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The Harbeth phenomenon

In my search for a new pair of speakers, I've gone through many threads here and noticed that many owners or fans of Harbeth have almost a love-like connection with Harbeth speakers. It is almost as if the speakers cast a spell upon them. I know many audiophiles love their speakers but Harbeth owners seem especially enamored with theirs. I am extremely puzzled by this phenomenon because on paper Harbeth speakers look average at best and lack many of the attributes that generally make a great speaker.

Their sensitivity of generally around the 86dB mark makes them rather inefficient and therefore, at least in theory, not a good match for many lower powered tube amps, or any amps below 100wpc. Their frequency range is simply inferior to most high-end speakers since they don't go below 40 Hz. This alone should, again at least in theory, disqualify Harbeth speakers from consideration as top high end speakers. And yet I've never heard anyone complain about their bass, while people complain about lack of bass in the Gibbon Nines from DeVore, which is a fantastic speaker. Their cabinets look like a cheap DIY enclosure (disclaimer: I've never seen a Harbeth up close, only pictures). The 7ES-3 is rated B-Restricted, while the smaller and cheaper Usher Be-718 A-Restricted in Stereophile but garners nowhere near the same amount of admiration, praise and following among audiophiles.

So what's going on here? Is this a big conspiracy plot by the company that paid off a few hundred of people to infiltrate audiophile internet forums and a few reviewers? I am of course joking here, but the question is serious. How can speakers so average on paper be so good in real life? I know the opposite is often true, but you rarely see this phenomenon.

Please speak up.
actusreus

Showing 3 responses by mapman

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,636 posts
 
Boxy Harbeth is very old school looking and not nearly as much competition there as in other newer designs. . I think that is part of it

I’ve heard the latest 40.2 model in a very good dealer setup and liked the sound and looks but would be hard pressed to  go for the asking price. Not to say I would not at least consider it.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,636 posts
 
Many speaker designs look similar and in general sound more similar than not as well.

Harbeths are distinctive looking and sounding compared to most others these days as well from what I gather. They are also well made as best I can tell. So they have a distinctive identity among many quality products as a result to help distinguish them from the pack. That's a good thing in general for a product to have, even speakers, where it largely seems that many are chasing essentially the same goals in various subtly different ways.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,636 posts
 
OHM speakers (www.ohmspeakers.com) have a unique and large scale following as well, both in and out of the high end niche. Distinctive sound and design, high value, the same basic approach more or less for about 40 years now, and outstanding customer service, which always helps. I've stuck with them for over 30 years and am still content.

Their older conventional box designs like the Es, Ls, C2s, and Hs refurbished from the factory, could make for a lower cost alternative to Harbeth to consider. They are made in the USA in Brooklyn, NY as well.
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