View Full Version : Harbeth P3ESR
southall-1998
06-09-2017, 10:01
Been reading about these little Harbeth speakers for years now.
Sometime, by early (ish) 2018. I'll maybe attempt to source for a used pair. Ideally in lovely Rosewood. What is the common usual price, for a used pair in Rosewood?
Also, has anyone on here had the chance, to compare P3ESR to the Acoustic Energy AE1?
S.
They seem to go for around £900-ish.
southall-1998
06-09-2017, 10:47
Forgot to mention. Do P3ESR's come with a lengthy warranty? Is the warranty transferable?
S.
Simon_LDT
06-09-2017, 10:56
Forgot to mention. Do P3ESR's come with a lengthy warranty? Is the warranty transferable?
S.
3 years once registered with Harbeth, not transferable.
Forgot to mention. Do P3ESR's come with a lengthy warranty? Is the warranty transferable?
S.
Twelve months, extended free of charge to 36 months once you register the speakers on-line. It doesn't seem to be transferable; all the documentation refers to 'the original owner'. I've had mine for seven years with no problem; they're robustly built and I can't see you could damage them short of using them for PA purposes, or a toddler poking the tweeter in. The grilles are meant to be kept in place, which should help prevent accidental damage.
southall-1998
06-09-2017, 11:00
I see. OK, thanks.
S.
Simon_LDT
06-09-2017, 11:07
I'm sure the tweeters have metal mesh/grilles too (the latest model does).
There is a pair for sale in here with Something solid stands £1050. Seems reasonable.
There is a pair for sale in here with Something solid stands £1050. Seems reasonable.
It's a very good price indeed when the stands are factored in, and these speakers rarely appear on the used market.
hifinutt
06-09-2017, 19:01
its a good price but they are not rare . at least 6-7 pairs of second hand market in past 6 months . they are easy to sell and beautiful sounding . friend of mine just got a pair and very happy with them
southall-1998
06-09-2017, 19:22
its a good price but they are not rare . at least 6-7 pairs of second hand market in past 6 months . they are easy to sell and beautiful sounding . friend of mine just got a pair and very happy with them
Exactly! They're fairly easy to source.
S.
hifinutt
06-09-2017, 22:06
in fact my friend who just got his , is not too far away in plymouth !
jandl100
10-09-2017, 09:10
Excellent speaker - a friend of mine had a pair and then "upgraded" to larger Harbeths.
imho, the P3ESR is the best sounding Harbeth speaker - and I've heard quite a few including the biggies.
Imaging - OMG, the imaging. Stunning.
Capable of surprisingly deep and controlled bass, as well.
They are the only Harbeths I have heard that I would probably be happy to live with for a while.
spendorman
10-09-2017, 09:53
A friend has these and 15 Ohm RAM LS3/5a's, he's trying to decide which he prefers, initially it was the Harbeths, now he's favouring the Rams. From what he says, the Rams are a bit livelier.
A friend has these and 15 Ohm RAM LS3/5a's, he's trying to decide which he prefers, initially it was the Harbeths, now he's favouring the Rams. From what he says, the Rams are a bit livelier.
I'm so happy with my Harbeths, I've never thought of comparing them with anything else. They certainly don't seem lacking in liveliness.
jandl100
10-09-2017, 10:39
It's the 'liveliness' that strikes the death knell for me for almost all Harbeths. Or rather, the lack of it.
The P3ESR seem to suffer least from this, to my ear; maybe it's the relative lack of deep bass giving an overall better balanced presentation.
The original AE1 could be one hell of an earful in a not good way when fed with source and equipment it didn't agree with.
Conversely it could sound fabulous when everything lined up, so to speak.
Very different to a Harbeth type sound. Very capable of sounding harsh with metal driver colouration. But still fantastic at times. And it just looked awesome, I thought.
jandl100
10-09-2017, 11:05
Good point, Justin.
I had neglected the AE1 comparison.
I owned a pair for a while.
Utterly, totally different to any Harbeth.
AE1's have the usual tin-can metal-cone bass issues and these can be masked with a really well matched system in my experience. P3ESR's *should* be rather clearer as they lack this lower top 'hash.'
The thing about most Harbeths is that they're designed to be well away from walls and floors if at all possible. Failure to do this can result in boomy bass which masques the mids and delightful hf, the latter in the P3ESR excelling on brushed cymbals for example.
Shane, it's VERY easy to get Harbeths to sound lack-lustre and bland, but good supplying UK dealers, of which there are a few now up and down the UK, usually make good recommendations as to suitable equipment with the right subjective spec for the job. It's when these speakers enter the used market that problems occur as all manner of crap can e used with them with equally crap end results, the speakers often getting the blame for reproducing faults further back - and this isn't just Harbeths either!!!!!
Shane, it's VERY easy to get Harbeths to sound lack-lustre and bland, but good supplying UK dealers, of which there are a few now up and down the UK, usually make good recommendations as to suitable equipment with the right subjective spec for the job. It's when these speakers enter the used market that problems occur as all manner of crap can e used with them with equally crap end results, the speakers often getting the blame for reproducing faults further back - and this isn't just Harbeths either!!!!!
