't do deep bass, we're inefficient, we're plain looking" -- but people just love us. HAH! It's like that Volvo ad where they said the car is ugly. Very clever, sophisticated even, but it's nothing more than a tease. Prove I'm wrong!
joc3021
49 posts
 
I owned the original M40 for several years and have heard most of the Harbeth models at length. I think the point about the midrange is correct. This is where they shine. There is a natural, dimensional and tonally correct quality to the mids of these speakers. It's very seductive. Having said that, there is, to my ears, a pervasive warmth coloration that many UK speakers seem to have. Some of the edge, clarity and reality of the music is slightly blunted. A politeness if you will. I think people that listen to a lot of small scale acoustic will be most happy with these. For similar money, Green Mountain Audio loudspeakers are (IMO) far superior. Disclosure: I sell 'em. Not bad mouthing Harbeth's, lots of folks love them and have found satisfaction.
dobieguy
20 posts
 
(disclaimer: I've never seen a Harbeth up close,only
pictures)
Since you did not say what you don't like about how they sound,I guess you have not heard them either.
Specs alone mean little. Few,if any speakers do everything
right for everybody. What most Harbeth owners agree is that what they do-they do very well. I am amazed at the detail
they reveal and the quality of vocals.
As for the low end,they are no slouches.
As for the"DIY" enclosure- the Rosewood finish on my "BBC LOOK" Harbeths is Jaguar quality.
One speaker that has reached cult like statis is the Harbeth
LS3/5a. Not wanting a 25 year old speaker at three times the price new,I bought a pair or P3ESR's here on the 'GON.
I'm a believer. I've always been a British speaker guy.
These might be the last speakers I buy for a real long time.
ACTUSREUS-go have yourself a listen.Forget the specs,
forget the looks-listen to the music.Be careful of the"spell"



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