Harbeth Owners Thread

StuartB

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
I see that there are threads for a number of other British made speakers, so why not Harbeth?

I have a new-to-me pair of Harbeth C7-ES3. They are mounted on Sound Anchor stands and mated with Exposure electronics. I am extremely pleased with the sound, and am enchanted by the magic of Harbeth. I think we need a thread on these exquisite speakers and the company that designs and manufactures them. Their website is very helpful, and the owner/designer, Alan Shaw frequents many of the forums.

Here's to a great line of speakers. I believe they deserve equal time with other classic lines such as Spendor, Proac, ATC.....etc.
 
Hi Stuart
As a long time owner of British speakers I've been hooked on small BBC derived monitors and the magic they deliver.
When the P3ESRs were first released the hype was overwhelming and availability became nonexistent. Orders were gladly taken with no delivery date promised. Finding a pair previously owned? Good luck with that.
Then one zero degree day, at seven in the morning, an ad pops up on that other audiophile site. With a local zip code.
With a must sell fast. With absolutely like new condition. With less than a month old. With a phone number.
An hour later, I'm a Harbeth owner. Rosewood too!
That was Jan. 2010. The honeymoon is still not over.
I've heard the other models. No reason for me to move up the chain. I'm smitten.
 
Last edited:
I have a similar story. I was on the lookout for some British stand mounts. Late one night a pair of the current C7s show up on probably the same site. The posting included the correct Sound Anchor stands. Perfect condition, but half way across the country. I immediately make an offer that is way lower than what he was asking but more than I wanted to spend. He immediately accepted and I immediately paid. It was like a two minute turnaround. Five minutes later I am sitting there wondering what I just did. Needless to say I am thrilled with the result, and feel like I am set for a long time.

I am surprised that there is not a little more action around Harbeth speakers here, relative to Spendor, B&W....etc.
 
I use a pair of P3ESRs in my office setup with Rega Brio-R, Apollo-R & C-DAC-R. Sounds great and many visitors stop by for some soothing sounds.
 
Would love to hear and own some Harbeth. A bit spendy for me right now...I'm more on a KEF budget, lol. I would love to hear what all the fuss is about though. I hear a lot of Quad owners go to Harbeth. I have some Quad 57's and if the Harbeth's sound anything like those, then WOW.
 
The closest I heard to my Quads at RMAF last October were a pair of Harbeth HL5+, being driven by a Vinnie Rossi modular integrated with giant tubes poking out.
 
I've been running some P3ESR's with my McIntosh gear in my office, the sound is outstanding. When I went to the dealer to hear them I didn't know what to expect since I've never heard any British speakers. I instantly fell in love and took them home. If you're in the market for some small monitors and the P3ESR's are in your budget, you owe it to yourself to have a listen.
 
Recently picked up, and have been enjoying (tremendously) a new set of M30.1's (Rosewood). Supplemented with a Totem Storm sub, the sound in my room is refined, detailed, full scale and oh so natural. Couldn't be happier.
 
Recently picked up, and have been enjoying (tremendously) a new set of M30.1's (Rosewood). Supplemented with a Totem Storm sub, the sound in my room is refined, detailed, full scale and oh so natural. Couldn't be happier.

Nice. How difficult was integrating the sub into your system? I know a lot of that is room dependent, but interested in how you crossed over the speakers and sub.
 
Nice. How difficult was integrating the sub into your system? I know a lot of that is room dependent, but interested in how you crossed over the speakers and sub.

Surprisingly easy to integrate it.Now bear in mind that I dont have measurements to back me up, but I sense that my room is fairly bass friendly. Crossed over at 70 Hz and the volume dial of the sub set modestly at 8 oclock close to minimum.
The result is a tight, precise non boomy bass response that digs quite low and augments the impact and size of soundstage on relevant recordingx
 
I have added a JL Audio d110 sub to the mix. I used Crisco's pictures to experiment on placement, I have mine off to the left and slightly forward of the speakers. I am really pleased with the sound so far and believe I can probably still tune and refine a bit. The d110 is a 10" sealed sub with a 700 watt class D amp I have set the cross over at ~50hz with the C7ES3 speakers. I have tried to keep the volume set to where the bass does not call attention to itself. I really am enjoying the added heft at the bottom octave(s), and the sub is fast enough to stay up with the Harbeths.
 
I see that there are threads for a number of other British made speakers, so why not Harbeth?

I have a new-to-me pair of Harbeth C7-ES3. They are mounted on Sound Anchor stands and mated with Exposure electronics. I am extremely pleased with the sound, and am enchanted by the magic of Harbeth. I think we need a thread on these exquisite speakers and the company that designs and manufactures them. Their website is very helpful, and the owner/designer, Alan Shaw frequents many of the forums.

Here's to a great line of speakers. I believe they deserve equal time with other classic lines such as Spendor, Proac, ATC.....etc.

StuartB I think that Harbeth has been discussed so little on the forum is because one isn't going to find them in a THRIFT STORE.
 
That is probably true, and there is the issue of diminishing returns, but boy these are really nice speakers. I am just surprised that more folks have not stopped the unending search with some Harbeths.
 
id like to say yes but in reality it is a small improvement over the 2s.
It is more like a subtle refinement than a change. Which is a good thing imho
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom