Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Harbeth HL Compact 7ES Speakers by Rajesh

Harbeth, a British speaker manufacturer, is relatively unknown in the US, though Harbeth speakers have received many gushing accolades in the British press. Comments about the Compact 7â€™s musicality and natural sound from Bob Neil and others in the Asylum, Robert Greene (TAS) and Martin Colloms (HiFi New and Record Review) piqued my curiosity and I decided to try them.

How do they sound? I have owned them for about 3 weeks now and must say, these speakers have delighted me. The midrange is beautiful â€“ clear, natural and believable. The speakers particularly excel in presenting acoustic music-- voices, saxophones, piano and cello. It is startling how well the speakers capture the tone, harmonics and beginning and fading of notes. Coltraneâ€™s solos in Kind of Blue (SACD) never sounded so compelling. Listening to Pablo Casals play Bachâ€™s Cello Suites (not the best of recordings) is a stirring experience. I am transported to the Paris studio where the recording was made in the 1930s. Similarly Schubertâ€™s Impromptus performed by Mitsuko Uchida (Phillips) sound so convincing, it is like I am really there. I feel I am hearing new nuances in Sinatraâ€™s Capitol recordings. The speakers excel at playing large-scale orchestrations as well as intimate recordings of small groups. In Joe Lovanoâ€™s new nonet recording, 52nd Street themes (By the way, an excellent performance and a great 2 track analog recording), I hear the details. I am enjoying music so much that I am losing sleep.

The bass, generated by a 80mm driver, is full. The bass seems to extend below the published 48hz and low-level resolution is very good. I was surprised by how much better the bass was compared to my old speakers, Proac Response 2, whose published bass extension was lower. According to Alan Shaw, the speakerâ€™s designer, the superior bass and midrange are the result of a unique, patented polymeric composite cone design, which he developed from extensive fundamental research. Similarly, high frequencies are presented well, clear but without the etched sound that you sometimes get in the name of detail, which tires you out over time.

Imaging is pinpoint and the speakers excel in disappearing when playing well-recorded music.

How do these speakers compare with others? Overall, in my opinion, the midrange of these speakers is superior â€“more natural and believable-- to all other speakers I have heard including high-end models from JM Utopia, AudioPhysics and Dynaudio. I am most familiar with the Proac Response 2, which I have owned and enjoyed. The R2 is an excellent speaker but in my opinion, the Harbeth is better. With the Proacs, the image of individual instruments is small and specific; perhaps more self-consciously audiophile and the Harbeth, while retaining the detailed textures and tones of individual instruments, have a denser, fuller presentation, in addition to its advantages in bass and midrange.

The Compact 7ES is a vented 2-way speaker. Dimensions are 520 x 273 x 315mm, fairly large as far as stand-mounted design. Nominal impedance is 8ohms, and they are fairly easy to drive. The finish of the cabinets is beautiful. I chose a eucalyptus finish, which shows off the grain of the wood. It appears that production of this speaker has not scaled with its demand, as I had to wait several weeks before my pair was shipped. Harbeth is distributed in North America by Simply Music ( 902 -454-9253.Garnet Lewis is a pleasure to do business with)

Overall this speaker is highly recommended. I feel it is a giant killer in terms of musicality and value for money.

REVIEW: Harbeth HL Compact 7ES Speakers Review by Rajesh at Audio Asylum