Harbeth Loudspeakers in San Jose, San Francisco Bay Area

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Harbeth Monitor 40.1	Harbeth Compact 7ES-3
Harbeth Monitor 30	Harbeth Super HL5

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Harbeth Monitor 40.1 (new model for 2008!)

True emotional fidelity with the music!

Design: Vented 3-way.
Sensitivity: 85 dB 1W/1m.
Nominal Impedance: 6 ohms.
Amplifier Suggestion: 100+W, 200W programme.
Frequency Response: 38Hz - 20kHz ± 3dB free space, 1m with grille on, smooth off axis response.
LF Driver: New 12-inch Harbeth woofer.
Midrange Driver: New generation 8-inch Harbeth RADIAL-2™ polymeric composite patented cone.
HF Driver: custom 1-inch soft-dome SEAS EXCEL tweeter.
Connectors: Two 4mm gold-plated binding posts.
Dimensions: 29.5" (h) x 17" (w) x 15.7" (d).
Weight: 75 lbs. each.
List Price: $12,995 (cherry).
One demo unit available.

The new Monitor 40.1 is now here!

The year 2008 brings this latest update to Harbeth's no compromise speaker. While originally designed as a drop-in replacement for the BBC LS 5/8, the new 40.1 is now optimized for domestic listening, with redesigned drivers and cross-over. Its predecessor, the Monitor 40, was the reference for several reviewers from the audio press, and their comments on the new Monitor 40.1 indicate that a new reference standard has arrived.

Monitor 40's at the Millenium studios, London.

Awards and Reviews for the Harbeth Monitor 40.1:

¤ Golden Ear Award in The Absolute Sound, 2009. Reviewer PS says:
"the best full-range, 3-way studio reference in existence, if not the best ever. ... If anything, I find the tonal balance of the 40.1 even more to my taste for ultimate neutrality. ... the best is still the best and better than ever!"
¤ "For loudspeakers, the king of Las Vegas was the new Harbeth 40.1, hands down ... simply stunning" -- Jeff Day, in his 6 moons report on CES 2008, a show featuring loudspeakers with price tags up to almost a $100,000!
¤ "Another excellent sounding room ... the sound was superb ..." -- Bill Gaw, report on CES and T.H.E Show, 2008, for Enjoy the Music.
¤ "[the Harbeth 40.1] made my mouth water ... the full-range 40.1 monitors have an immensely detailed, beautifully layered, extremely controlled midrange whose harmonic richness is hard to resist. The drum thwacks [on Chants D'Auvergne] ... were among the most realistic I've heard from this frequently played CD, as was the decay of room resonance. I also enjoyed the beautiful harmonic richness of orchestra and piano on Martha Argerich's live recording of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto 2 with Claudia Abbado." -- Jason Victor Serinus, CES 2008 show report for Stereophile.

Awards and Reviews for the Harbeth Monitor 40:

¤ "The Monitor 40 is accurate in the real sense of having the warmth, beauty, purity, clarity, coherence, balance, and most of all, the tonal reality of live music. ... The Monitor 40's sound beautiful, and with the beauty of real music, the beauty of reality ... they let you appreciate recordings to the fullest. ... hypnotic, addictive, irresistible." -- Robert E. Greene's review for The Absolute Sound issue 116.
¤ "It is the best speaker I have ever heard, period. ... full and authoritative bass ... the most naturally clear, articulate, and tonally accurate midrange ... the highs are gorgeous ... in addition ... the 40's are utterly coherent and produce a realistic sense of scale" -- review by Bob Neill, Enjoy the Music, August 2001.

Harbeth Monitor 30

Design: Vented 2-way.
Sensitivity: 85 dB 1W/1m.
Nominal Impedance: 8 ohms.
Amplifier Suggestion: 25+W, 150W programme.
Frequency Response: 50Hz - 20kHz ± 3dB free space, 1m with grille on, smooth off axis response.
LF Driver: Custom 8-inch Harbeth RADIAL™ polymeric composite patented cone, antimagnet, reinforced polymer chassis, low-Q magnet system.
HF Driver: custom 1-inch soft-dome SEAS EXCEL tweeter.
Connectors: Four 4mm gold-plated binding posts (bi-wireable).
Dimensions: 18.1" (h) x 11.2" (w) x 10.9" (d).
Weight: 30 lbs. each; 35 lbs. packed.
List Price: $4,995 (cherry).
Demo unit on SALE.

