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In Reply to: RE: "In Appreciation of the Harbeth Compact 7 ES-3" posted by Sprezza Tura on July 27, 2015 at 18:13:36
A dealer let me enjoy this speaker for half a day. A most musical speaker indeed. I liked it better than its bigger brother.
Cheers
Bill
Follow Ups:
Thanks for the input Bill. I ordered a pair a few months ago as I am building a system for a new office we added to my house.
What is your take on where they stand for the money. Some posters, and one in particular whines and moans about the price. I think they are priced exactly right...
ST
I had a favorite speaker, the Joseph Audio Model 7 which was not cheap. The Harbeth 7 is most musical and non fatiguing and one has to pay for those qualities.
I don't consider KEF to be in the same league as Harbeth.
Cheers
Bill
I really like the Pulsar too. Great, great speaker. Double the price of the C7
I am glad you agree..specifically the KEF LS50, is absolutely not in the same league.
The Harbeth P3ESR just had a 12% price drop because of competition from a very popular KEF model (the LS50).
In other words the 'I get great reviews and can charge anything I like' bonus went away.
If the Compact 7 got that same 12% price drop (which still leaves a normal profit margin) they'd be $3350 a pair. Which is steep but reasonable.
But I don't think the importer has to worry about competition. He grabbed the closet competition (Stirling Broadcast) and has been throttling it to death. He just raised the price of the little Stirling SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS at the same time he dropped the price of the P3ESR THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS. Something is rotten in Denmark and it's the Harbeth importer.
And call them sometime and ask them about Stirling and see what you're told. I've had this experience recently and it was not pleasant.
So yes, the Harbeths are great speakers but except for the P3ESR they are definitely over priced.
"A lie is half-way around the world before the truth can get its boots on."
-Mark Twain
Wow..what took you so long?
Simple lesson in economics. Supply and demand. There is a 6 to 8 week wait for the C7. Hmmmm.
The P3ESR is compettivewith the KEF LS50? That is laughable.
You really have a vendetta against the importer.
They have two pair of Compact 7's IN STOCK and ready access to more.
This 'Oh, there's an 8 week wait' is BULLSH*T.
"A lie is half-way around the world before the truth can get its boots on."
-Mark Twain
Yes, I have a vendetta against the importer because of how he has screwed Doug Stirling.
It's despicable. He became the importer for that line only to protect his sales of Harbeth.
I have lots of friends in the business. KEF is selling LS50's BY THE TRUCKLOAD. It's a crazy popular speaker and IS SELLING LIKE CRAZY. So yes, they compete directly with the P3ESR. I OWN BOTH SO YEAH, I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT HERE.
And just because you have to wait a long time to get something DOES NOT MEAN THE PRICE IS REASONABLE. That's TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.
"A lie is half-way around the world before the truth can get its boots on."
-Mark Twain
Nt
+1
If you're of the idea that you should hear drivers and not cabinets, newer is generally better. If you prefer things the old way, and you want to be able to feel the cabinet vibrating as the music is playing, speakers like Harbeth and DeVore may be for you. IMO the Monitor 40 is textbook on how not to design a speaker. Imaging on those is a disaster, thanks to a front baffle that's a kajillion feet wide.
One thing designers have learned in the last 30 years when trying to integrate large woofers is to either place them on the side, or use a two-piece design so that the mid and HF drivers can be placed in a much smaller cabinets. Monitors image better than large towers for a reason, and if you can make the top of your speaker behave like a small two-way, you can try to replicate that while still preserving full range response that is generally not possible with a two-way.
Thanks for the insight on how a speaker should not be designed. I guess Harbeth,Spendor,ATC,Stirling,etc,have been doing it wrong and should go back to the drawing board. Pray tell ,you never mention what your speaker of choice is. Please do?
I routinely avoid speakers with a wide front baffle, far too many deleterious effects from that type of design. And that is one of the main reasons that I ended up with the speakers I have loved for the past 7 years: Gallo Reference 3.1s.
I believe that Anthony did a masterful job of designing these speakers: virtually no cabinet whatsoever, the drivers are housed in spherical chambers that virtually eliminate standing waves. Additionally. the drivers are mechanically matched so that a crossover network is not needed - and that eliminates a TON of problems when it comes to phase and frequency response.
Also, the woofers are side mounted in mirror image pairs, allowing one to experiment with woofers firing in or out. They also have dual voice coils which allow me to extend the low end frequency response from about 35Hz all the way down to 22Hz - truly astonishing performance from such a diminutive cabinet.