My own non-expert tips: as DSJR says, keep them away from walls, and put them on stands that get the tweeters to ear height (I tried them on shelves at first but they work much better on stands). I use mine with an Exposure pre/power combo, but in my limited experience they aren't too fussy about accompanying equipment. Alan Shaw, the boss of Harbeth, is notoriously sceptical about amplifier differences.
Well not everyone's priority is the sort of speed and dynamics the little AE1s could muster. At the expense of sounding rough in certain situations.
I'd probably use an amp with some notably obvious transient capability with any Harbeth to wake them up but that is just me. They are a bit too laid back and slow for me. But they can sound very pleasant indeed.
That said I am thinking of the larger models and it does sound like the P3ESR doesn't suffer so much in this area.
Excellent speaker - a friend of mine had a pair and then "upgraded" to larger Harbeths.
imho, the P3ESR is the best sounding Harbeth speaker - and I've heard quite a few including the biggies.
Imaging - OMG, the imaging. Stunning.
Capable of surprisingly deep and controlled bass, as well.
They are the only Harbeths I have heard that I would probably be happy to live with for a while.
Agreed! :scratch:
Work brilliantly in your typical 13 foot square UK room.
The thing about most Harbeths is that they're designed to be well away from walls and floors if at all possible. Failure to do this can result in boomy bass which masques the mids and delightful hf, the latter in the P3ESR excelling on brushed cymbals for example.
Shane, it's VERY easy to get Harbeths to sound lack-lustre and bland, but good supplying UK dealers, of which there are a few now up and down the UK, usually make good recommendations as to suitable equipment with the right subjective spec for the job. It's when these speakers enter the used market that problems occur as all manner of crap can e used with them with equally crap end results, the speakers often getting the blame for reproducing faults further back - and this isn't just Harbeths either!!!!!
Mmm, not really true of the latest P3ESR ime. They are sealed box, solid cabinets ... not the 'sing-along' flexi cabinets of previous models ... and worked perfectly really quite close to walls in my room. I even tried them as bookshelf speakers, and was pleasantly surprised, although they lost some of their spectacular soundstaging capability. As mentioned above, they are best on slightly higher than normal stands (although that depends on the height of your chair, I suppose). I used 60 cm ones.
I also found them to be nicely dynamic, and not noticeably lack-lustre, with a range of amps, including: a 15 watt class A Marantz; a 28 watt push-pull valve amp; and a Naim Nait 5si. However, in the past I have found other Harbeth models to be as Dave describes ... just not this one :thumbsup:
jandl100
11-09-2017, 07:22
Agreed! :scratch:
Work brilliantly in your typical 13 foot square UK room.
:lolsign:
It seems we don't disagree on everything, Peter!
hifi_dave
11-09-2017, 09:23
I sell loadsa Harbeth speakers. Most of these are used in typically small UK rooms and all but the M40.2 can just be plonked down and will work properly, without tearing your hair out over position. Even the M40.2 will perform as designed in a medium sized room. All the models are designed by Alan Shaw in a 10ft square room, deliberately chosen so that he can design out any small room problems.
Another thing with Harbeth is that they don't need expensive or powerful amps to sound good. I regularly sell them with Rega Brio amps and Croft Integrated, which sound excellent at minimal cost. I have also sold several pairs of the P3ESR with Quad VA-One, 18 wpc valve amp for a very sweet and involving sound.
Having installed Harbeth speakers in numerous rooms, I can say that they are as plonk n play as it's possible to get with any speaker.
Mine are on the 'wrong' stands (600mm tall solid oak sections as opposed to open frame) and placed the 'wrong' distance from the rear wall (very close at 7cm) and sound sublime.
I've bought P3ESR, SHL5+ and SHL5+ LE from Dave and they are a final destination speaker. The P3s with a sub can fill a sizeable room, even without the sub they are astonishing. Shove 200w up the SHL5+ and they gain dynamics and punch. Get a new pair from Dave, he'll sort you out. Second hand colour-specific are rare.
Having installed Harbeth speakers in numerous rooms, I can say that they are as plonk n play as it's possible to get with any speaker.
As a past customer who purchased a pair of SHL5s from HiFi Dave I concur 100%. I paired them with a Brio R and used them in two very different rooms and they just worked. Sadly I had to let them go for a move overseas, but when I'm settled again I shall be getting Harbeth again - never heard or owned a pair of speakers I wanted to listen to so much. For me there's nowt to touch the Harbeth sound.
Mine are on the 'wrong' stands (600mm tall solid oak sections as opposed to open frame) and placed the 'wrong' distance from the rear wall (very close at 7cm) and sound sublime.
Mine on oak stands as well. Tested varying wall distance with REW and made no difference at all.
hifi_dave
16-09-2017, 15:48
Thanks for the votes of confidence lads..:thumbsup:
P3s on the desktop HiFi Racks stands. A bargain at £99. i had the legs made a little too short, so the feet (£10 off Amazon) raised them up a bit and I can also slide them around my desk as needed. Normally HFR would put spikes in them, but I asked for bumper spots instead as they are better on a flat desk if you don't intend to move them around.
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