I think you'll find Merlin VSM owners wax equally lyrical:)
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.
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.
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- 144 posts total
OHM speakers (www.ohmspeakers.com) have a unique and large scale following as well, both in and out of the high end niche. Distinctive sound and design, high value, the same basic approach more or less for about 40 years now, and outstanding customer service, which always helps. I've stuck with them for over 30 years and am still content. Their older conventional box designs like the Es, Ls, C2s, and Hs refurbished from the factory, could make for a lower cost alternative to Harbeth to consider. They are made in the USA in Brooklyn, NY as well. |
Mlsstl, I see your comments on the box design and you have a valid point that a lot of thought went into the box design. Again I have never heard them but the problem with the absorption method is that it will only work at certain frequencies. But I was really just commenting on the very wide boxy shape that will definitely lead to a lot of unwanted diffraction and poor off axis tonal balance. The wide front baffle will lead to beaming at high frequencies and the Harbeths are wide enough (larger models) that the beaming effect could even reach down into the midrange. But don't take my word for it I am no expert by any means. You can see in the Stereophile lateral response graph the the off axis response is very poor. This would make them very hard to work into my narrow (12X20) room where I get a lot of side wall energy. |
- 144 posts total