Designed as a replacement for the old BBC LS5/9 monitor, the Monitor 30 can be seen in many BBC recording studios. Using the same drivers as the (mid and high-frequency drivers of) Monitor 40, the Monitor 30 offers a neutral and revealing sound, with the famous Harbeth coherence and timbral accuracy. The bass is surprisingly strong and tight for a speaker of this size. The soundstage is wide and layered deep, "much like a picture window" (Stereo Times), with natural sized images clearly located. Transparency and detail is high, but does not hit you over the head. Instead the Monitor 30's invite you to enter and engage with the performance.

Monitor 30's in the BBC World transmission studio, London.

Awards and Reviews for the Harbeth Monitor 30:

¤ Soundstage review, April 2009.
"Voices, in particular, had realism that was uncanny, and the level of detail was revelatory without being annoying. I was shocked by how natural these speakers sounded and, for the first time, I could understand why Harbeth speakers have the following they do. The midrange has a beautiful balance of high resolution and high "listenability," meaning that I could dig out recording after recording and unravel some hidden treasures for hours on end and never get tired of listening."
Also checkout the incredibly low distortion levels in the Soundstage measurements here.
¤ The Stereo Times review, January 2007.
¤ "Hi-Fi for Grownups" 6moons review, December 2003.
¤ Jazz Times review, July/August 2003.
¤ Enjoy the Music review, March 2002.

Harbeth Compact 7ES-3 (new!)

Design: Vented 2-way.
Sensitivity: 87 dB 1W/1m.
Nominal Impedance: 6 ohms.
Amplifier Suggestion: 25 - 150W.
Frequency Response: 46Hz - 20kHz ± 3dB free space, 1m with grille on, smooth off axis response.
LF Drivers: Updated custom 8-inch Harbeth RADIAL™ polymeric composite patented cone, antimagnet, reinforced polymer chassis, low-Q magnet system, with a new rubber surround and improved damping.
HF Driver: custom 1-inch ferrocooled aluminium dome, shielded, with an updated open-weave grill.
Special Features: AV ready with controlled magnetic field and suitable for close proximity to TV and computer screens.
Dimensions: 520mm (h) x 273m (w) x 315mm (d).
Weight: 30 lbs. each; 35 lbs. packed.
List Price: $3,495 (cherry).

An updated version of the Compact 7ES-2, the Compact 7ES-3 features redeveloped drivers, improved cabinet damping and tuning, a more acoustically transparent front grill, and a completely redesigned crossover network providing improved driver integration. With these changes, the new 7ES-3 still has the full-bodied and natural timbre, but now with increased resolution and drive.

Awards and Reviews for the Harbeth Compact 7ES-3:

