What Is So Special About Harbeth?

[please excuse my poor English]

Just a few thoughts:

- buying a $2700 speaker blindly is like having your cat ordered on Amazon, and have it delivered by drone: completely, totally, dramatically nonsensical. But I am European (nobody’s perfect)...

- Harbeth speakers sound better

• on acoustic instruments (classical music, vocals, folk). They are not for rock, IMHO.
• listened near- or mid-field. Do not try to put them in a big room, sitting 5m away, pumping up the volume, in hope they will deliver the thrills of a live rock concert. They won’t. Instead, they will play like a "big radio gear".
• Sitting not too far, you have to look into the sonic landscape they produce, instead of expecting that the scene "jumps to you" //hope this is understandable...
• at low to moderate volume. The can play louder, but it is not what they prefer.

In these conditions, they are terrific speakers if you favor timbres, emotion et delicacy (ex: unamplified acoustic music), at the expense of sheer energy and attack (ex: amplified rock concerts).

I upgraded from M30.1 to M30.2 Anniversary. I compared them at home. The M30.2 Ann gives me more detail, is more transparent, lifelike. Its low-mid is less exaggerated. And the M30.2 Ann remains a highly musical monitor.

For those that say they are overpriced I would be interested in which less expensive speakers sounded better to you.

For those that have moved on which speakers did you move to? 

Why this almost exclusive focus on Harbeth?

Why not take a look at Graham, Stirling and Rogers and see how they're built?

For those that say they are overpriced I would be interested in which less expensive speakers sounded better to you.

It goes without saying in this hobby that 'better ' is pretty arbitrary and about personal preference, especially for speakers.   

That being said, when explicitly looking at US MSRP, to me the outlier in the Harbeth line is the cost of the 40.3XD.

e.g.

https://store.acousticsounds.com/d/132377/Spendor-SPENDOR_CLASSIC_100-Speakers

vs

https://store.acousticsounds.com/d/154678/Harbeth_Speakers-Monitor_403_XD-Speakers

I've seen some used 40.3s recently going for prices I would feel comfortable paying for them if I thought I could make them work in my smallish room.

It is not like there are no other high quality speakers that MSRP around its used prices though.   Here is my current upgrade list and I've been able to demo 3 of them so far with more to come shortly hopefully.

I'm not going to argue any or all of these are 'better' than the $24.5K 40.3, but I think it is safe to say the 40.3 has some serious competition at its current price point in the US...

Vandy Quatro Wood CT $18K

Vivid Kaya 45 $18K

Joseph Audio Perspective2 $15K

Yamaha NS5000 $15K

Spendor D9.2 $13K (currently own D9s when MSRP was $10K and 40.2 $15K).

Fleetwood Deville $12.6K

Fyne F1-8 and 7 series $10 to $14K

@ddafoe That’s an awesome list you got there. I am clearly a fan of the Harbeth sound, but I do believe that Harbeth is going to price themselves out of the market if they continue to raise their prices. I feel that SHL5+ and 30.2 (not 30.1 though) are very competitive with respect to their competition, but both P3ESR and 40.3 are in a segment where their competitors offer performance that is at least as good if if not better.

I listened to Joseph Audio Perspectives last year, and I must say it really moved me like few other speakers have so far. If I ever decide t replace my SHL5+, the Perspectives are definitely at the top of my list. Also heard good things about Fleetwood Deville, but haven’t had a chance to listen to them in person yet.