Harbeth HL C7 ES

Hello Curio,

Yes, they are incredible with the right tube amps as well. Recently, I have been running my Harbeths with a friends David Berning ZH-270 otl (70W @ 8ohm) and the combination is stunning. As you know though the Harbeth C7's are not suited for use with the low powered single-ended crowd.

In my experience with the Harbeths, they will expose any strengths or weeknesses within the chain. They certainly do not forgive lesser components nor mask the characteristics of any equipment I have used. To me, they simply are the truth and that is one very strong reason why I love them so much. Good listening to you.

Chris

Chris, your responsive comments are correct, of course. They sound great with tube amps but need a significant amount of power to do their best.

But, although they are revealing, they are forgiving of subntractive weaknesses. They sound nice with just about any decently engineered amp or cdp from the most inexpensive budget components on up. They just sound better with better. Now, if there are any additive anomalies or glaring weaknesses in the chain, they'll certainly let you know about them.

I've just ordered a pair and they should arrive next week. I don't have tube equipment, but I'll pass on my thoughts. I run a Marsh 400 amp, Monarchy 22C DAC/Pre and Classe transport. Does anyone have any thoughts on cables? I currenty use Nordost Flatline Gold bi-wire.

Thoughts on cables? Risky question hereabouts. Maybe we'll get away with though. The dealer from whom I bought my C7's a few years ago, Signals in the UK (email order sound unheard) carries Nordost cables, but was not enthusiastic about the combination of the Flatline Gold and the C7's. He recommended the Blue Heaven as a better match. I use something completely different, AQ Crystal 2 (or +, I forget) as I think I prefer a somewhat softer presentation than I understand you get from the Blue Heaven. It may just be a matter of taste and your cables might suit your ears just fine.

Now, and here's where I expose myself; the Harbeth speakers are very revealing in the midrange, really astonishingly clear, and very neutral on top. To me, therefore, they are very revealing of really subtle differences in cables. You can drive yourself nuts trying out a bunch of different cables. If they sound good to you with what you have, leave well enough alone.

Hello, and welcome to THE club. I am a fellow C7 ES user and fanatic. You chose wisely! [:)]

Please be sure to join the Harbeth user's group. There have been some interesting discussions on appropriate wiring. (And a number of other topics.) You can access it through harbeth.com and see all past and present discussions.

Here is a copy of a post [4-29-01] by a nice guy who has the Compact 7 and who used to use your cables. You can email him once you join the site/group and check this date. He would be a fun guy for you to talk to. (He is an engineer in England.)

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Dear All

Just for completeness I use Kimber Monocle -X. However, when choosing a cable you cannot write the amplifier out of the equation, it's really a three variable problem.

Reasons for my choice:

1) Good high purity copper conductors with smooth surface finish to ensure that the high frequencies don't have to travel through heavily damaged surface region.

2) A geometry that attenuates RF and acts as a poor anttenna. Good quality PTFE or similar dielectric The cable has 16 individually insulated wires braided around, and bounded to, an acoustically lossy *hosepipe*.

3) Its terminated with WBT locking babana plugs.

With my previous Rogers LS7s the upgrade path was: QED 79 strand, Nordust Flatline gold, Kimber Monocle-X - each step improved clarity.

By the way, at around one inch in diameter, this not the cable to try to hide under a rug.

Richard

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Good luck, and man are you in for a great ride!

Charlie
Brunswick, Georgia

Above post was for dds.

Wow, these 7ES's are fantastic! I just received my pair two days ago and they are humming with the Marsh Amp. What's interesting to me is that these speakers don't have that "artificial" transparency that you get with some high-end speakers. When I first started this search for new speakers two years ago, I was impressed by the airiness of some speakers. But, the longer I listened, the more artificial they sounded, almost as if they were "tweaked" to be breathy and bright (does this make sense?). Conversely, these 7ES's are much more natural, and sexier. Just a personal opinion. I'll cautiously explore new cables, and heard the negative feedback from REG and Alan on the Harbeth User Group. Still open to recommendations, though. Thanks!

How does the 7-ES-2 differ from the 7-ES, anyone know?

And who in the States sells Harbeth?

Thanks,
Art

Brooklyn Audio carries the Harbeth line- they're a showcase dealer listed on Audiogon. As I understand it, the differences between the 7 Es and 7 ES-2 are cosmetic but you may want to contact them and check.