¤ No. 1 rating in Japan's Stereo Sound, Winter 2007.
¤ Golden Ear Award and Editor's Choice Award in The Absolute Sound, October 2007: "... the ne plus ultra of BBC 2-way designs, with bass down to 46 Hz, an essentially perfect midrange, and a top end that reproduces ambience fantastically. ... With respect to accuracy, neutrality, and natural tonal balance the (Compact 7ES-3) establishes a new benchmark for compact 2-ways".
¤ In The Absolute Sound Review (April/May 2007) Paul Seydor says "Previous Compact 7s remain excellent speakers, but this new one is a really great speaker. ... the beauty of (their) truthful timbre", coming "breathtakingly close (to the Quad electrostatics in its) transparency, coherence, and reach-out-and-touch-it immediacy".
¤ Stereophile Class B recommended, October 2007.
¤ The Stereo Times October 2007 review remarks upon the Compact 7ES-3's "accurate instrumental timbre" and "grace, wit, fire, nuance, intelligence, and artistic sensibility of the highest order. (It) reveals the details of the playing, the subtlest of inflections and touch. (The speaker) allowed the ear to identify instruments, capturing their timbre and subtle sonic signatures with an extraordinarily natural ease ... One could easily identify the different makes of violins from the great Cremona-based masters. The sonic signatures of Fender, Gretsch, and Gibson electric guitars were clearly rendered". Summing up, "The Compact 7ES-3 offers an exceptionally well-integrated blend of accurate timbre, sophisticated rhythmic performance, highly articulate reproduction of performance technique, and clear insight into the artistic intent of the music ... with just about any kind of music".
¤ The September 2007 review in HiFi News says "These are enormously tuneful, addictive speakers which can create deep sound-stages with pinpoint accurate tone colours. ... the timing, speed and imaging made for instant, foot-tapping engagement."
¤ Stereophile's Sam Tellig (review in the June 2007 issue) calls this update to the classic "one of the finest ... most musically satisfying ... loudspeakers I've heard". "Cellos were magnificent - ripe and woody, anything but cold or clinical. Indeed, all instrumental timbres - woodwinds, brass, strings - sounded convincing ... Pianos had a ripeness that was ravishing. And the Harbeths excelled with voice ... But here's the big surprise: This loudspeaker could rock!"
¤ What HiFi magazine gives the Compact 7's 5 stars in their June 2007 review, noting that "this is a gem of a design, sounding natural and unforced where most rivals would be delivering a more forward and thinner presentation. ... A wonderfully natural-sounding midrange: great dynamics (particularly of the low-level variety); excellent detail resolution. ... The crowning glory here is the midrange: fluid, big-bodied and full of finesse, it makes voices articulate and superbly well projected without ever becoming hard or forward ... the Harbeth’s have a sound that’s hard to better for the money."
¤ The HiFi World May 2007 review notes the Compact 7-ES3's "delicately balanced sound, with wonderful timbral acuity", with "Excellent body to each instrument" and "the ability to convey the emotional impact of a recording", concluding that "few – if any – at the price can touch these loudspeakers".

Harbeth Super HL5

Design: Vented 3-way.
Sensitivity: 86 dB 1W/1m.
Nominal Impedance: 8 ohms.
Amplifier Suggestion: 25 - 150W.
Frequency Response: 40Hz - 24kHz ± 3dB free space, 1m with grille on, smooth off axis response.
LF Drivers: Harbeth 200mm RADIAL™ poylmeric composite cone, antimagnet.
HF Driver: Custom SEAS 25mm ferrocooled aluminium dome.
Supertweeter: 20mm Audax titanium dome neodimium magnet, waveguide face.
Special Features: AV ready with controlled magnetic field and suitable for close proximity to TV and computer screens.
Dimensions: 638mm (h) x 322m (w) x 300mm (d).
Weight: 37 lbs. each; 43 lbs. packed.
List Price: $4,995 (cherry).

Awards and Reviews for the Harbeth Super HL5:

¤ 6moons' Jeff Day selects the Super HL5 as his benchmark speakers for his Music Lovers Reference System, February 2007 (review).
¤ Sterephile Class A recommended, October 2007.
¤ StereoTimes 2005 Most Wanted Components, Loudspeakers (review)
¤ The Absolute Sound recommended, August 2004 review.
¤ Hi Fi Choice recommended, October 2002 review.

The Super HL5 is truly a speaker to rediscover your music collection. Revel not only in the beauty, the power and the delicacy of the music, but also the beauty of the tone and timbre of each instrument and voice.

Excerpt from the StereoTimes review:
“ Never, at any price or design type, have I heard a speaker that so completely got out of the way and let the music speak for itself. Never have I heard a speaker that exceeds the HL5’s ability to reveal the artistic quality of the music and its performance. Never have I heard a speaker that does so many of the fundamentals of music reproduction so right: timbre, rhythm, phrasing, articulation, parsing, dynamic flow, sound stage reconstruction, placement of instruments, and the delineation of the ambience of the recording site are all produced with an ease and natural-ness so convincing and so adept at evoking musical gestalts that immersion into the music was as easy as breathing.”

... and from Stereophile:
“ If the glory of the Super HL5 is its neutral midrange, the treble is exceptionally well presented - extended, open, and sweet.”

... and from Jeff Day in his February 2007 review on 6moons:
“... huge 3-D soundstage and combined with solid and natural imaging, the music takes on a very 'live' feel ... a beautiful job of making the beat come alive ... it's so musically engaging. Imaging is first rate with a lot of body and flesh and blood' feel. ... As a bonus it has the ability to make even marginal recordings come to life and sound better than they have any right to. The Harbeth Super HL5 is my benchmark Music Lovers loudspeaker and it puts to shame many high-end loudspeakers that cost multiples of its very fair price. Way to go Harbeth!”