NEW: Harbeth 40.2 announced!!

Yes, I replied about that earlier as well, that's a significant jump in price. The 40.1's are already out of my reach by a ways, but the 40.2's are in the stratosphere. I did see a pair of 40.1's on agon recently for a really good price. IIRC they were around 8K ... which is not too bad a price for that speaker IMO.

 

Absolutely...ones man or woman's audio nirvana is another ones purgatory. I'm so glad that there are so many wonderful products and that most of us can find what we need that equates to music for us.

 

This is very interesting news. I would love to hear these!

 

Could you be so kind as to complete your profile.

 

My question is I suppose is this: If a thread is started - is what you want to hear ONLY the people who wax poetic on the speakers in the title. Everyone just come onto the thread and say "I love Harbeth" and then you can read 20 posts of people who say the exact same thing.

If that's what you want then the thread title should be "only for people who will only say great things about the product - and absolutely DO NOT compare the speaker to any other speaker". Cause Art that's what you're saying here. You only want people to come and flatter the Harbeths then indicate it in the thread title or in your first post.

Personally I think EVERYONE likes to hear about "like" alternatives for less money. Can't afford Shindo or Audio Note but you want good Single Ended sound you can afford - Line Magnetic and Melody is pretty darn awesome depending which ones.

 

Of course not and I think you are smart enough to know better. The problem here is straight forward. You turn every thread, regardless of topic, in to an Audio Note thread. That has been stated clearly and I know that you understand it.

 

They sounded amazing. The Lio is rated at 25 wpc @ 8ohms and is basically a capacitor store amplifier that is completely isolated from AC power during operation.
You hear people talking about Harbeth but I was not prepared for what I heard. The ultimate in smooth yet extremely intricate detail.
You heard the vocalist taking the most realistic sounding breaths between notes. Not the rushed, abrupt breaths of a high energy front man but the soft delicate air from an acoustic performer- even with a vinyl source. Best I have ever heard.

 

True but we sometimes need counter points to balance eager enthusiasm.
For example, the Audio Note setup I witnessed at a recent show was uninspiring at best. I was prepared to love them and invest in them based on their reputation. What I heard with my ears was shockingly disappointing. Dull and veiled- the worst of old school two-way speakers from the 70's with large woofers and no mid-range drivers to fill in the gap. I would not listen to them as my main speakers if they were given to me, much less invest in them at the listed prices.
While after one experience I would not go so far as to call them the snob appeal brand of the day without the substance to justify it- we all know they are out there. Listen before you buy.

 

Wow! High praise indeed.

 

I'm planning on it. Would also like to add a custom avatar, but I haven't been able to figure out how to do so.

 

Yes, I read your report and was a bit shocked.

 

In the upper right hand corner of the top of the site, a little ways from the "S" in "Forums" you'll see your name. Click on it, and it takes you to the place to do both.

 

Yeah Art - so apply Devore Orangutan to the comments on efficiency instead. I own AN so it's natural that I would make comparisons. The other threads I reply to someone who says - what's an alternative to the KEF - Umm I own an alternative to the LS-50 - IMO a BETTER loudspeaker for 2/3 the price. What you want me to list 10 speakers that I like less just to give the "appearance" of being "more objective" - frankly that's not objective that's dishonest.

Personally I find the Harbeth 40.1 to be overpriced. Now I save time because if I say "I think the Harbeth 40.1 is overpriced someone will say why is it overpriced and then I could say because I think you can buy a better speaker for less money. They will say "oh really, what?" and they I will say the AN E or possibly the DeVore O/96.

As I have noted - I like a lot of products and recommend a lot of products but most don;t have the depth and breadth of catalog that AN possesses. I like the KEF blade coaxial inb the 50 and blade but not particularly their other speakers. I find more drawbacks to the speaker than the AX Two - the latter is simply a much easier speaker to recommend for general use. I can recommend the Ingenium from Teresonic - it's $20,000 - how many threads are about people asking for $20,000 speaker recommendations? Not many. If there were you would see this name get recommended "in almost every thread" Talk about tube amps and not talking about one of the kings of tube amps would be pretty stupid.

This thread has gone for 5 pages that probably wouldn't have gotten past 1 without comparison discussions. Good and bad - all advertising is good advertising so you can be sure Harbeth nor their dealers like Soundhounds is going to complain. More people will walk through their doors based on forum discussions such as this. Some are going to like Harbeth more and some will like the AN's more and hey some will walk out with Magnepans. In any case the dealer and the manufacturers are happy. Forums is advertising whether we know it or not.

Brands like Line Magnetic are put on the western radar through forum discussions. If it were not for audioasylum I doubt most people would know about Merlin loudspeakers. Some RAVE and RAVE while others rip them to shreds - BUT it generates curiosity about hearing them.

 

Tried that. It brings me to my gear profile page, but no place to upload a personal photo. Hmmm.

 

A 12" low frequency driver? That's rare these days for home loudspeakers. As far as domestic brands, I think only Cerwin-Vega sells models with such a large driver (Definitive Technology sells a bipolar model, but its [single] powered twelve inch woofer is used for subwoofer duty only). Maybe a Harbeth vs. Cerwin face-off is in order?

Seriously though, is the Harbeth's sound anything like classic Advent, Acoustic Research or especially, a/d/s? Because based on the many descriptions I've read of it i.e. "warm", "silky smooth", "restrained but still detailed" etc it sure seems like it.

 

@Taurus; the JBL 4312e, 4319 and 4429 also have 12" drivers. However, I believe they are only available in asia and here in europe. There's also the Klipsch Heresy III.

 

IMO they are very close. I run AR9 as well as 40.1 with identical sources and most people without keep ears or attn span wouldn't be able to tell them apart. That being said, the 40.1 have a more refined Hi-Fi quality and roughly 10% better depth transparency. If you want 40.2 and can't afford, find a nice pair of AR9 for under 1K. You'll be 90% there. I suspect we'll see 40.3 within a couple years for $30K and it has more to do with currency degradation than a quality increase.

 

Hi Tore. Thanks for the info. I'm surprised such large speakers aren't available here but then again, we also never seem to see gear (except for truly hi-end gear) in anything but a black finish.

 

The reason for that may lie in results of market research. Maybe they found that the majority of consumers in the U.S. prefer black? And maybe they also prefer speakers with smaller drivers?

 

Theory confirmed.

I've heard smaller AR models but never was able to audition the AR9s (plus I always wanted to experience the formidable bass they were reported to produce). What kind of amp do you use to power them?

 

CJ Premier 350

 

Yep, 350 watts/channel sounds about right for that type of speaker i.e. dual(!) twelve inch woofers w/heavy fibrous cones in an acoustic-suspension enclosure (plus an 8" midbass.....and mid and tweeter).

 

The waiting is almost over, I guess the first production pair is now done? From Alan's design goals and description he gave it sounds to me like the holy grail of speakers. Will be interesting to see what people think once they are more widely available.

 

Very few of the 40 line have been made available to dealers for demo' so I doubt too many folk will have the chance to give these a run unless they are looking to buy.

 

A couple of weeks ago, Alan Shaw gave the following update on the 40.2. For those of you who do not visit the Harbeth User Group, I thought I'd post his update here. The original post can be found at this link.