It has been over a year since my last post. I wanted to write about my ‘new’ speakers for a long time but never got motivated enough to do it. Instead of sitting in front of my computer, I chose to sit in front of my system and listened to the music. The Harbeth C7ES3 had breath new life into my system and allowed me to enjoy the music a lot more.
Getting new gear is always exciting. Usually, when I got a new piece of gear, I would get excited for 6 months. If it was exceptionally, I would love it for another 6 months, and then it would be just like any other piece of audio equipment on my rack. The upgrade bug would start to bite. But the Harbeth is a bit different. I have owned it for almost 2 years now but I still haven’t got tired of it. I have no real desire to upgrade my system, except maybe a pair of new speaker stands (wooden stands). I have thought about a new amp too, but I really couldn’t justify it, as I was and still am satisfied with the current system.
The Harbeths are outstanding in many ways. Here are some of the Harbeths’ strengths that are particularly important to me:
1) The Harbeths have a midrange to die for – It is open, sweet and warm. Listening to high quality vocal recordings, such as Rosa Passos/Ron Carter – Entre Amigos (Hi-Res version downloaded from HD-track) and violin recordings is a treat. It is simply addictive.
2) Great and full sounding bass, blending very well with the midrange. I need to clarify this point a little bit. The Harbeth C7 does NOT have the best bass in the price range. The mid-bass is not explosive, it does not go super deep, and is not as punchy as some speakers such as the Audio Physics Virgo. From memory, the Virgos played drums better, it felt like the real thing in the room. However, the Harbeths provide a very nice fundation for the rest of the music. It is full and tuneful and more musical than the Virgo. The Harbeths never sound thin or lean.
3) Easy to drive. The Harbeths have an easy load and do not require a lot of power. Not only that, it can be driven pretty well with ‘budget’amps, such as my Rega Brio 3. Some speakers are easy to drive, such as many horn and single driver speakers, but they still require expensive SET, class A amps to sound great. The Harbeth C7 is one of the very few speakers that can be driven by low cost low power amps. Of course, you still need a good quality amp. At the end of the day, they are a pair of hi-end, transparent loudspeakers.
4) Easy to the ears. I know many reviewers (such as Sam Tellig of Stereophile) has mentioned this, and this is very true. I can listen to all sort of music, including some low quality pop recording, without feeling fatigue. Of course, you can tell the recording is of low quality – the Harbeth is transparent, but it just won’t hurt your ear like some overly analytic hi-end speakers. This is very important to me, as it means that I can enjoy a wider selection of music, not just audiophile recordings.
Of course, nothing is perfect, and I would like to point out a few imperfections of the Harbeths:
1) Comparing to the Merlin TSM-MM which I previously own, it does not sound as spacious and very slightly lack soundstage depth. This was obvious when I listened to FIM SACD 049 – Hush! The angles are singing. The Merlins were just exceptional in presenting the ‘hall sound’ of the church. The sound was so pure and had such great clarity that you can hear every single detail in the recording. Don’t get me wrong, the Harbeths are still great, but just do not have the ‘wow’ factor when playing this recording. Saying that, the Merlins were driven by a different amp – the Quicksilver Mini-Mites, and I know that the Rega sounds less spacious and airy in comparison. So it could very well be the signiture of the amplifier.
2) It is not the best speaker for rock. The Virgo, which has a more punchy and explosive mid-bass played rock better, and I am sure many other speakers such as ATC and JBL play rock better. But the Harbeth is not bad at all, and if you are not a hardcore rock fans, then it should be able to satisfy you.
The Harbeth Compact 7ES3, unlike the Audio Physics Virgo and some other Hi-End speakers, did not give me a lot of excitement at the start. But its musicality have won my love, have given me more musical satisfaction than any of the other speakers that I have own. I wish to write more about how the Harbeth compare with other speakers that I have own in the near future.
