Harbeth Newsletter: No.28 March 2012

[harbethpr]

IN this 35th anniversary year we have lots of news, so already it's time for another Harbeth newsletter.

Issue No.28 is packed with stories from around the world, plus a look back at the early days and Alan's first design when he took over in 1986 - the original HL Compact which proved to be an instant hit.

We have wonderful news of Harbeth's continued success in many markets - an award in Germany, multiple award listings in America, an excellent review in Canada, media coverage by our new distributor in India, plus Harbeth's role in creating a Grammy award-winning album.

Enjoy reading.

[cornelius]

Another great one! Really cool to see how Harbeth easily shifts between the pro world and the ''civilians". I bounce between the two, so I'm in the right place

Happy 35th!

[Macjager]

Congratulations on 35 years for Harbeth! I love my Compact 7s. Good thing you lost that porn star moustache...;-)

Cheers

George

{Moderator's comment: WE AGREE! Nothing worse than a white 'tash on a has-been P.S.}

[EricW]

I'm surprised that no one seems to have asked about the "exciting new model" mentioned on page 4.

I know Harbeth's policy is not to comment on products in development, but this isn't far off, so perhaps just a little teaser for the HUG faithful?

{Moderator's comment: ummm. PR dept (Trevor) has sworn us all to secrecy....}

[tcb1935]

I do respect the secrecy, and also can wait for details,- but is it possible to tell in which product (price-)range it be? Or when it will be available on the (German) market?

{Moderator's comment: sorry! Germany is one of our fastest growing markets ... so perhaps June time???}

[GregD]

Haven't checked on the HUG for a while and have just seen the March Newsletter mentioning a new Harbeth speaker being launched soon! Very exciting news. I wonder if it will be bringing an older model up to Radial2 standard, or something completely different to expand the range? Can't wait to find out!

[hifi_dave]

You will have to be patient.

[Don Leman]

My thoughts were more along the lines of making use of the new in house Monitor 40.1 woofer in a stand alone subwoofer that could be mated with the other speaker models. A built in passive crossover could provide a couple of different crossover points and slopes for matching.

[GregD]

My thoughts were more along the lines of making use of the new in house Monitor 40.1 woofer in a stand alone subwoofer that could be mated with the other speaker models. A built in passive crossover could provide a couple of different crossover points and slopes for matching.

I hadn't thought of that, but it would be a welcome addition to the range. Quite a few people have asked about pairing Harbeths with a subwoofer.

Maybe it's a dedicated Harbeth centre speaker? I hope not though, I don't think they're really necessary when you could simply use another speaker identical to the left and right speakers.

I actually don't think it's either of these ideas though. Surely neither would be a big seller?

Whatever it is, I can't wait to find out!

[hifi_dave]

Harbeth are all about producing high quality and natural sounding speakers for the reproduction of music.

Home cinema is about effects - a totally different thing, so I doubt it will be a centre channel speaker or sub-woof.

[GregD]

Harbeth are all about producing high quality and natural sounding speakers for the reproduction of music.

Home cinema is about effects - a totally different thing, so I doubt it will be a centre channel speaker or sub-woof.

5.0 Surround sound SACD is the best way of listening to music IMO Dave. But a subwoofer is often necessary due to the need to use small rear speakers with limited bass output in our small living rooms. Of course, 5 identical full-range loudspeakers, equidistant from the listening seat is the ideal.

Home Cinema is a totally different animal (dinosaur?), and should not be confused with proper surround sound SACD music.

Incidentally, I've been trying to measure up to accommodate another pair of Harbeth P3ESRs in my room for rear channel duties. Sadly there's a door in the way, but one day I'd love to get a fully-Harbethed 5-channel system in place.

[keithwwk]

Yes surround sound is indeed good but in practical how many listen music in surround mode? I at least will not going to that. A pair is far more than good at home to enjoy. In addition any single harbeth speaker in current market is more than enough for center speaker so no need to waste resources to make an extra one.

[TimVG]

Harbeth are all about producing high quality and natural sounding speakers for the reproduction of music.

Home cinema is about effects - a totally different thing, so I doubt it will be a centre channel speaker or sub-woof.

Actually, Harbeth make speakers originally designed for broadcasting. Natural sound is the goal, and the basis for this was accurately portraying the quality of the human voice, musical instruments obviously also benifit from this. And since the center channel in films is where over 90% of the dialogue comes from, the idea of a Harbeth center channel doesn't seem so far fetched for me.

I believe the only thing that stops them from making one is finding a viable market.

[GregD]

Actually, Harbeth make speakers originally designed for broadcasting. Natural sound is the goal, and the basis for this was accurately portraying the quality of the human voice, musical instruments obviously also benifit from this. And since the center channel in films is where over 90% of the dialogue comes from, the idea of a Harbeth center channel doesn't seem so far fetched for me.

I believe the only thing that stops them from making one is finding a viable market.

Or you could just buy an extra pair of P3s and use one in the centre - I know I would if I could accommodate surround sound.

I noticed a TV studio had a pair of M40.1s for Fronts, M20s for Rears and a single M30 as a Centre speaker. Perfect. For surround sound music the existing range is perfectly adequate. It's only Home Cinema types who seem to want some strange-shaped wide centre speakers. But then the Home Cinema market is more focused on loud explosions, dinosaurs stomping and other computer generated sound effects. The antithesis of Harbeth. Satisfying that market would require a clean-sheet design and there are many strongly established manufacturers in that market.

[Macjager]

Something new from Harbeth...hmmm, have you been following Alan's DIY amplifier thread...a new mini 100W amp, brought to you by the Harbeth Company Subsidiary "Alan's Amps"...:-)

Cheers

George

{Moderator's comment: No no and thrice no! The amp project was snuffed out at birth a couple of years ago and is laid to rest .....}