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Harbeth Speakers


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I have Harbeth P3ESR and M30.1s. Aside from their sound - which I obviously like - I really like their appearance. It is a classic, form-follows-function style. The opposite of the interior design approach to speakers. In contrast, I find the Kef LS50s very ugly and couldn't live with a pair.

 

Here is one of my M30.1s.

 

IMG_1546.jpg

 

 

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Not.

 

This is a myth IMHO.

 

Harbeths like plenty of welly, other wise they can sound lazy.  I use 225 wpc with my 40.1s and 200 wpc with my 7ES3s.

 

The ideal combination for me is a valve preamp and warm SS power amp.

 

PS: quote button from post #13 didn't work.

 

I simply do not get the whole Harbeth thing.  God only knows I have tried.

 

I have tried them at home ,and in several other demo locations, on a variety of amps,sources,etc. For me they are just boring and lifeless. The irony here is that I actually like the retro look design but I think I must inhabit a parallel universe because this one seems to adore them.

 

I'm willing to admit it's me and that I am wrong :)

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Guest rogerthat

It is funny how people have polar opposite listening experiences. I recently demoed the Harbeth P3ESR with a rega elicit r and my own choice of music. It was the most fun speaker I have ever heard.

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I believe the two camps regarding cabinet construction differ on the relative resonant frequencies (and Q) of the panels.

The thin wall construction attempts to move cabinet vibrations lower in the frequency range, particularly when damped.

The heavy wall construction seeks to ensure minimal panel resonance at lower frequencies, but this will naturally push resonances higher up the frequency range.

I guess its a matter of picking your poison and doing your R&D thoroughly, along with objective and subjective testing.

SS

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I simply do not get the whole Harbeth thing.  God only knows I have tried.

 

I have tried them at home ,and in several other demo locations, on a variety of amps,sources,etc. For me they are just boring and lifeless. The irony here is that I actually like the retro look design but I think I must inhabit a parallel universe because this one seems to adore them.

 

I'm willing to admit it's me and that I am wrong :)

 

No, you're not wrong. It really depends on what type of music you like, how loud you listen and how you like your music presented. If you play rock music at high volumes in a large room, for example, I can't see Harbeths being remotely satisfying. But if your preference is for jazz at very low volumes in a small room, Harbeths can sound amazing. I like to listen in nearfield in my small room at very low volumes. At times I miss the dynamics of other speakers I have owned. But the richness and fullness of sound at very low volumes is very satisfying in its own terms. No speaker is perfect; all audio is compromise. You just have to find the set of compromises you can accept, and for me Harbeths represent this.

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I much prefer the understated look in speakers, so really like Harbeth speakers.

 

This to me is a gaudy looking speaker. Like it is trying to hard to add bling to it.

All it is missing is some blue highlight lights underneath. :)

 

 

attachicon.gif2016-08-25_132421.jpg

They sound as vulgar as they look too.

Real boom and tizz boxes.They sound like somebody has switched on a loudness button and forgotten to turn it off when they turn up the volume.

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They sound as vulgar as they look too.

Real boom and tizz boxes.They sound like somebody has switched on a loudness button and forgotten to turn it off when they turn up the volume.

 

Goes to show how evaluation of sound is so personal - whilst the looks of the Paradigms are most definitely not my cup of tea, I was very impressed with the sound of the Studio 100's. In the system I heard them in, "boom and tizz boxes" is the polar opposite of what I heard - very neutral and clean sounding with decent heft down low. They were fed by a pretty meaty MF amp which may have helped but they were certainly impressive to my ears.

 

And to the actual thread topic, I like the traditional and simple styling of the Harbeths - similar visually to some old Rogers Studio 1a's and Celefs that I've owned.

Edited by Hensa
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No, you're not wrong. It really depends on what type of music you like, how loud you listen and how you like your music presented. If you play rock music at high volumes in a large room, for example, I can't see Harbeths being remotely satisfying. But if your preference is for jazz at very low volumes in a small room, Harbeths can sound amazing. I like to listen in nearfield in my small room at very low volumes. At times I miss the dynamics of other speakers I have owned. But the richness and fullness of sound at very low volumes is very satisfying in its own terms. No speaker is perfect; all audio is compromise. You just have to find the set of compromises you can accept, and for me Harbeths represent this.

