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Feb. 2018
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Harbeth HL Compact 7ES-3 specific

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  • #76
    Re: Harbeth HL Compact7ES-3 specific

    Hello,
    I'm the proud owner of a pair of C7ES3 that I bought on the used market a few months ago. They are used with the Sound Anchor 4-post stands. I use McIntosh C45 pre and MC402 power amp to drive the speakers. I have to say, the tiger ebony finish is quite striking. Before asking my few questions I'd like to relate an incident when a 13 year old friend of my son was visiting and heard the C7s. This boy comes from a musical family, he plays drums, his dad plays bass, and his sister (15years old) plays flute and has already performed at Carnegie Hall. Suffice to say he probably has a good ear for how musical instruments sound in their natural environment. His response to the C7 was "Wow, the bass is so nice and resonant, full like it's supposed to be." From a 13 yo! In addition to the bass response I also love the midrange accuracy and detail. This speaker is so natural and non-fatiguing. Great job on the design of these speakers Alan!

    Anyway, a few questions:

    I am looking at getting new speaker cables and was wondering if you have any feelings one way or the other about using banana connections at the speaker rather than spades?

    Is it ok to tilt the speakers (stands actually) a few degrees to help lift the tweeter a bit higher and angle the wave upward slightly? I think my listening position may be a little high and the tweeter not quite at ear level as recommended.

    Thank you in advance,
    Sal

    Comment

    • #77
      Harbeth C7ES 2 to C7ES 3

      Is there an upgrade from one speaker to the other ? If so what are the costs ? What is the main differences between the old and the new speaker.
      I presume that the new version was not made becuse the other was obsolete but that the designer viewed the new speaker as an improvement.

      If so what areas of improvement have been made and is there any value in looking to upgrade to the new model ?

      Regards

      Zenith

      Comment

      • #78
        Re: Harbeth C7ES 2 to C7ES 3

        Very intersting question, I would also like to know the answer
        I have the Harbeth 7es2

        Ofer

        Comment

        • #79
          Re: Harbeth C7ES 2 to C7ES 3

          I think the differences between the C7ES2 and C7ES3 have been documented here or on the main Harbeth web site ....

          They are:

          C7ES3 has ....

          1. A new woofer
          2. A new tweeter
          3. A new crossover
          4. Revisions to the cabinet damping arrangement that would be difficult to retro-fit to ES2 cabinets
          5. Longer ports
          6. Single wire, not bi-wire terminals

          A Compact 7ES3 is the sum of all these parts and any lesser combination is not, technically a Compact 7ES3. At this time, and especially because of item 4 above, there is no upgrade path and we do not want to have a half-way situation between C7ES2 and 3 whereby 1, 2, 3, and 5 are upgraded but not item 4 (the cabinet).

          Furthermore, there are two other factors to consider. After detailed discussions with our Accounts dept. who have carried out a full costing of this possibility, it is self-evident that upgrading is not cost effective for the user because it is so time consuming in the factory which is working at 100% already. The economic argument presented to me is that not only would the user have to pay for the necessary parts detailed above, but the labour time for fitting and testing them and towards the 'opportunity cost' of diverting precious production line resources. Our order book already extends to November 2008 (14 months ahead) and is completely full for 4 months ahead. Every man hour is needed on the production line.

          As for our ISO9001 status, it is completely prohibited for us to pass out of our control upgrade parts to be fitted by users without them having approved/calibrated test equipment and demonstrable assembly and QC processes.

          As for why I invested 9 months in the redesign, I did it because I accumulated over several years detailed ideas as that led me to improve an already great and much enjoyed speaker. No parts are obsolete from the Compact 7ES2. At this level of performance it is attention to ever more minute detail that is the future for Harbeth, not sweeping changes.

