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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
chashas1
596 posts
 
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.
shsohis
119 posts
 
Frankly speaking, "phenomenon" and "Harbeth" are mutually exclusive.
pdreher's avatar
pdreher
1,217 posts
 
Chashas1 - so you don't like Harbeth or Dynaudio. What speakers have you owned that you like?
chashas1
596 posts
 
no no no.. I love Harbeths...I even own a pair of 7's... as for the Dynaudios, I've never heard a pair that I cared for--at dealers. Perhaps if I took a pair home it might be different, although I doubt it.
I like planars, yet I've never liked Magnepans.
So like Actureus, I read about many brands I scratch my head over, if that's indeed what he's doing.
luna
235 posts
 
What an interesting post! I just replaced my long term reference Thiels 3.6 which I had for the last ten years with the HL-5! I tried many other speakers but still could not part with my thiels. I also spent a lot of money on equipments to best match my Thiels too. But now, I have made up my mind to sell it! Not to say which speaker is better than which as they all have their merits. As I have been in this hobby for more than fifteen years, doing the merry go round thing as a lot of audiophiles have done. This is the first time I found I am put my audiophile thoughts away and start listening to the music itself! I can’t explain it but it is like learning to listen with a whole new perspective. Let say the other speakers let me believe I am hearing the realism of the individual instruments more while the Harbeths brings me closer to the whole musical event. I am now enjoying most Lps or CDs without skipping tracks unless the music itself is poor while in the past, I had more concerns with the recordings than the musical performance. Interestingly, listening to some highly regarded audiophile disks become far less rewarding as the speaker does not emphasise on those factors and that is why some people will not find these speakers love at first hearing.
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