Harbeth 30.2 40th Anniversary Edition Review

Kuoppis said:
Sure, was not aware you guys think like siamese twins. Next time I ask Mike if I want to know what you think [emoji3].

I only know the previous gen and from those I do have the P3ESR, like the SHL5, but thought the 30.1 sounded muffled. So background of the questions was to understand if the 30.2 has improved compared to the previous gen.

The larger cabinet SHL5 would not fit into the listening space in my summerhouse.


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Harbeth’s live in the midrange. The cabinets are thin walled and meant to resonate at a tuned frequency. Anyone used to listening to 99.9% resonance free Magico’s will immediately pick up the resonances in a Harbeth. However, the Harbeth’s are very musical and offer long time listening enjoyment.

In the store, their classic look and sound compliment the modern, SOTA Magico’s. Meanwhile, the Avantgarde’s offer a dynamic, non-cone and dome alternative.


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Mike said:
Harbeth’s live in the midrange. The cabinets are thin walled and meant to resonate at a tuned frequency. Anyone used to listening to 99.9% resonance free Magico’s will immediately pick up the resonances in a Harbeth. However, the Harbeth’s are very musical and offer long time listening enjoyment.

In the store, their classic look and sound compliment the modern, SOTA Magico’s. Meanwhile, the Avantgarde’s offer a dynamic, non-cone and dome alternative.


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That is exactly why I find them not so enjoyable.
Whatever model I've heard so far, the enclosure singing along has severely disturbed my listening pleasure.
Like you say, when you're used to and like dead silent cabinets like with Magico, YGA, Vivid Audio, Harbeth is a no go.
Sorry to be the party pooper here.
 
Kuoppis said:
Sure, was not aware you guys think like siamese twins. Next time I ask Mike if I want to know what you think [emoji3].

I only know the previous gen and from those I do have the P3ESR, like the SHL5, but thought the 30.1 sounded muffled. So background of the questions was to understand if the 30.2 has improved compared to the previous gen.

The larger cabinet SHL5 would not fit into the listening space in my summerhouse.


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Just having a little fun...

I could live with either. Depends on the room.

For a smaller room like a studio/office, the 30.2s would be fantastic. I like jazz, small ensembles, light classical, light rock...so these would be very fine with that type of music.

The 5s are more dynamic, play larger and higher. Need a larger space. A small apartment or medium size room would be terrific.

I used to have Spendor SP1s so I like the musical signature of these speakers. One can listen to these for hours without any fatigue. They are not the ultimate with high or low frequencies but, oh, they (Harbeths) are so musical.

My perspective and personal taste. As written many times before, all of this stuff comes down to personal preference.

Enjoy the music!
 
Mike said:
Harbeth’s live in the midrange. The cabinets are thin walled and meant to resonate at a tuned frequency. Anyone used to listening to 99.9% resonance free Magico’s will immediately pick up the resonances in a Harbeth. However, the Harbeth’s are very musical and offer long time listening enjoyment.

In the store, their classic look and sound compliment the modern, SOTA Magico’s. Meanwhile, the Avantgarde’s offer a dynamic, non-cone and dome alternative.

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Mike, I all with you. Design philosophy is well known and it works very well with my 2nd system.

So far I just enjoyed the 3PSRs better than the 30.1 and am hence trying to understand whether your new 30.2s would sound different enough from the previous version to warrant a new auditioning. If I am not mistaken, the 40.2 better the 40.1 by quite a significant margin.

I also have the smaller Harbeths in the summerhouse.


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Ritmo said:
Just having a little fun...

I could live with either. Depends on the room.

For a smaller room like a studio/office, the 30.2s would be fantastic. I like jazz, small ensembles, light classical, light rock...so these would be very fine with that type of music.

The 5s are more dynamic, play larger and higher. Need a larger space. A small apartment or medium size room would be terrific.

I used to have Spendor SP1s so I like the musical signature of these speakers. One can listen to these for hours without any fatigue. They are not the ultimate with high or low frequencies but, oh, they (Harbeths) are so musical.

