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
Just heard back from LeBron and Paul....... They both said go with LCD Panels. The specs on LED are too ordinary.
I'd take their advice, Banyon; who should know better than these artists how to electronically reproduce their craft?;)
Sorry Actusreus, I'm too snarky or obtuse for my own good.

I assumed you were asking why people buy or lavish praise on Harbeths when you assume the specs are mediocre---much like the ingredients on a pack of hotdogs wouldn't add up to the taste or pleasure they give to some people.

And you seem to think that Harbeths have taken over the market here, where in reality the vast majority of sales are not in the US, even less in England, but overseas.

To me you could have replaced any number of manufacturers names for Harbeth....names I could much more easily do without, like Dynaudio.
Chashas1 - so you don't like Harbeth or Dynaudio. What speakers have you owned that you like?