And, to top it off (both literally and figuratively) the Gallo's CDT tweeter is among the very best tweeters I have ever heard. The frequency response extends to 35kHz, the dispersion is an incredible 300 deg., and the power handling capability is astonishing - I have never heard of a CDT tweeter failing due to over amplification. And their sound quality ticks all the major boxes: they are smooth, sweet, fast, and clear!
Also, their midrange drivers are exceptionally well designed and built too out of carbon fibre. And there is no crossover employed between the mids and the other drivers, it is all handled by their mechanical design and natural roll-off.
If it sounds like I'm a fanboy, you'd be absolutely right! I believe these to be among the very best speakers ever made - regardless of price. The fact that I was able to purchase a 4 month old pair in *mint* condition for 1/2 of MSRP was just the icing on the cake! And, because I have a 5.1 surround sound system, I have mated them with Gallo's Ref. AV speakers which employ the very same design precis as well as identical midrange and hi-range drivers. The timbre matching between them is a thing of beauty.
I'm almost 60 years old and, due to their exceptionally robust construction, I fully expect to be enjoying these speakers for the next 20 years or so. I have seen nothing out there (that I can afford) that I feel would be an improvement upon what I have...I guess you could that I am one Happy Boy!!!
-RW-
Don't put ATC in Harbeth's ship. Harbeth basically ignores every advance made in loudspeaker design in the last 30+ years. Yes the LS3/5A was very nice in its day, but guess what, things have moved on. We know things now about internal standing waves and designing baffles for ideal on and off-axis response and dispersion and diffraction control etc etc etc.
My personal speakers are Aerial model 6. In the future I would like to upgrade to the ATC SCM40 v.2.
Would the Aerial 5B two way monitor be boarding that ship?
I'm of the idea I should be listening to music.
Sorry, I will take the opinion of the BBC's senior engineers who have mixed tens of thousands of audio on 40.1's and other models, and the folks at hundreds of recordings studios that use Harbeth over a self appointed forum expert/lecturer.
Harbeth: Unbraced square boxes with plastic drivers stuffed full of foam. If this were 1980 these would be pretty high tech speakers. The front and back panels are just screwed on, there's nothing to actually seal them in place. Clearly any sort of resonance control is not a priority at Harbeth. And if you like listening to your loudspeaker box ring a few milliseconds after the driver moves, more power to you.
the BBC speaker design folks knew what they were doing. Some reading up is in order.
Mark in NC
"The thought that life could be better is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains" -Paul Simon
Your ignorance is impressive.
Everyone has a opinion. We have suffered many of yours.
You tried to post your nonsense as fact, not an opinion. Educate your self before you embarrass your self again.
...let us look at more facts..
Many Harbeth dealers also deal Stirling..funny way to bury the brand in favor of Harbeth..Gene Rubin Audio sells both right on his web site.
The C73 has been in CONTINUOUS production with out change for SEVEN years now. The price is increase by what..$500...$700 max? Are you kidding me?
You should get on your hands and knees and thank god for companies like Harbeth that built their products in the country of origin, pay people real wages, don't product churn, and don't use bullshit marketing.
I like Harbeth speakers and own one. I AM NOT GOING TO 'GET ON MY KNEES' because they are nice speakers.
Perhaps you should 'GET ON YOUR KNEES' AND SHOW ALAN SHAW HOW MUCH YOU LIKE HIS SPEAKERS.
Seriously, .... you are INSANE.
"A lie is half-way around the world before the truth can get its boots on."
-Mark Twain
You really need to settle down LOL.
A Harbeth dealer with stock is NOTHING unusual. It is called STOCKING. You want cherry? You can walk out with one today. It is obvious from your posting history you have never run a business.
A fan boy? Sure, if a being a fan boy of a company that offers fantastic support, where the designer answers questions directly, where each pair is matched and numbered, where there there is no product churn, where the people who build the product are paid a good wage, in the country of origin, and where the pride of owner ship is significant..GUILTY!!!!!!!! Muahahaha..
No go sulk in the corner.
A bit emotional, no?
Whenever a Harbeth thread is started like clock work you post the predictable "the importer is a dick and the speakers are overpriced" rant.
You are entitled your opinion, no doubt. But if were thinking logically you may come to different conclusions.
What am are we missing hear, how is Doug Stirling get screwed? Who is putting a gun to his head to keep Fidelis as the importer? And Fidelis got a very, very positive review from Stereophile..funny way to kill a brand.
YOU are saying the Compact 7 is over priced...to YOUR wallet. It is not up to you to determine its market value. People are gladly paying and waiting. Their book is completely filled for the next 18 months.
The KEF costs them peanuts to make and the street price is well under the MSRP. Also, I was under the impression you sold yours, no?
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