Scarcity in Luxury goods is not a new concept. It's a cultivated and strategic aspect of the marketing plan. In my industry (Luxury Wine) it's a very commonplace fact of life in the market. Wines are released for distribution and the number of cases produced are often low, and included point of sale materials and reviews of the product. It's not that the brands don't want to sell more, but there are rapidly diminishing returns to expansion and damage to brand equity can result if a perception develops that sufficient care isn't taken. The perceptive and discerning consumer of these goods wants only the best materials and exacting processes used. These are for products that are consumables and selling for a fraction of the price of the speakers being discussed here.
Purchased a pair of P3ESR locally off Craigslist about five years ago. Loved the sound but wanted more volume and more bottom. A couple years later I purchased a pair of M30.1 off the classified section of this Forum. They play louder and deeper, while keeping the signature Harbeth sound, so mission accomplished. (I keep telling myself I should sell the P3ESR’s but I just keep procrastinating). My interest was peaked when I heard about the M30.2, however after looking into it, it appeared it would cost too much to upgrade from the M30.1, so I passed. I’m happy with my M30.1 and I don’t believe the slight improvement in SQ would be worth the cost to upgrade.
The 30.2 sounds much different and not necessarily better than the 30.1 on the few occasions I listened to it them- of course there are so many things to consider but they seemed darker and rolled off.
what is the big deal? 7 to 8 weeks for a handmade, low volume superbly crafted product? Sign me up. First world problem.
Probably wouldn’t be good for me, as I’m closing in on 60, and my ears probably already lost a lot of high end sensitivity. Another reason I’m staying with the M30.1. (Now if you said the M30.2 has extended highs and sound brighter than M30.1, I’d probably be opening up my wallet!).
You sound like me, I know my 58 year old hearing has diminished so I went with a somewhat more revealing speaker than I’m used to this time around.
As an Audio Note fanboy I can empathize. Lead times from ANUK can be 10-20 weeks for speakers, depending on the model. But the cabinets are hand made at a little facility in Austria. Some of their other products have truly absurd lead times of 10 months to a year.
not a big deal, just slightly shocked that Harbeth speakers are in such demand and I was wondering why so. .
this goes back 10-12 years, when I bought my first pair....5 weeks to arrive, and worth every second!
I work for a guitar manufacturer and wait times, at the moment, are 6-12 months. Not ideal, but demand is still strongly there, even with those wait times. I remember considering ordering a Richard Sachs bicycle some years back. The queue was a few years long. I feel like people are willing to wait for heirloom quality things such as hand made bicycle frames, guitars and speakers.
I had never heard of Harbeth when I ordered my Monitor 30s. I had never heard them play even one note, either. I was a high end salesman and hated all the speakers we sold. We had every famous brand the high end was in love with and they all sucked. They were all without exception "very screechy" and hollow sounding. Harbeth was never advertised yet the reviewers at Stereophile (who never tested them) always said they were terrific in the hydrangea---sort of like Quad electrostatics and the best of show at all the national audio high end shows. So I ordered them from a competitor and paid his full retail markup even though I could buy high end speakers for 50% off retail all day long. Best purchase I have ever made n my entire life. It pays to order from the head---and not the heart. Everything I asked for in a speaker---and all I did was wait for delivery to see if they were any good. Oh yeah. They were good and cured my "upgrade-itis" very nicely. My two cents.
As a Magneplanar owner, what impressed me the most with the Harbeth is the lack of boomy bass box sound. The Harbeth has been tweaked for ages hence their beautiful sound. The look however is another story. Feel a darker look suits them better.
No question about Harbeth not having an expensive "look." These boxes look like cheap $50 take 'em to college dorm room type speakers. Except the wood is pretty decent, that's about it. That they are now over five grand is hilarious. But worth it. Hey, anybody notice how spell check changed "midrange" to "hydrangea"??? That is also hilarious. I like some things about our modern era. Harbeths, check. Spell check---not so much.
You ought to trademark it - haunting hydrangea tone. Cranking up my C7ES-3's, listening to a vintage Wes Montgomery pressing, and the music is deliciously-fragrant and in full bloom.
I saw it and thought, "Gah! more audiophile jargon that I don't understand. Why Hydrangea? Why not Azaleas?" Fortunately I read your next post before resorting to Googling: "audio speakers hydrangea."
well ive decided to sell my 7es3 ( im the original owner, cherry, boxes ect) will be posting with pics/pricing this weekend. Good opportunity for someone out there!