Harbeth 40.2 Anniversary
 

After an exhaustive and expensive search, I have found a speaker that finally brings me into the music like no other.

While I was very pleased with my KEF Blade 2 speakers, there were still moments of annoyance with some of the higher frequencies. Cables did help, going back to a Luxman Class A helped. I wanted a bit more. I was questioning my sources such as my K-01X and embarqued on a search for a MBS DAC.

When questioning one of my local retailers who actually sells Esoteric and MSB, their response was that the Harbeths would take care of what I was trying to accomplish.

The owner and another associate guaranteed that I would love the speakers. They were so sure, that they brought a brand new pair of boxed speakers for my in-home demo NO STRINGS ATTACHED.

I was amazed at how these speakers performed in terms of realism and neutral presentation. Gone are the annoying parts of my reference tracks.

I’m sure there are many who are rolling their eyes as they read this post but if you haven’t heard these speakers, you might be very surprised.

Now it’s time to listen to MUSIC! :banana:

Congratulations Greg!!
The Harbeth's definitely are a pleasure to listen to and produce beautiful music.

Congrats on the Harbeth 40.2' Anniversary edition Greg! They look great! :thumbsup:

As a 30.2 Anniversary owner, I can certainly relate to your enthusiasm with these wonderful speakers. :music:

Interesting how we both went in very large circles with audio gear and ultimately wound up on the same Luxman/Harbeth combo. :thumbsup:

Let them settle in a bit and if your experience is similar to mine, you will soon forget all about searching for other gear. :smoking:

Gotta love those German Bavarian Alps region hand crafted TonTraeger stands. :thumbsup: Each pair is lovingly hand crafted for each Harbeth model and the quality is very impressive.

By the way, I have experimented with my Harbeth pair with a different stand in the beginning (metal and mass loaded) and the TonTraeger stands add much of the magic to Harbeth speakers. Harbeth do react to various stands more than many other speakers due to the nature of Harbeth design and how they "breathe". Must be a sympathetic resonance thing going on. They make the Harbeth sound "so right"!


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I keep my grills on by the way. Alan Shaw designed and tuned them to work best with grills on. There was much discussion going on about it on the Harbeth owners forum in UK so of course I had to experiment for myself. I heard no advantage with the grills off in terms of additional air or clarity of sound. Back on the grills went. :yes: That is the reason they are not exactly easy to remove in the first place by the way.

Greg, let me know what you think of Tubes on Harbeth! :smoking: The Luxman and PrimaLuna HP both see equal play time in my system. Love them both. :music:

Congratulations on your new Harbeth's. They are on my radar but only wish they would come out with a center channel speaker.

How is the speaker cabinet and overall quality compared to others in the respected price range?

Ron

Thanks Buddy and Serge.

Serge - regarding the grills, they sure are difficult to remove. Once I get used to the sonic signature, I may put them back on and experience the difference.

I haven’t tried my PrimaLuna with them yet (I have the DiaLogue Premium) but looking forward to doing so!

It is in fact, quite interesting that we both have travelled in the same audio journey only to arrive at almost the same conclusion. :thumbsup:

Ron - cabinet quality is first rate. I chose an upgraded veneer called Tamo Ash. It was the closest finish to my racks.

I'll second the notion that the Harbeth cabinets are of superb quality. Here is my pair of 40th anniversary in Silver Eucalyptus. Difficult to photograph as they are even more gorgeous in person. :yes:

That’s good news Greg. Glad to see that you finally found “your speakers”. Time to enjoy the music.

That's good to hear because I previously thought maybe thin plywood was used, making it look cheap.

Ron

Congrats Greg, it sounds like you have hit pay dirt, enjoy them !

Done? :rofl2:

Congratulations Greg. Enjoy! What size is your listening room? The 40.2s are relatively large, I've been considering them for a while but am concerned that my 12x18 room may be too small.

I have to say until I heard the M40.2s, I didn't care much for the other Harbeths I did hear before - including the Compact 7 and the SuperHL5.

I always thought the combined mid/bass RADIAL driver was trying to do too much and ended up muddying the bass. I understand that they were trying to extend the lower frequencies on the LS3/5 design but it just felt off to me.

The M40.2 changed all that. The RADIAL driver was now just acting fully as a midrange driver and what a glorious midrange it produced. The bass from the dedicated woofer was convincing without intruding on the mids.

I also really like the M30.2. Like the M40.2, the RADIAL driver works more like a midrange driver, and is tuned not to extend as low as the Compact7/SuperHL5.

The tontrager stands are also a brilliant design. Unlike other brands which try to create an inert cabinet (Magico et al), Harbeth designed the cabinet to have its own natural resonance, and the little raised corners on the tontrager stands allow even the bottom panel of the cabinet to resonate.

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Congrats on finding an awesome system that you also love.

Thanks! My room is 18x18. I’m not certain if your room would be too small. There are many who use the 40.2 in 12x12 rooms. Only one way to tell - in home demo!

