I bought p3esr xds and based on what I’ve read was prepared to be wowed but ended up selling them after a few weeks. I thought they sounded like a good small speaker, for a narrow range of simple acoustic or vocal music. I thought rock sounded flat, compressed, and a bit muddled. I also felt there was a bit of a treble edge which was unexpected. Maybe what bothered me the most is that the box vibrates like a cello and bass sounds like the product of a vibrating box rather than the driver. At first i tried them on some hollow stands and the stands literally rang like a bell. I gave them a go replacing genelecs in my desktop setup and the sound was noticeably stuck in the boxes in comparison, and they vibrated the desk. I might have kept them at maybe half price.
What Is So Special About Harbeth?
SLike probably all of you, I just received notice from Audiogon of a 20% discount on Harbeth XD. I clicked on the tab and found that the sale price is about $2700. I have read so many glowing comments here about Harbeth — as if just saying the name is the password for entering aural nirvana. I admit, I haven’t listened to Harbeth speakers. But looking at these, they just look like smallish bookshelf speakers. I’m not questioning how good others say these speakers are, but HOW do they do it out of an ordinary-looking box?
Is it the wood? Is it the bracing? Is it the crossover components? Is it the cone material? What is the reason why these Harbeth’s are such gems compared to other bookshelf speakers? What is it about the construction or technology that makes these speakers a deal at $2700 on sale versus the $800, 900 or $1,000 that others normally cost? What is the secret that makes audiophiles thrill to get such a costly bargain?