What Is So Special About Harbeth?

@goofyfoot

I might be mistaken but I thought Harbeth had moved its manufacturing to China, sharing the same manufacturing facility as Quad.

I do hear that British speakers, Sterling, Rogers, Quad, Harbeth, etc... all share a common characteristic in that they are forward sounding.

you are mistaken, harbeths are made in britain still

you should perhaps also define ’forward’ for us in your use of the word, but using the definition of ’forward’ commonly understood in these circles, you are mistaken again

there is a saying that is bandied about pretty often by well worn, long time music lovers and audiophiles - ’after you have tried em all, you come back and find a home with harbeths’... obviously no speaker appeals to all, even all well worn audiophiles, but there is some truth in that claim

harbeths are natural sounding, do voice and real (non electrified) instruments very well, do not overwhelm with a false sense of detail and ’hi-fi-ness’... as @arafiq  states, their appeal is in their ability to please and allow for lengthy listening sessions without fatigue, and allow much harshly, poorly recorded material to sound passable, if not downright good

jjss49

'you are mistaken, harbeths are made in britain still'

Yes, I already apologized.

It's difficult to describe in words, what we hear in audio. British speakers to my ears are more forward sounding than American speakers. My Quads sound balanced while being slightly forward at the same time. I happen to like that with the majority of the recordings that I own .If to you I am wrong, that's fine, to others I am right.

They are very good for acoustic guitar and vocals and that is all they can provide.

The XD series has underdone certainly one round of price increases, perhaps two, and currently in the USA I just don’t think they’re price-competitive, whatever their many virtues.

I’m a huge fan of Harbeth as well, but I feel they are not very competitive at their current prices. I really like the P3esr, but something like a Fritz Carrera BE is much better for the same price.

I share the same sentiments. Folks in Britain also felt the same. At the current prices for the XD, the Harbeth are not considered to be good value anymore. Pick the predecessor(s) for best value or sound for your dollars. Avoid the older models and start from SHL5+ or SHL5+ 40th Anniversary, M30.2 Anniversary, 40.1 or 40.2 Anniversary etc.

The Harbeth may sound great but there are other options which sound great too, and some may offer a bit more.. There are many choices for you to pick from at the equivalent price range. It's good to have some variety in life.

@bob540

They sound good

I auditioned vs two other similarly priced standmounts ($6 - $10), and Super HL5+ was easy choice for me. Same story as always - it’s a matter of personal taste & no intrinsic relationship between cost & enjoyment

(personal impressions at the time - other speakers mostly sounded like listening to a box, even if a very good box; H’s had beautiful detail - there is always “more” if you listen deeper; H’s felt equal to, or more alive, on very dynamic music; H’s beautiful on singer/songwriter & other smaller-scale acoustic music)

Ex: Beggars Banquet (mostly acoustic album) with all that beautiful slide guitar by Brian Jones, is just so, so good on the H’s - was different experience than the others I listened to. “Song Remains the Same” by Zep (the song) maybe has more “snap” on cabinet-sized Klipsch, or something. Btw, I like H’s bass very much - on SRtS, John Paul Jones bass is so there and musical and you understand how much it adds to the song. Same on Immigrant Song - H’s give up nothing vs others down low, unless one thinks toneless “thump” = bass. Superunknown is so, so crunchy and one can just crank it when in the mood

”Mining for Gold” by Cowboy Junkies one of my favorite audition songs, and for me is transporting on the H’s

If you listen to different genres than above, lmk and I will think about other comparisons

Good luck with the decision and let us know what you get!

Have a great day

@jjss49 +1 @deadhead1000 + 1

+ Nice thread; appreciate the thoughtful responses and comparisons