Thoughts on Harbeth P3ESR as an upgrade?

I liked the little P3's so much I decided to just go get a pair. Been listening to them on my main system every night now the last week. They reside on a set of 30" tall inexpensive wood speaker stands placed on an area carpet, wood floor, smallish 12' x 15' room. Ultimately they're going to my secondary system (70 watt Eico tube amp w/ Mullards + Rega P3-24) until I get some Compact 7's or Monitor 30's, but for now - they're gonna be my primary.

For years I used my big Infinity 500 3-ways which provide a nice, big, wide, deep image, albeit not as transparent and a bit dark. The little P3's, as they break in, make a very good image - far more than one would expect from a set of bookshelfs. Not as 'big' an image as the Infinity's, but far cleaner and natural sounding. I'm still fussing with their placement and seating. In transparency, accuracy and detail theres no contest. The P3's rate a 10/10. The Infinity's rate a 5 or 6/10. The P3 lo-end drops off at around 50 or 60 hz it sounds like, yet lo-end remains deep clear and punchy. Before buying them I compared them to several pairs of comparative size speakers although less expensive models over the last couple months - KEF, B&W's and one other brand that escapes me, and there was no contest. All listening was on a Rega P6 with Exact II cartridge. I used one particularly torturous track from Neil Young's Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, The Losing End, with its screechy violin as one of the 'better' tests. The P3's pleasantly reproduced the violin with a clear clean musical tone. Every other rendered a mild 'nails on blackboard' quality to the violin. Neil's voice, once the P3's were plugged in after listening to another, became instantly human & natural sounding, distinctly Neil's. They'll probably change too as they march past the 100 hour or so mark, so I better get listening.

 

Most definitely.
I'm looking around now, but deciding on one that the girl and I both agree on is a bit of a process. I'm hoping to have it sorted by fall.
That said, the only change has been the TT improvements so the increased brightness I'm perceiving from the system is definitely attributed to those.

 

Fantastic. Amazing! So glad to read your post Raunchnroll. I'll be using the Harbeth's with a RP6/Exact-2 as well, and from the feedback I've received my Brio-R will be a great pairing too.
Really, really looking forward to demoing them next weekend. Thanks for the detailed response, and congratulations on the purchase! I'm looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts on the P3ESR's!

 

http://www.acoustic-energy.co.uk/Default.aspx?pagename=Reference-Series-1

These might best the P3, but I don't remember the MSRP.

 

Good 6Moons reviews as well as the WhatHiFi? review, but MSRP is $4,000... too dear at the moment, but thanks for the link!

 

What HiFi is not held in high regard by many in the UK audio community, its know as WTF - as in What The . . . you do the rest?

I have heard the AE's and they are superb, but more so for looks than sound and IMHO they don't even come close to the P3, but that depends on the sound you like. I like my music to sound like music with a natural non-fatiguing presentation. The AE's on the other hand sound like Hi-Fi and are a little too in your face for my liking, don't get me wrong though, they are very good and if you like detail and precision, they would be something to consider - they certainly have WAF. But at the end of the day its what sound you prefer, just as much as what music you like and we are all different.

Ideally I would spent as much time as possible hearing as many as you can and preferably in your own home (as I did), before making a purchase. I do know a lot of people who really don't like the Harbeth BBC sound, quoting it as too pipe and slippers. Anyway, I need to shut up now

 

I might have missed it, but have you heard Harbeth before - they do have a characteristic sound signature which you might not like?

 

I spent a day with the 40.1's and I was absolutely mesmerized by the sound.
That, and the fellow who I spent the day listening to the 40.1's with said if I enjoyed them, the P3ESR's would be great with my setup which is in a smallish room.

 

Ah, the 40.1's - one day hopefully

If you liked those and you have a small room, then the P3's should work perfectly
Hope it all works out and good luck

 

Pipe & slippers? ....the BBC / Harbeth sound? Wow. Thats the last phrase I'd use to describe the sound.

 

Me too, but there are some on UK forums that do - I often wonder if they have actually heard Harbeth speakers, or are just being keyboard warriors? What speaks volumes to me are the legions of Harbeth fans who hear them, buy them and then never ever change them . . . that is quite a statement (I'm in that bracket . . . out of my cold dead fingers . . . )

 

Hah! That explains it.
If I were to describe the Harbeth sound using human garments as a metaphor, it'd be more like 'nudist camp.' Certainly not pipe & slippers!

 

LOL... awesome.

 

raferx, I'll be very interested to hear what you think after you demo the P3ESR. I just purchased a pair, and I'll be using them in a system that is almost identical to yours: Rega RP6/Ortofon 2M Black/Rega Brio-R (internal phono stage). The whole system won't be put together for a few weeks yet. Thus, my eagerness to experience it vicariously through you.

I demoed the speakers with an RP3/Exact/Brio-R combo this past weekend. What I heard motivated me to spend almost twice what I had planned to on speakers. Such are the risks of this hobby. I'm willing to bet you come home with a set.

 

Your probably right, but the plan is to not bring them home right away!
I'm going in to demo them against my current speaker (B&W CM1) and then will mull it over for at least two weeks (three-hour round trip ferry ride between Vancouver and Victoria where the shop is).
I'd be trading in my B&W's, so that's part of the deal when it happens.
Yeah, I got a bad feeling I'm going to fall in love with them if they sound anything like the 40.1's.

 

Don't waste energy trying to resist. The outcome is foreseeable.

 

Speaker Borg.

 

Well, the P3 is amazing. I've never heard any of the larger models, because I'm afraid.

 

LOL.
I hear you.
When I spent the day with the 40.1's I just kept thinking that $12,000 for those speakers was perfectly reasonable.

 

Hahahaha

 

OK, going in to Soundhounds tomorrow morning to demo the Harbeth's, will post listening session thoughts... wish me luck!

 

Just enjoy yourself - I try to never have expectations

 

I've never heard a Harbeth sound anything but good. Every listening session I've had with a Harbeth speaker has been positive.

 

The only thing I would ever consider changing my SHL5's for would be the 40's, but I doubt I will ever have a room large enough for them.

 

A forum buddy came over last week and gave me some tips on rearranging the listening room to take advantage of the Harbeth characteristics. Thanks again Randy. We cleared the area to the center rear of the room, several feet behind the Harbeths, to fully expose the back wall and give better symmetry to the area behind the Harbeth's. We then experimented with distances from the back wall, spread, and toe in / out. As Randy said, Harbeths work really well as little islands with the appropriate amount of room around them.

In my prior post I mentioned the big Infinity's gave a 'bigger' image than the little Harbeth's (albeit half the definition & clarity). Yeah well....no longer true. These changes brought the Harberths to a level I didn't know could exist in such a small speaker model. The room is now literally a room of clean pure sound. Its sounds like a component of the system itself. Besides an image size that rivals speakers several times as large, and a sweet spot thats still sweet, the seating to the sides immerses one into the same sound field. My GF came home and was stunned, she couldn't believe it. I'm learning more about these little speakers every day.