In Appreciation of the Harbeth Compact 7 ES-3

Are you considering a move to British box speakers?

 

Maybe British bookshelves. I do not have the room for floor-standers in my study/computer room if that is what you meant by box speakers ...

 

I was referring to the bookshelves. I wouldn't bother with the floor standers anyway.

 

That is a possibility, though the British speakers are on the pricey side if they are made in the UK. I am retired but a pair of pricey speakers may be the last pair I will buy. What the heck?

 

Unfortunately the prices are only rising. There can be some good deals for slightly used pairs.
If you like really deep, low bass, be prepared to implement a sub.

 

KEF's and Wharfedale's are off my list, as I will not buy speakers made in certain country. The "designed in the UK" line does not work for me ...

 

I'm playing my music through 7es3 and entery level Naim 5i2 amplifier. Great sound...

I was thinking about upgrading to the new 5 SHL +, but I'm afraid to give up on a good thing (also they are pricey).
More then that, I have heard the the twitter on the 5+ has a tendency to scream a little.

Did anyone upgrade from the 7 to 5+ and can comment?
Thanks.

 

I own the 7 and have heard the 5+ extensively on many occasions and it has never once screamed. It has the Harbeth DNA natural sound.
The 5+ sounds a bit more open and transparent and is capable of much more bass impact and slam.
Personally I am more than happy with the 7's and a carefully selected and seamlessly integrated subwoofer.

 

I am receiving a set of 7"s on Monday from Gene Rubin. I previously had a set of 3's a few years ago which I like but were a bit small for my set up. I am currently using some large Bryston "Mini" T's. They are 3 way 4 ohm speakers that need lots of power. They do sound great but the bug bit when Gene listed a pair of the 7's that were "ugly" when un boxed and needed a good home. Apparently the wood has some weird grain to it. The deal was too good to pass up as I always wanted try the 7's. They will be driven by my McIntosh C220 tube preamp with Genalex Gold Lions and my Parasound A21 amp at 250 watts per channel. I listen to vinyl mostly via a VPI Classic 2 with a Soundsmith Aida cartridge. My line stage is a Manley Chinook with Amperex 7308 tubes.

 

You are going to love the 7's. You have a very nice system that will allow you to take advantage of their transparency, and you are about to hear and fully appreciate your investment in those Amperex 7308 tubes. Tube rolling is so much fun with the Harbeths, as they allow you to hear even the smallest of improvements/differences. Ditto for things like interconnects and power cables. What tube types does the C220 take?

 

I am in the market for new speakers and have in the last couple days become interested in the C7-es3. It is well out of my budget but I feel that it might be worth it as it could be the last speaker I ever need. It might be a little big for my room now but like I said it should get rid of any urge to uprgrade in the future. My room is kind of small and I sit about seven feet away from the speakers, which are close to the wall as is my seat. I was strongly leaning towards the Spendor S3-5R2 which seem to fit my room and budget now, but the Harbeth C7 are tempting me as an all-out holy grail speaker which could be my last!

 

The Mac 220 uses 12 x 7's and 5751's. I was using Jan GE 5751'a that the original owner had. I later changed to the Genalex Gold Lions in the line stage and some Tung sol's which IMO were the best sounding in the phono stage.

 

it's mind blowing how big of a difference things like cables, tubes and even cartridge VTA makes when you listen to the c7s. and yet with all that detail they somehow manage to smooth everything out without getting muddy. i continue to be amazed by them.

 

Arrived today. They are 35th Anniversary Editions Full new Warranty. The wood grain is funky but the speakers are flawless as Gene Rubin said. Placed them on the low custom stands of my Bryston's for Now. WOW. to think I was this close to owning 7's a few years ago as Gene suggested but tried the 3's instead which were too small for me. The Brystons are some speakers for sure, but this is the sound I have been searching for. Very similar to my old big box AA speakers from '76. Better late than never...LOL....I will update as I go along. The 7's are fantastic. Hope they enjoy their new home.

 

Gene is the best. Congrats on your new speakers

 

How do they compare the the Mini T?
Curious to your opinion as I have a pair of Mini T en route to me. My other choice was the 3. However, I elected to go with the 3 way system.

 

very different sounds. The Mini t's are 4 ohm speakers so you will need a lot of power. I am using a Parasound A21 amp that puts out 250 @ 8 ohms and over 400@ 4 ohms. My previous Parasound amp had 125 per channel @ 8 ohms and they did not sound good. The Brystons are very detailed . You can hear every instrument and sound. If you are buying them new I can tell you that they take a very long time to break in. Expect many months to pass b4 they sound as they should. Don't believe a word about the 25-30 hours dealers tell you. I will give you the same advise I gave on the Bryston thread on audiocircle.com to new owners........PATIENCE.I purchased the rear plugs directly from Axiom who make the Brystons. The bass needs taming ,at least in my set up. I have them on custom built wood stands about 12 inches high. They sounded and looked so , so, on 24 inch metal stands. They seem better lower to ground as they are pretty tall. Did I mention, heavy...lol. Be prepared. They are beautifully built and solid as a rock . I spent 3 years tweaking my system with them so expect a little work as well. The biggest improvement came from adding a Manley Chinook phono stage. If you have a TT and listen to LP's get one. The Bryston's sounded like I never heard them b4 with the Manley in place. The Harbeths are a flatter sounding speaker right now and not yet broken in. They don't have all the separation and detail but provide a more old fashioned speaker sound. They are fun to listen to.I would say if I was going to listen to music all day, I would use the Harbeths. If I wanted precise detail and hi end audiophile sound to demo my gear or at a show, then the Brystons. ....hope this helps

ps: I replaced my 3's with the Mini T's The 3's were nice but much smaller than I expected .

 

I appreciate the response (ha ha). I have plenty of power for the Mini-Ts and look forward to receiving them, hopefully tomorrow.
Have not yet purchased stands and want to experiment with placement and height. I also heard that lower height placement is better too.

 

+Putting the Mini t's on a low stand and tilting them slightly upward works best for me. Even the 7's are sounding nice on the low stands with upward tilt.

 

here is a great place to get custom stands. They are hand built buy US Armed Forces Vets and they do great work. They are currently offering 20% off and free shipping. They also have some stands already built on ebay.

Quilt Racks Quilt Hangers and Quilt Stands Custom Built by Veterans!


Custom Hand Made SOLID OAK Heavy Duty Speaker Stands STF Home Theater | eBay

 

The Brystons arrived today and have been running for a few hours.

so far, out of the box I am very impressed. seem to be a much better pairing with my Mac integrated than my Vandersteens. plus The Boss approves of the smaller box.

 

Thanks for posting these links, they are both great and present some great options.

 

Hope you can see these photos of the custom stands for the minis. Done in solid Oak with black finish.

 

You absolutely need adequate free space around the C7's, indeed around any of the ported Harbeth's. Close boundaries kill their sound and render them very average. I've used SHL5's in different rooms, large and small, some far from ideal, and the difference in performance is no less than astonishing. Honestly, my gut feeling is p3esr's would be better suited to your set-up, but in reality, you'll only really know by having the speakers in situ. Don't be fooled by their size - they infinitely presented more realism, soundstage, scale etc in a smaller space than my SHl5's could, which in short sounded a mess - trapped and constrained within their cabinets. It's a risky venture spending likely a considerable sum without knowing if your space will accommodate them.

The best general rule of thumb advice re: Harbeth's is to buy the model that looks like it will fit naturally in your room.

 

now that photobucket.com is messing with everyone's photo's. What is the best way to post an image here?