Harbeth

If someone asks me what piece of audio equipment I would love to have, with the caveat that I could reasonably expect to afford it sometime in the near future, I would say, without hesitation, a pair of Harbeth speakers.

If you’ve not heard of the company, here is a brief description, courtesy of Harbeth:

Founded in 1977 to bring the BBC’s pioneering loudspeaker designs to the serious listener, today’s Harbeth speakers are the product of the longest-running science-based loudspeaker research programme ever undertaken.

The company was started up by Dudley Harwood, the senior engineer in the BBC’s Research Department. The status of Harbeth as the example, par excellence, of the ‘BBC sound‘ is the cornerstone of its reputation among music lovers and audiophiles alike.

British speakers, particularly those crafted according to BBC research specifications, are renowned for low colouration and transparency in tone, i.e. they accurately and authentically transmit the sound of the recording, for better or worse. Harbeths exemplify these characteristics more than most.

Interestingly enough, Harbeth continues to resist the shift among loudspeaker manufacturers towards ‘floorstanding’ speakers. Each speaker in its range adheres to the BBC tradition of monitor or mini-monitor speakers that are designed to sit on a stand that puts the tweeters at ear level. Don’t be fooled, however, as the sound produced by Harbeths, particularly its higher end models, are likely to blow away most floorstanders you might compare them to.

The other thing I love about Harbeth as a company is that they don’t bullshit you about dubious upgrades and excessive tinkering to actually enjoy the speakers (sadly, a unique trait in the world of loudspeaker manufacturing).

As designer/owner Alan Shaw puts it, “What really matters is the music, not the gear.” That means you don’t need expensive speaker cable, endless experimentation with stands and sound damping materials, or pairing with amplifiers that you could never afford to simply enjoy the intended sound of Harbeth speakers and get the most out of your music.

The model I have my eye on (again, working under the assumption that I must be able to reasonably afford it at some point) is the Compact 7ES-3. Planet of Sound, the Canadian distributor for Harbeth, lists these beauties for suggested retail at C$3599.

Obviously, at this price, I’m not going to go out and buy them tomorrow or anything like that. But, it’s certainly a goal for me to work towards in terms of improving my system.

The thing to remember with a speaker like Harbeth is that once you have a pair, you’ll never need another speaker in your system. Once I buy these, I’d be set for life when it comes to speakers.