Alan Shaw...you gotta love this guy..

AS, the man behind Harbeth sets out a faq about owning a pair of Harbeth speakers. Just have to love his honesty...

http://www.harbeth.co.uk/usergroup/showthread.php?373-Basic-facts-about-Harbeths-at-home

Basic facts about Harbeths at home












The Harbeth User Group exists to get to the
essential truth of enjoying fine music at home and we've distilled the
'Golden secrets' of owning and enjoying Harbeth speakers. I think we've
just about covered everything but a good hi-fi dealer, who really
understands music, is worth his weight in gold: he will support you with
his knowledge and advice. What you read here is our opinion - balance
that against your own experiences.

1. Harbeth speakers will works straight out of the carton once
they have reached room temperature. That's important as the parts will
be stiffer when cold. Harbeths do not need any running-in or
'burning-in' at all. They will neither improve nor degrade with time if
they are treated with respect. They will sound the same today as in 10
years. Sadly, the acuity of human hearing gradually falls, but you can
count on your Harbeths remaining true.

Do not use any 'burn-in' CD or test equipment as they produce
high levels of energy which will most likely damage your speakers. They
are completely superfluous. Our view on burning-in is here.

2. Harbeth speakers will work with any normal grade, audiophile
or regular grade amplifier that is performing within its original
specification. They will work better with a really good amp, but they
will work well with even a modest hi-fi receiver-amplifier. Remember -
amplifiers like people age, if it breaks-down it could damage the
speakers.

3. Harbeths present an easy electrical load to their driving
amplifiers. They are deliberately designed to be so. There are tens of
thousands of Harbeth speakers in use around the world and we do not have
enough knowledge or staff to handle inevitable questions such as 'will
Harbeths work with XYZ amplifier?'. So, we have always made absolutely
certain at the design stage that Harbeths will work will any
credible amplifier. You do not need to ask this question, because the
answer is, if the amp is working properly, that yes, it will work with
your Harbeths. More on amplifier selection here.

This question (or as I say, non-question) about speaker-amp
matching does arise from time to time. I try to explain our position; here again is a summary.

4. Harbeth speakers do not need big amplifiers. Generally
speaking, 25W per channel is a sensible minimum across the range. That
will get you going but 25W won't produce the maximum loudness that a
Harbeth is capable of: for that you'll need a bigger amp. If you play
soft, late at night or you don't want to annoy your neighbours then even
10W will be more than enough power. There is no advantage in using a
super-powerful amplifier; but there is always danger of having too much
power available if your children take control of your hi-fi.

5. Harbeth speakers will work with any type of amp: solid
state (transistor, MOSFET) amps, digital amps or tube (valve) amps.

6. Harbeth speakers do not need fancy cable. Anything available
that is reasonably thick will work OK. QED 79 strand (see attached
picture) or 5A electrical flex will get you going. Simple, un-cool
standard flex is all you need. Avoid exotic cables with strange
electrical characteristics.

7. Harbeth speakers do not need exotic stands. You can use wooden
stands or metal or plastic stands. We use them all through
development and critical listening. Distrust rumours that 'Harbeth's
only work with 'xyz stands'. It is entirely your free choice,
what takes your fancy, fits in with your furnishings and budget. If all
you have available to get you going is something as basic as the IKEA
plant pot stands (even used during the design of the Compact 7ES3 - see picture) or house
bricks or telephone directories. The key point is to raise the
tweeter to about ear level. The Skylan stands are an excellent
value-for-money choice that we have used at exhibitions ourselves.
Filling stands is your choice.

8. Harbeth speakers work in single-wire or bi-wire mode. The
bi-wire terminals are provided on some models for user experimentation
only. We cannot detect any sonic difference between using your Harbeths
in single-wire of bi-wire mode in our listening room. Single-wiring is
much more convenient.

9. The bi-wire links as factory fitted on some models are British
made, hand punched from brass and then gold plated by a jeweller. We do
not believe that any sonic improvement can be achieved by
substituting the factory-fitted bi-wire links for other types.

10. Harbeth speakers should ideally be away from nearby surfaces
(side wall, rear wall, floor) as practicable. If you can not get the
speakers away from nearby surfaces than try and make those surfaces as
soft as possible. This will reduce reflections in the middle and upper
frequencies but it will not help at lower frequencies. For that you
need deep absorbers as you would find in an anechoic chamber.
There is no way around this - it's the physics of sound waves.

11. Harbeth speakers are designed to be used with the grilles fitted
(on); thanks to the unique Harbeth SuperGrille, the frequency
response is measurably flatter with the grilles fitted. This is the
exact opposite with all other types of speakers. The tweeter performance
is set to be just right when the grilles are fitted.

12. Harbeth speakers will work perfectly well just sitting on the
stands. You do not have to use Blutak, cones, balls, felt or any
other material interface for sonic reasons. We don't. If you do use
Blutak use the absolute minimum, and be aware that it has been known to
tear the veneer from the cabinet, which is not covered by the Warranty.
But do take special care that the speakers don't slide off and injure a
child or pet - this is your primary requirement of a suitable
stand.

13. Harbeth speakers are a once in lifetime purchase. Buy and
forget. If you take care of them they will reward you with a
lifetime of pleasure. Keep your teenagers away from them because the
sweet smooth exciting sound encourages them to 'turn up the wick' when
you are not at home! See also 4. above.

