I usually stay away from these types of comparisons that often turn into pissing matches. But, given some of the negative opinions expressed about Harbeth speakers, I want to share my experiences having owned several Harbeth speakers over the years, including P3esr, M30.1, SHL5+, and M40.2.
First of all, you have to acknowledge the fact that when a company sticks around for this long and has a huge fanbase, they have to be doing something right. The opinions of the usual suspects who trash speaker brand A in favor of brand B which they happen to own should be taken with a grain of salt. Just because you don’t like a speaker doesn’t mean it’s overpriced crap.
In my audio journey, I have gone away from Harbeth several times, only to dearly miss the sound characteristics and buy them again. A couple of years ago, I replaced my Harbeth SHL5+ with Joseph Audio Perspective2 Graphene speakers. The Perspectives were an amazing speaker and did most things right. But I still missed that unique Harbeth midrange magic. Sure, the bass on the Perspectives was tighter and more visceral. They had a very modern, crisp sound ... but at the end of the day, while they wowed me they did not engage me emotionally. So last year, I replaced them with Harbeth M40.2.
For my tastes, in my room, with my equipment, there’s simply no contest. While the 40.2 don’t have the visceral and impactful bass (which is phenomenal on the JA Perspectives), what they do have is very natural, tuneful and textured bass which I enjoy considerably more than the Perspectives. These speakers need a hefty amp to wake them up though. I suspect most people who were ultimately disappointed in Harbeth 40.x (especially when it comes to playing pop, rock, EDM) did not give them enough current. For me, after owning several pairs of speakers ranging from $2000 - 25,000, the 40.2s have given me the most listening pleasure to date. The bass is good enough that it prompted me to sell my pair of REL S/510s. The vocal reproduction is outstanding. The midrange is so seductive that it makes you forget about the equipment and just get drawn (drown?) into the music. Unlike some other speakers, the Harbeths are not going to make your jaw drop at first listen. No, they’re not that type of speaker. What they do bring to the table is a sense of ’substance’, naturalness, and balance across the frequency range. I listen to all types of music with the exception of metal, rap, and hip hop. The 40.2s just deliver what I desire.
This does not mean the Perspectives are an inferior speaker. I’m sure some folks would prefer them over anything Harbeth. But what I can tell you is that if you keep aside the usual allegations (old technology, cheap parts, etc.) to insinuate that these are overpriced speakers, and only focus on sound ... then IMO the 40.2 are absolutely worthy of their asking price. Also, just because they do vocals exceedingly well doesn’t mean they’re a one trick pony or not worthy of being considered as all-rounders. They do lots of things very right. Maybe it’s not your cup of tea and that’s quite alright. But let’s not write them off because someone thinks they’re not worth the asking price.