That's also what I was thinking, I mean I was saying to myself people who listen and like Harbeths must be listening them at low volumes, otherwise with just thin cabinet structure vibration/resonance must be at hysterical levels if one tries to listen them at mid to high volume levels. 

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Just different design philosophies.

 

Aims and goals. If there was one way that worked best, everyone would be doing it that way I think.

 

Mark Lenehan can't be all that famous, never heard of him ;) IF Mike Lenehan was meant, I'm not sure how he finds time to review any speakers outside of his own ones in development.

Sorry for the typo, meant Mike Lenehan.

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I have the Harbeth SHL5+ and can't give any complaint about it. I also love the look of it in my living room, just simply classic. I listen to vocal, jazz. blue and a bit classical and I find Harbeth does so well at what I listen to. I often listen quite loud, and I find that it doesn't matter when I turn the volume up or down, I still hear the recording at it best. If possible you can arrange an audition and share with us what you think.

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Guest BobbyD

I have the Harbeth SHL5+ and can't give any complaint about it. I also love the look of it in my living room, just simply classic. I listen to vocal, jazz. blue and a bit classical and I find Harbeth does so well at what I listen to. I often listen quite loud, and I find that it doesn't matter when I turn the volume up or down, I still hear the recording at it best. If possible you can arrange an audition and share with us what you think.

 Kyle, Curious as to what amps you are using. SS or Tubes and how many watts.

 

Cheers :)

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  • 2 months later...
On 26/08/2016 at 1:46 PM, kylevuong19 said:

I'm using Primaluna Dialogue integrated with 4 x KT120 tubes, more than enough to wake up the neighbours...

Hi Kyle

I'm running the same amp and are looking to upgrade my speakers. The Harbeth are an option i'm considering. With your experience would you say there a good match for the PrimLuna

 

I too have installed the KT120 tubes for a bit more punch :)

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Paul

 

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19 hours ago, ollie_08 said:

Hi Kyle

I'm running the same amp and are looking to upgrade my speakers. The Harbeth are an option i'm considering. With your experience would you say there a good match for the PrimLuna

 

I too have installed the KT120 tubes for a bit more punch :)

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Paul

 

Would someone  like to come in to have a Harbeth demo with Prima Luna Int Amp?

 

We have some special offer for you also !

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Yes, Harbeth do look just ordinary, however they reproduce extra-ordinary sound!

Class A audio in Melb have the full Harbeth line up, I only listened very briefly to a smaller pair, sounded great. Very smooth, open soundstage driven with Primaluna tube amp, very well balanced from top to bottom in all frequencies with good definition.

I guess these are built around true monitor standards, they seem to be fairly easily driven.

 

Class A audio also has a very nice demo room for Harbeths, I think the bigger ones were in the larger room though.

Cheers mates, RJ

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I think the P3ESR is absolutely beautiful, from the cabinet shape, to the drivers, to the screws on the front panel, to the wood finish. I love them.

I've never heard any Harbeth sound like "boom and tizz" or similar to a loudness effect. If anything they don't boost the treble as much as most other speakers.

Maybe it was a bad match to the amplifier.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Have a pair of M30.1 running in at the moment.

 

Amazing midrange on these, very good long term listenability.

 

They do seem quite inefficient as Bronal describes above, I have a 250 watt amp with them and they need a little bit of volume to get them moving, good low level listening though.

 

The most impressive thing about these as well as the midrange is the amount of detail uncovered is bordering on amazing to me. This occurs without straying into treble etch or brightness, which is a combination I haven't heard in any other speaker so far.

 

I recall Andrew S telling me how much he loved these, I now know why.

IMG_0414.JPG

Edited by Ray H
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Hi ,

just read this excellent review on them (P3ESR):

 

http://www.stereo.net.au/reviews/harbeth-p3esr-loudspeakers-review

 

I did listen to that same model some time ago, lovely speakers, but sound wise I am more of a ProAc man, despite their (P3ESR) strong performance on certain music genres.

When I was young, you were either into Beatles or Stones. But grown older I certainly can say Harbeth and ProAc, both exceptionell speaker companies...

Cheers

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