Active Harbeth speakers - service policy

[A.S.]

This is to clarify Harbeth's position regarding sales and after care of any Active speakers made by Harbeth UK.

Our long standing policy is this ....

1. We do not supply any Active speakers outside the UK and we decline to quote for supply outside the UK.

2. We are not able to provide any service, technical information, service data or parts for Harbeth active speakers that are purchased, transported or operated outside the UK since they were never sold outside the UK. Please be aware of this before making any purchase that may result in the speakers being exported from the UK.

3. We can, subject to our normal charge structure, repair Active speaker that are returned to our UK factory but they must be collected in person after repair. Active speakers are complex, and repairs can be very time consuming and many specialist parts are difficult to obtain.

This policy includes all current and previous Harbeth's and is unlikely to change in the future. Passive Harbeth speakers are fully supported worldwide.

[A.S.]

This is the position as at 1 Jan 2012. It updates our previous position, due to the passage of time.

1. The last active speaker made by Harbeth UK was over five years ago
2. The warranty period was 12 months
3. The Monitor 40 (not 40.1) Active ended production over ten years ago
4. No spare parts, sub-assemblies, wiring looms or circuit diagrams are now available for any active speaker made by Harbeth
5. The supplier of the in-built active electronics in the first generation Monitor 40 (not 40.1) actives ceased trading thirteen years ago

If you have acquired active Harbeth speakers and been told that they are current and/or serviceable, you have been misinformed and you should take that up with your supplier. In particular, since 2006, when we first became aware of first generation Monitor 40 Actives (not 40.1) being sold by UK studios that had closed-down, we have gone out of our way to advise curious would-be buyers who contacted us that there was, and is, no service support from Harbeth UK. Even so, against our wishes and advice, some active speakers have been sold to European cutomers even after I personally warned buyers on the phone that there could be no service support. An 10+ years old active Monitor 40 is not a cheap substitute for a current passive Monitor 40.1. Please take heed of this advice.

This is our final official Harbeth UK position on Harbeth active speakers made under the Harbeth brand. For speakers supplied under the HHB Circle brand, HHB may well be servicing the Circle speakers and they should be the first point of contact for Circle 1, Circle 3 and Circle 5 speaker service as they are still ordering drive units from us.