14. The baffle, drive unit and back panel screws do not need to be
routinely tightened. Feel free to give their retaining screws a very
slight twist every few years if you wish. No special torque
setting is needed, just hand tight.

15. The more damping you have throughout your listening room
genrally the better the overall sound. Even a temporary arrangement of
rugs, cushions or closed curtains help reduce reflections. Taming the
reflections always improves the stereo experience because your
brain can concentrate only on the direct sound from the stereo speakers.
All reflections are distractions and force your brain to work harder
than needed to eliminate those unwanted signals. I have written about
this here - the less room reflection, the more the speakers are able to
do their job of reproducing the original recording venue without having
your room sound imposed on top. I've written more about this here.

16. You do not need to polish your Harbeths. Just wipe them with a
slightly damped cloth every month or two.

17. Harbeth speakers should not be modified. You can not improve
on the factory-supplied design which has taken hundreds of hours of
careful tuning. If you open or modify them, then the Warranty expires.

18. Harbeths will reproduce CD, SACD, LP, DVD Audio, surround
sound and even 78s! Regardless of the source, digital or analogue,
Harbeth speakers will reveal all.

19. Harbeth speakers should obviously be kept away from heaters and
out of direct sunlight especially in hot countries. This will avoid
any problems with the veneer such as discolouration, swelling,
cracking, drying-out, warping and lifting. (See also No. 28 below). The
room temperature should be constant and comfortable throughout the year.

20. Don't touch the cones. Don't polish the cones! Keep
children's fingers away from the cones. Do not press against the cones.
When you pick-up the speaker take special care that the bass unit or
tweeter does not press against your body or against your limbs even when
the grille is on.

21. Harbeth speaker will play all types of music. They excel at
playing music that is well recorded and well performed. But if the music
or recording is of poor quality - that is what you will hear.

22. Harbeth speakers sound great even when played at a moderate,
socially considerate levels. This is a direct consequence of our
design heritage and BBC roots (see attached photo). This means that you
do not have to play loud to enjoy clear, natural, warm sound at
home. Harbeth's are ideal for listeners living in apartments or who
enjoy late night music in the family home.

23. You do not need a big room to listen to Harbeths! Even in a
small spare-bedroom they sound magical. Read here how they are designed for use in a small space
if that is all you have available. Also, compare with a studio control
room here.

24. You can listen really close to your Harbeths. Remarkably,
they sound sweet and clear both in the near-field and far-field some way
away. This is very unusual (see 23. above). But of course, sitting
further away (say, a minimum of 6 feet /2 m or more) is best.

25. The front panels (baffle) of all Harbeths is removable as are
the back panels. This is for two reasons: first, it ameliorates box
resonance that is inevitable in a rigid cabinet and second, it provides
easy access to the drive units and crossover at any time in the future
using only a standard screwdriver. Should you need to, you can service
your Harbeths yourself - even 20 years from now. We never remove
the backs during production: we work from the removed front baffle.

26. All Harbeth cabinets are based on the pioneering BBC thin-wall concept
using lightweight, damped panels loaded with bitumen or similar on the
inside. Such panels absorb resonance in the all-critical middle
frequencies where the ear is most sensitive.

27. Harbeth cabinets use carefully selected veneers designed to
last a lifetime with care, and especially out of direct sunlight. Please
remember that whist the veneer of the left speaker is matched to its
right speaker, the veneer of the next pair may be a little or a lot
different according to the nature of the tree.

28. Harbeth cabinets look simple - but they are expensive and
difficult to make. Modern cabinets are 'thick-walled' and the front and
back are glued into place with hard PVA wood glue and fit into the case
with a tongue and groove arrangement which self-squares the cabinet.
They are quick and foolproof to assemble with only simple woodworking
skills. In contrast, the Harbeth cabinets are crafted one by one
according to the traditional BBC thin-walled technique. The fronts and
backs are held in place by perimeter screws. During manufacture, the
front and back are made separately and are offered up to the case (side,
top, side, bottom) when the case corner glue-joints are completely dry.
Harbeth cabinets can only be made by skilled woodworking craftsmen
because the case must be perfectly square to accept the
front/back and must not warp during its long life. The skill and time
involved produces a wonderful sound but at a high cost. The alternative
mass produced thick-walled, T&G cabinets are popular because of the
low manufacturing skills needed hence low cost.

29. Harbeth is an accredited ISO9001 company. We take design
through to production QC very seriously with appropriate record keeping.
The build details of every speaker - it's veneer, drive unit and
crossover details along with who made, tested and packed it are
recorded and have been recorded since 1988. This is your assurance of a
product that is built to last. Should you ever need spares, we can
provide a very close match to the originally fitted part.

30. What happens if something breaks or performs strangely? Your
first point of contact is your local supplier. Read here.

31. The really big question! What is the meaning of the audio word 'coloration'
and why are Harbeth's so uniquely pure in tone and low in coloration?
Low coloration is what Harbeth are all about. A very short summary in
this posting here.

If you have the time and money and you fancy a flutter then by all means
experiment with amps, cables, stands and all the other components in
your system. There is pride to be had in enhancing your Harbeths with
well designed, beautifully made and good sounding electronics and
accessories but they're not essential to good listening. There is
no need at all to spend out replacing what is working well.

Remember - what really matters is the music not the gear!

Happy listening.

Speaking as one Harbeth owner to another, you're naughty, Sleme

Jtan... nah not naughty but putting things in perspective.