          On the commercial side, I see that our like-for-like sales of the C7ES3 v. C7ES2 are 3 times greater.
          Alan A. Shaw
          Designer, owner
          Harbeth Audio UK

          Comment

          • #80
            Re: Harbeth C7ES 2 to C7ES 3

            Hi Alan,

            In view of item (4) description does my 7ES3 (s/n C7 274) which utilised the ES2 cabinet does not have the revised cabinet damping arrangement? Not that it really matters though cause it really sound superb even with 10W budget Trends Audio amp driving it!.
            Thanks.

            Comment

            • #81
              Re: Harbeth C7ES 2 to C7ES 3

              Your cabinets were converted (by me actually) to C7ES3 type during production as was the case for the very first production run, over a year ago.
              Alan A. Shaw
              Designer, owner
              Harbeth Audio UK

              Comment

              • #82
                Re: Harbeth C7ES 2 to C7ES 3

                Thanks for your answer

                Comment

                • #83
                  Harbeth 7ES-3 v.s. Single Ended

                  Hi,

                  Despite I do not have a Herbeth's Loudspeaker (for now), is a pleasure change information about this "legend" in HiFi.

                  Now we have an "dealer" in Brazil: GREAT NEWS!!!

                  My power is an Single Ended Cary CAD 300SE Signature (an 300B tube based) and, how is characteristic that kind of device, with lower power output. In my system "only" 15Wrms/channel.

                  My listen room is small (3mx3m).

                  Has somebody experience with the 7ES-3 with lower power output?

                  Thanks and I apologise about my poor English and I hope that somebody can understand me (laughs...)

                  Dinho

                  Comment

                  • #84
                    Re: Harbeth 7ES-3 v.s. Single Ended

                    Hello,
                    I have had tremedous success running a Shindo Montille (15 watts EL 84) into Compact 7ES-3. In light of your room size, I doubt you'll encounter any issues. My room is 10 1/2' by 15'.

                    Comment

                    • #85
                      Re: Harbeth 7ES-3 v.s. Single Ended

                      dgroove,

                      Thanks for return.

                      Dinho.

                      Comment

                      • #86
                        Binding post holes

                        I have ordered a pair of Compact 7ES-3's and I need to determine if my existing speaker cables will work with the speakers when they arrive. The ends of the cables are terminated with spades having an 8mm gap between the "forks" of each spade. Will these fit the Harbeth terminals properly?

                        Sorry if this has been covered before, but I found nothing when I did a forum search. Thanks!

                        Comment

                        • #87
                          Binding post holes

                          I recall it being stated the post diameter is 8.3 mm. However I don't believe the post can be round. I too have spades with a 8.0mm gap. They do not fit if I try an connect them with the "U" oriented up or down. They do however fit nicely if connected horizonally. If you have flexible speaker cables this could work for you too.

                          Don
                          West Coast Audio

                          Comment

                          • #88
                            Binding post holes

                            Originally posted by Don Leman
                            I recall it being stated the post diameter is 8.3 mm. However I don't believe the post can be round. I too have spades with a 8.0mm gap. They do not fit if I try an connect them with the "U" oriented up or down. They do however fit nicely if connected horizonally. If you have flexible speaker cables this could work for you too.

                            Don
                            West Coast Audio
                            It seems odd that the posts would not be round. But if it works for you, it will likely work for me! Thanks for the info.

                            Jim

                            Comment

                            • #89
                              Binding post holes

                              Jim,

                              There is a hole through the middle of the post to accomodate hook up with bare wire. The hole is vertical and because of this would remove some of the post material at the top and bottom explaining the reason why the spades fit horizontally.

                              Don
                              West Coast Audio

                              Comment

                              • #90
                                Re: Binding post holes

                                I've put an answer to this particular thread here as it applies not only to the HL Compact 7ES3 but to Harbeth binging posts generally: http://www.harbeth.co.uk/usergroup/s...=2570#post2570
                                Alan A. Shaw
                                Designer, owner
                                Harbeth Audio UK

                                Comment

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