What Is So Special About Harbeth?

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.

The upside here is that the sweet spot in the Harbeth range was represented by the previous two generations/iterations: the Anniversary series and the non-anniversary series before that (e.g. 40.2 Anniversary, 40.2).  Pick up a gently used pair of these in whatever model you're interested in, and you get all the Harbeth magic at a much more reasonable price.  That's exactly what I did.

Every loudspeaker, no matter the price, is voiced by the builder to best accomplish their design goals.  That's why there's no unanimity of opinion of the best speaker at any given price range, including unlimited.  Harbeth, like many brands, has been around for a long time.  You can trust them to build a quality product at a just price.

That doesn't mean they're for you.  Every buyer is seeking the speaker in their price range that best meets their own personal "voicing" standards.

Don't look at this as being something special that Agon is offering you.  It's just a sales ad.  If Harbeth wasn't on your radar before, you don't need to add them now.

BBC must be part of the image, and the rainy UK weather, when engineers just tweak it until their ears fall off

@chorus I thought TMR was selling B-stock that's why the prices were lower. 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.

Thank you all for your responses and suggestions.  I don’t think I will be purchasing any Harbeth until after I have had a chance to hear them.  I was just wondering what all the fuss is about — won’t know until I listen!