STEREOPHILE review of P3ESR

[Gan CK]

Challenge them to review the M40.1 (again).

That's missing the point. Because there will be other speakers sounding bigger, have more 'wow' factor & more bass or loudness capability than the M40.1. If the reviewer can't hear or rather discern the unbeatable & inherent strengths of Harbeth, its pointless to do any review irregardless of the model in the range.

[KT88]

Bottom Line: Does Harbeth advertise at all in Stereophile? Probably not, and why bother anyway when the order book is filled to capacity. I think it's great that Harbeth can thumb its nose at rags like Stereophile. I'm certain advertising dollars was a factor in the tipping of the scales in that review.

To Hell with those corrupted bastards!

[hifi_dave]

To my mind there is little point in Harbeth getting reviews in any mag. Harbeth have full order books and a favourable review will just increase the wait, whilst a poor review will do no one any good.

Keep away from the mags is my advice. There are plenty of sensible customers out there who appreciate Harbeth quality, without input from a reviewer.

[Art K]

I read this latest look at the P3 from a Stereophile writer and wondered why? They have already reviewed it...so what's the agenda behind this review? I felt like it was the first time I have ever read negative comments on the P3 and his only caveats were completely unreasonable considering the speaker he was reviewing. Gotta wonder...

[singslingr]

I'm actually grateful to Stereophile for alerting me to the existence of the P3ESR, which I think is one of the finest bookshelf speakers available for the money.

(I certainly don't think I'm gullible by any means - been a hifi and music enthusiast for almost 30 years now).

[cornelius]

I"m glad Stereophile has (favorably) reviewed the little Harbeths over the years - it helped to keep them in my radar before purchasing a pair. But, that follow up review was unnecessary - I didn't get where the reviewer was coming from at all. He mentioned in his review of the Clairaudients (which he compared to the P3's) that on his first impression he thought there was something wrong with the review sample. Then, towards the end of his time with them, he thought they were doing something "so right". Huh?

I think a lot of these reviewers don't go out and actually listen to live music. If these (unusually designed) speakers were doing something SO right that "regular" speakers don't do - then he wouldn't have been confused by them in the first place. Did the sound coming out sound like music or not?! Weird...

{Moderators comment: we were confused ourselves. The editor of that magazine held onto the original review pair and without our consent passed them to another reviwer. We think that this confusing review marks a turning point in our confidence in reviews. A review thay confuses is of no help to the public at all. We will be asking many more questions before submitting anything for review from now on.}

[JJack]

I have been a Stereophile reader for 17 years. Those of us who live many miles from dealers MUST have a means to short-list speakers ("listen at home" is an impossibility for me; I would literally have to purchase all the speakers and then take back the ones I didn't want)

To put it briefly: if not for JA's review of the P3 I would not own Compact 7s today (nor would my buddy own 5s - he accompanied me on my trip to the dealer). I went to hear the 3s, fell in love with the 7s; my buddy fell in love with the 5s.

I think all of Stereophile's coverage does a good job of explaining Harbeths. I hadn't read Sam Tellig's reviews until after I bought my 7s, and he sounds like one of us.

[Gan CK]

Stereophile in their early days hardly covered british products. I guess british products were deemed (by Stereophile) as lower end than those huge & exorbitantly priced US or any non UK high end products, musicality notwithstanding. That's why i seldom read Stereophile or any American hifi mag. Not practical at all. The 1st American mag that caught my attention was The Absolute Sound because there were more british products covered in there. Anybody here recalls Chris Frankland & his mag called The Flat Response? I love reading his candid reviews & how he would literally put down so called high priced high end products.

Anyway, reviews merely serve as a guide. In fact, Harbeth only started appearing in reviews in recent years. Back in the early to late 90s, not many people knew or heard Harbeths before. I remember waxing lyrical about the Harbeth HL-MK4 & original HL-5 back in late 80s to early 90s but not many knew what i was talking about.

[denjo]

God gave each one of us a pair of ears. Why do we trust the ears of someone else in making purchasing decisions? I have had my SHL5s for almost 5 years and will continue to enjoy them for many years to come!

[Euler]

God gave each one of us a pair of ears. Why do we trust the ears of someone else in making purchasing decisions? I have had my SHL5s for almost 5 years and will continue to enjoy them for many years to come!

In my case, it's that I'm sure my ears are not nearly as well trained as an experienced reviewer's. Alan's ears are surely trained WAY better than mine. Same for the sense of taste, in the evaluation of fine wines for example, or the sense of sight, in the evaluation of paintings. Also, in the case of speakers, especially Harbeths in the US, there may be no dealer anywhere near you, which makes it very hard to audition them. I bought the Compact 7ES-3, without having listened to them myself, because every single review was GLOWING. Reviewers differ in their tastes in speakers, so when a speaker receives glowing reviews from everyone, that really says something.

Bruce

[Spindrift]

Denjo, I agree and Euler has made a good point too; we must always trust our own ears but when several reputable reviewers get truly excited about the same speaker, it is probably worth a serious audition. As is any Harbeth model.

By the way, I sent you two PM's and got '0 items sent' twice... So in response to your query; yes, the wonderful P3ESR works very well with the Bel Canto C5i; the pair is capable of creating a surprisingly enveloping, lush and organic soundscape.

In our 30 sq. meter room we get good (loud) level at a setting of 75-85. Rarely do we get to 90 so there is always room for good level-adjustment. The 200-step control of the C5i is very nice in use as it allows for the finest incremental level changes.

Happy Listening!