Thanks doggiehoser. Interesting that you made the observations about not liking Harbeth until hearing the 30.2 and 40.2. I was under the same impression for years after having listened to the other models. 30.2 and 40.2 (especially Anniversary models) take things to the next level and address some of the shortcomings of previous models.

Agreed. Having auditioned Harbeth many years ago, I was moved but not quite enough to pull the trigger. The slight but not insignificant upgrades have made all the difference to my ears to own a pair and now that I've spent considerable time with them, they are keepers for any foreseeable future. Are they the be all, end all type of a speaker for everyone? Nope, there are plenty of great speakers out there for every taste and budget but they sure do resonate well with my inner music lover and that's more than enough for me. :music: I thought the value on of the 30.2 was simply outstanding. Of course the 40.2 costs substantially more and rightfully so! For some the 30.2 would be a great balance, for others the flagship 40.2 would make more sense! All in all, I think the 40.2 are still a heck of a bargain as compared to the rather insane prices on other speakers that I would be hard pressed to quantify or justify spending that much more on. I've owned enough speakers at various price points to clearly understand and appreciate the value of Harbeth! :thumbsup:

Congratulations on the 40.2 Anniversary speakers!

I'm thinking about them as well, unless you bought the last pair that the importer had in stock (which were Tamo Ash), as of a few weeks ago!
There's supposed to be a wait for new orders of up to a few months.

Did you hear both the 40.2 and the Anniversary models? I've been told I'd be happy with either and it would be hard to tell the difference.

Thanks Christian - Sorry they are the 40.2 Tamo Ash Anniversary models you were interested in. There is another pair of walnut incoming. As for Tamo Ash, I can find out the real facts on lead time as my dealer is also the US importer.

There is a difference between the regular vs Anniversary editions. Better components and wiring.

The Anniversary editions offer the latest WBT-nextgen binding posts, custom Harbeth internal cables and Harbeth branded British-made audio grade poly capacitors. Each speaker will include the Harbeth 40th Anniversary limited edition front and back badges, as well as a metallic black and gold anniversary grille badge.

In addition to this, each celebratory model will also be packaged in our new Harbeth branded cotton
bags. :D

The Tamo Ash looks really attractive on your 40.2's!.
I wondered what it would look like on the 40.2 given that all the pictures I found of Tamo Ash on the internet are on the smaller models.

I was told that there was a pair of Tamo Ash Anniversary and Cherry non-anniversary if my memory is correct and possibly a 3 month wait for anything else due to production delays. There are a handful of used 40.2 and 40.2 Anniversary available on Audiogon that have caught my eye, as well.

Do the speakers sit as precariously as it appears on the Ton Trager stands? That scares me.

They do sit preacariously on the Ton Trager stands. Apparently it’s all part of the design. Not kid (or absent-minded adult) friendly IMO. I’m not worried about it because nobody else goes in my audio room.

It was the cotton bags that sealed the deal for me!:D

I don't think I could get those stands if I get the Harbeth speakers.
I foresee an accident where I plan to put them.
Something as innocuous as a Swiffer could be their downfall.

I have to say, it is a lot easier storing the boxes and cotton bags (which come in handy for covering speakers during vacations, etc) than those coffin sized crates for Wilson speakers. Did I mention I once let my dealer store my Wilson crates in his warehouse and he went out of business and poof, they were gone... :D

Congrats on finding your speaker! Might I say they are beautiful. I have never heard Harbeths but it seems they are extremely universally well thought of. They have obviously hit upon a "formula" that works. The remainder of your system is of reference quality and should bring out the best in them.

Harbeths
 

Hey Greg - congratulations! Harbeths are legendary.

Greg, you raise an interesting point by listening to your speakers versus chasing the dragon and changing gear.

At your level, those components are top shelf, and sounds like the speakers were what your not happy with - Harbeth are nice, and I know you’ll enjoy these and hopefully now you’ll keep your KO1X

Congratulations Greg on a fantastic set of speakers!

Congrats!!

Mitch

Thanks everyone. It has been a very long time since I have enjoyed music this much. Minor adjustments to speaker placement continues as well as a cable shoot-out between Tellurium Q, Synergistic Research and Accusound makes for an interesting weekend!

Keep us posted. Tellurium Q has great synergy with Harbeth.

Greg. That’s beautiful speakers and the room you have. Love the Harbeth M40 series. They are one of the best box speakers I had.

Have you joined the Harbeth group on Facebook ? I would love to see your set up there :).

Thanks- I’ll look into the Facebook group!

I just love the 40.2s with my Pass Labs. How come Harbeth is not there in this forum?

The Accusound XD cables beat out the Tellurium Q and Synergistic Research Euphoria Level 3.

Congrats .... 40.2's are one of the very few speakers that I've heard that I felt totally "comfortable" with the sound. I'd buy as set (probably 30.2's - small listening room) if they didn't cost so much. Ya, I'm cheap - sorry. But.... if I were to spend some serious $ on a set of speakers, it would likely be a set of Harbeth speakers.

Which Tellurium Q did you try?

I really like the Black range. Silver was pricier but the Black really worked - especially with solid state gear