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  #21  
Old 02-11-2018, 05:09 PM
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bart bart is offline
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Serge, some pics of Harbeths in this thread.

https://www.audioaficionado.org/showthread.php?t=30362

I think they pair very well with tube gear.
If you can hear through the colouration of the enclosure, a euphonic colouration which a lot of people seem to like a lot, the midrange is quite magical.
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  #22  
Old 02-11-2018, 06:09 PM
PHC1 PHC1 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bart View Post
Serge, some pics of Harbeths in this thread.

https://www.audioaficionado.org/showthread.php?t=30362

I think they pair very well with tube gear.
If you can hear through the colouration of the enclosure, a euphonic colouration which a lot of people seem to like a lot, the midrange is quite magical.
Great pictures Bart.

Yes, with Harbeth the enclosure is part of the voicing.

"Other than that lively enclosure, which is a deliberate design decision—note AD's comment about "the consistently truthful, present manner with which they reproduce singing voices"—the Harbeth Super HL5plus's measured performance is beyond reproach.—John Atkinson"

Read more at https://www.stereophile.com/content/...V1K3i17ADvd.99

I've owned all kinds of speakers, from electrostatic which technically should have very little of a voice of their own, to various wood cabinet speakers that also specifically take the cabinet into the equation, to the super inert cabinet speakers and at the end of the day, the Harbeth sing with a beguiling voice that entrances and mesmerizes my ears. That's all that matters to me.
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  #23  
Old 02-12-2018, 10:37 AM
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I own a pair of P3ESRs I use in my office system with a Rega Brio, Rega DAC and a Rega Apollo. Many coworkers stop by with a request. I am contemplating a set of 40.2 for my home system.
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  #24  
Old 02-12-2018, 12:10 PM
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Originally Posted by PHC1 View Post

Yes, with Harbeth the enclosure is part of the voicing.
Are you suggesting that a Harbeth enclosure helps to improve the original signal?
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  #25  
Old 02-12-2018, 12:11 PM
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I own a pair of P3ESRs I use in my office system with a Rega Brio, Rega DAC and a Rega Apollo. Many coworkers stop by with a request. I am contemplating a set of 40.2 for my home system.
Great office system!

Good luck with your 40.2 quest, fantastic speakers. Which finish would you go with? Tiger Ebony or Rosewood is so nice!
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  #26  
Old 02-12-2018, 01:06 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BuffaloBill View Post
Are you suggesting that a Harbeth enclosure helps to improve the original signal?
Ok, let’s not overstate the actual issue with cabinet vibration. I hear it stated many times that the Harbeth cabinets are “intentionally” designed to resonate. That is pure nonsense. I have the 40.2 and the cabinet is quite well damped - for a conventional wooden cabinet type enclosure. I think that statements made by some people have been misconstrued. What I understood about the cabinets is that if they made the cabinets “more” ridged that the secondary vibrations are shifted to a high frequency that is then less musical.

EVERY type of speaker has primary and undesired secondary vibrations. This included encloses of wood, aluminum, concrete, composites and many others. Even the frames of planar type speakers refract and reflect the vibrations of the radiating surface. So, ALL speakers have “colorations”.

The question for me is -how effectively does the designer understand and deal with those secondary radiations. Some designers are better at this “art” than others. I prefer a speaker that has colorations that are harmonically sympathetic to the music. Some (not all), so called, insert speaker enclosures simply shift the energy vibrations in frequency and more importantly in the time domain making them sound less musical than something seemingly less sophisticated like the Harbeths.

The Harbeth has a particularly musical and organic signature that allows you to enjoy the music. This is not to diminish any other speaker or ones personal preference for a different set of colorations. It is all about choices. We live in the golden of audio. There are so many incredible speakers to chose from. I see no reason to pick out one single design parameter to exclusion of all the others.
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Last edited by CGabriel; 02-12-2018 at 01:10 PM.
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  #27  
Old 02-12-2018, 01:47 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BuffaloBill View Post
Are you suggesting that a Harbeth enclosure helps to improve the original signal?
The original signal is created by vibrations of the musical instrument itself. There is no "improving" it once the notes fade into the past. All we can hope for is a mere recreation of it in our playback systems but it will never be the exact same duplicate. Any audiophile knows that.

I suspect you already knew that and were simply looking to troll the thread just a bit, adding no value to the conversation but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

All speaker manufacturers have their philosophies and ways with dealing with vibrations. Whichever speaker sounds better to your ears and brings satisfaction is the one that you should be listening to.

As far as Alan Shaw and his philosophies and design approach over the 30 years he has been at Harbeth is well documented in many reviews, such as this review of the 40.2 from Absolute Sound.

"You still use a relatively thin-walled enclosure with lots of bracing for support and stability, but no heroic measures, so far as I can tell, to dampen resonances as such with the use of synthetic materials or super-rigid construction.
Cabinets: We do indeed live in a world where visual impressions seem to count for so much. The physics of panels—those forming a loudspeaker cabinet—say very clearly that thickness and stiffness do not guarantee low sonic contribution. Indeed, rigid panels can move the latent resonances away from the bass region and up into the midrange where they are energized by the music and can sound extremely objectionable. After extensive research the BBC concluded that a relatively thin-walled but sturdily braced cabinet could be steered by the application of damping into a state of relative inertness, in a way that no thick panels could be. This gives the thin-walled cabinet designer a whole armory of tricks for better sound."


The full review. http://www.theabsolutesound.com/arti...2-loudspeaker/

Last edited by PHC1; 02-12-2018 at 01:50 PM.
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  #28  
Old 02-12-2018, 10:15 PM
pdovinh pdovinh is offline
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I enjoy Harbeth speakers tremendously and have been listening to them for nearly 20 years...they are really special!

Currently I have 6 pairs at home ranging from 30.2’s, HL5+’s, 40.2’s, etc...and awaiting an order of two more sets...Olive and Anniversary something...:-)

IMHO, found that the better the electronics, the better these speakers sound...I’ve tried Naim, McIntosh, Esoteric and recently Accuphase....kinda weird isn’t it?

...I forgot to mention that I’m also waiting for a pair of Tannoy Canterbury GR being delivered by a well-known dude name Ivan!

Cheers!

Phil
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  #29  
Old 02-12-2018, 10:30 PM
PHC1 PHC1 is offline
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Originally Posted by pdovinh View Post
I enjoy Harbeth speakers tremendously and have been listening to them for nearly 20 years...they are really special!

Currently I have 6 pairs at home ranging from 30.2’s, HL5+’s, 40.2’s, etc...and awaiting an order of two more sets...Olive and Anniversary something...:-)

IMHO, found that the better the electronics, the better these speakers sound...I’ve tried Naim, McIntosh, Esoteric and recently Accuphase....kinda weird isn’t it?

...I forgot to mention that I’m also waiting for a pair of Tannoy Canterbury GR being delivered by a well-known dude name Ivan!

Cheers!

Phil
Quite a Harbeth collection Phil! Any specific model that you like more?
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  #30  
Old 02-12-2018, 10:44 PM
pdovinh pdovinh is offline
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Serge,

I have similar problem deciding who's my favorite among Cameron Diaz, Hillary Duff, Britney Spears, Megan Fox, Jennifer Anniston, Julia Roberts, Beyonce Knowles, Angeline Jolie, Jessica Alba and Marilyn Monroe!

You know what I mean.
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