Why do Harbeth speakers have such a cult following

well I found very nice sinergy between harbeth shl5 and synthesis roma 37dc+ amp

Started with NAD M2, Arcam, Moon and now LFD NFSE Mk II. Without the latest amp, I would have sold these speakers.

did not read all the posts, so I may repeat something that's already been told.
I think Harbeths join a great timbre correctness with musical involvement. at a relatively reasonable price (compared to the crazy world of hifi, where few grams of copper may cost several grands).

Have an audio colleague that totally loves his Harbeths.
Have tried the larger 40somethings? on a variety of high end gear - nice enough/inoffensive but not involving or likely to get a foot tapping. Perhaps shone on vocals.
Led to believe they are not too fussy about the front end.
Possibly not difficult to place in a room.
For me they are well suited to those that are hard of hearing, tolerate the horrible one note bass and like the sleepy pipe and slippers sound (Possibly caused by flexible cabinetry)
Harbeths tend to be owned by those who like a valve sound/distortion.
Shows what good marketing (Bose any one?) and client service can do.

Question for Harbeth experts out there:

Are the two way models as good with vocal clarity as the 3-way models?

I heard 40.2 over the weekend with some very elaborate Conrad Johnson amplification driving them.

Vocal clarity and detail ( Donna Godchaux on the streaming Grateful Dead track "Sunrise") was the thing that struck me most. The setup had the speakers well into the room with a lot of space behind which produced an interesting sound stage from the speakers to about half way back to the wall. Not 3-d really, but pretty cleanly left to right, mostly from just behind the speakers with some things a bit more forward, nothing back near the rear wall.

Also I read and hear people talk about Harbeth and CJ adding some perhaps warmer color to the sound. Gotta say I did not hear that at all. Things were very clean, clear and neutral top to bottom IMHO, nothing offensive whatsoever that I heard, which is what I tend to look for.

I had had some exposure to Harbeth Super HL5s and 40.2 at audio shows prior, enough to peak my interest, but this was my first more in depth exposure otherwise.

It's not 2-way vs. 3-way but rather different "families" within the Harbeth line-up.  40.2 and 30.2 are essentially cut from the same cloth. Although it appears to slot in between them, the SHL5 is really the top of the line of a different family. I'm sure there are family resemblances between it and smaller speakers in the lineup, but not sure exactly which.