Harbeth owners: treble?

Never heard a set other than via YouTube (yea, I know). How would you describe the treble? Do they tend to be bright?

 

excellent, among the best. no.

 

IMO, varies depending on model and iteration. No wild peaks, contemporary models generally speaking have flat-ish presentation, increasingly so, in fact.

Also, hard and soft domes, I've a personal preference for the latter. Try before you buy.

Or, take a punt on older models which seem to have somewhat more roll off, eg m30.

 

I had never heard of them before this forum. Maybe I will get an opportunity in person. I do prefer soft dome, normally

 

Absolutely not bright. I've heard every model they make, including the 40th anniversary models. Lovely high end response, no harshness whatsoever.

 

What's driving your speakers will have a big say in the sound profile.... that's just as if not more important to the sound produced. And the source / mastering too....

 

metallic domes can sound excellent if they are implemented well, proper crossover frequency, slope, impedance network, notch filter, etc.
harbeth get metallic tweeters right and there is no need to fear them.

 

Current top of my list is the cronus magnum III, but I haven't heard it in person yet. limited ability to test things/get sound samples

 

Welcome to the reality of speaker buying for many these days (which I'm sure you know)........

There are still some that are lucky enough to have audition capability within driving distance, but for many it's hit or miss.

 

I've heard multiple models of Harbeth both at my dealer's and at shows and would never call them bright. Also my dealer is OCD about bright sounding gear he wouldn't carry Harbeth if the speakers were bright.

 

New P3ESR owner here. I am sensitive to treble, and these are not bright at all, just nicely detailed and very well balanced.

Lovely speakers, really. Voices and acoustic instruments played through these can sound like the real thing.

 

What about rock music (eagles, floyd, etc. )

 

Not a fan of bright artificially detailed speakers....and i use Harbeth shl5+ ....detail through resolution not frequency imbalance.

 

I don't listen to a lot of rock music, especially hard rock or metal, but what I do hear sounds nice a full through the C7ES-3s. They have what I consider a warm sound, nothing bright about them at all. Another thing that surprised me is how full the bass is.

 

I listen to 99% rock. Not sure which model you are looking at, but if you have a small or medium-small room the P3 are a great choice. They won't punch you in the chest with bass, but they can rock out just fine. If looking for a speaker this size, the LS50 should be on your list too. I don't find these bright either.

BTW I think you are on the right track to be looking at speakers as your next upgrade. With speakers like Harbeth or KEF along with your new Chinook, you will have excellent pieces to build around when you eventually get to TT/cart and amp.

 

I'm a big fan of classic rock and blues....Harbys are perfect for me.

 

I would not buy speakers based on youtube videos, audio shows, or forum posts or even reviews.

Everything gets a good review from someone.

You really need to go and listen to them for yourself. My suggestion is usually listen three times with three different systems/rooms and against several of the competition in the price range with music you like. And without a salesperson telling you why they're great and why you should buy them.

 

Yep...you need to have a relationship with your dealer that allows you to get some hours on any gear you're considering.....bricks and mortar all the way here

 

That would be ideal, unfortunately the area that I live I makes that very difficult.

 

What other speakers does he carry? Just curious.

 

Okay so if you have to buy blind then it helps to know a lot of information - like maybe your favorite 5 speakers, how loud you want to play, how much bass you are expecting, the kinds of music you play say 70% rock, 20% X 10 % Y.

How big the room is

Do you think you will one day want to buy Tube amplifiers or SET amplifiers. If yes to tubes then chances are that might lead you to SET (as they sound better) and SET amps are generally low power which then makes Harbeth a questionable speaker brand.

A lot of things to consider and no matter how loved a speaker may be and how many forum posters like it or how many reviewers give it a good review you may not like it.

I like a lot of speakers but dislike a lot of highly regarded speakers - the tweeter in itself is not generally the problem - matching that tweeter to the woofer is a problem and so is what is connected to the loudspeaker. Not to mention bad albums.

A speaker should generally tell it like it is - which means that occasionally it should sound "bright" because there are amplifiers and CD players that sound bright and there are tinny recordings out there. So the speaker should have the capability of sounding "bright" from time to time.

 

My room is 13.5 ft x 18 ft x 8 ft rectangular carpeted. Speakers (warning. My opinion): disappointed by b&w 800 and 700 series, goldenear triton 1, and magnepan 1.7i. Enjoyed martin logan cls 2z (back in the day. 1st taste of high end but lacked bottom end). Vandersteen quatro blew me away: detail, imaging, soundstage, low end extension, the ability to disappear and just leave the music.
. I was impressed by the ls50. Gutsier than I thought. Broad range of musical taste. A lot of classic jazz and 70s rock. Grew up listening to abba. Love (the band) alabama, john denver, and Gordon Lightfoot. Enjoy classic aching back, working man blues, bob Marley. Classical music with good brass sections, big band. Lots of modern female jazz vocals (diana krall, melody gardot). I like hearing detail in the music, a good soundstage, and decent bass. No techno, but I dont want it bottoming out when I crank up staind or disturbed. I already have enough hearing issues, so try not to crank it up to concert level . I have a chinook tube phono preamp and looking to get a tube integrated amp. Doubt that I will go SET unless I eventually build a system around that. My primary music sources are streamed via schiit multibit dac or turntable. I want a speaker to disappear. I shut my eyes and I the musician(s) are in the room. I know DO NOT SHOP ON YOUTUBE. But FWIW, I heard clips of the 30.1 running on tube gear and it sounded amazing. wasn't a fan of the solid state sound when plugged into a hegel and similar

 

Audio Note, Harbeth and PoAcs

 

He carries Audio Note, Proac, Quad, Synthesis, Audience, Shahinian, They also build their own horn speakers.

 

My Monitor 30s offer very undramatic extended tweeter performance.
They are soft domes.
In a small control room the treble is plenty hot.
In a larger living room both the treble and the bass are improved with add-ons like subs and super tweeters.
It's a speaker that becomes like your right arm.
It's got a lot of "life" in its sound and it gets a huge swath of the tones to sound so very life like.
Hey, even rock sounds good. (sarc).
Seriously, rock sounds better than you ever heard it before.
You may have a completely new appreciation for how great your heroes sounded back in the day.
I played the same stage as Led Zep.
Me knows all about loud music.
You didn't ask but I can completely pressurize a medium large living room with mine (with add-ons).
Playing Hendrix "All Along The Watchtower" at concert feel-it-in-your-chest volume (105 dB.)
They also have turned me on to Rossini and a host of other classical dudes.
And I listen at least 10 hours a day at the mid 80 dB range where they sing sweet and clear.
Good luck, I don't think you can go too far wrong with a pair of them.
I bought mine completely sight unseen and paid full retail to another dealer while I was a dealer myself for other brands!
I think it was the single best purchase I have ever made in my life.
And if you don't bond well---there is a ready used market for super clean pairs. and willing to pay most of your investment back to you if you sell them.
I personally only hope I never have to replace mine.
So far they have done well the last 15 years, repurposed in three completely different sized rooms.