My perspective and personal taste. As written many times before, all of this stuff comes down to personal preference.

Enjoy the music!
Click to expand...

Thanks, I always do.

I am definitely also a Harbeth fan.


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Bart - You're not alone with your impressions of Harbeth, I have similar experiences and find their bass to have a quality which I would best describe as being somewhat plodding. I can still appreciate some of their other qualities in the midrange but would never choose to buy one of their speakers due to their overall performance. As has been said we all have different tastes and preferences and that's a good thing, and why we have so many different choices of quality products to choose from in high end audio!
 
Harbeth has a target demographic and they hit on full cylinders with that demographic. For others, I can see why they don't fall in love. I don't find them to be polarizing as everyone seems to enjoy them, but clients seem to fall head over heels or just say 'I get the love... what else do you have?'
 
For a change of pace, I frankly love the resonances which study after study has shown to ultimately enrich the midrange without causing a bass problem. You have to keep in mind that Harbeth is to speakers what tube amps are to amplifiers. Their tag line should be "just listen". I understand why some people may not prefer it, but I can tell you, they are one of the most popular speaker brands in the world for a reason.

For me, I wanted a speaker I loved and something that would be different from others in the store. I'm frankly not a fan of Devore speakers (apologies to Keith and others). I've heard the others similar to Harbeth and keep coming back to Harbeth as being the one in that style of speaker.

I joked with some friends that I should sell each pair with a plaid sport coat, a bottle of scotch and a pair of slippers. :) But I plan on bringing home a pair of SHL5+'s to replace my KEF LS50's in the family room. I like them that much.
 
bart said:
That is exactly why I find them not so enjoyable.
Whatever model I've heard so far, the enclosure singing along has severely disturbed my listening pleasure.
Like you say, when you're used to and like dead silent cabinets like with Magico, YGA, Vivid Audio, Harbeth is a no go.
Sorry to be the party pooper here.
Click to expand...

Those three brands..... they never connect me with music as Harbeth does. Whenever I listen to Harbeth, I don't think about anything else other than music. So musical. I guess that's why we have so many brands out there for suits everyone's taste of Hifi and music.
 
Paul said:
Those three brands..... they never connect me with music as Harbeth does. Whenever I listen to Harbeth, I don't think about anything else other than music. So musical. I guess that's why we have so many brands out there for suits everyone's taste of Hifi and music.
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Paul, I absolutely agree with you, our ultimate goal is connecting with the music.
Whatever method we use for that.
The choice in gear almost equals the choice in music, and it all keeps our hobby so interesting, thrilling even.
 
Soundtrack - The Greatest Showman

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Day 3 breaking in the Harbeth 30.2 40th and to say I am impressed is an understatement. Utterly musical without sacrificing too much detail or airiness. Imaging like crazy in my 26x31 room, they simply disappear leaving a wide and deep soundstage with great focus and image density. Tonally smooth and rich without sounding thick, veiled or rolled off. Bass is obviously limited but I mostly listen to acoustical instruments, not synthesized bass and what they accomplish with Jazz has me extremely satisfied. The way these speakers evoke the emotional response to recorded music makes them worth every penny and that is exactly what I was looking for in a pair of speakers. Midrange purity is exemplary. Love them. Thanks Mike!
 
Congratulations Serge, that’s awesome.

Curious, what amp and preamp?
 
Joe, surprisingly the 30.2 has me floored with their musicality even from the Peachtree Nova 300 which is class D but sounds very smooth and engaging.
 
Thank you Jerome! To my ears the midrange has always been the most important factor. Smooth treble a big plus. Bass is something I can sacrifice on if I have to. What the 30.2 does with acoustical bass is impressive anyway. I don’t recall being kicked in the chest with live music and bass instruments like we tend to expect from our playback systems.
 
Very nice! I’m so happy that you love them. I’m still thinking about a pair of Harbeth. They really are wonderful.

TheOctopus said:
Joe, surprisingly the 30.2 has me floored with their musicality even from the Peachtree Nova 300 which is class D but sounds very smooth and engaging.
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