Stand Loudspeaker Reviews

Would be interested to read your take on the Graham LS8/1, their updated version of the Spendor BC1, as designed by Derek Hughes. I have found contentment with those (famous last words). I have owned other speakers that do this or that thing better, but when I listen to the LS8/1, I am grateful for the music and don't want anything else.

It is interesting that Ken did not find the cabinet resonances to disturb/alter the sound profile, though it is somewhat unclear from the review ("decay tails were ... off the charts"). I read that to mean the box sound did not deteriorate performance from this subjective perspective. The measurements section implies the resonances may alter this speaker's sound, as does the quote of the the manufacturer himself - "you've got this extremely clean midband and this sort of warm, involving low end, which is ideal for some music.""

I wonder why the reviewer measured the frequency output from the supertweeter, and whether it interfered with the output of the 'regular' tweeter, to create the dip from 10-15kHz? If it was measured on axis, would the response be flat? It seems like it has to be an anomaly considering Harbeth's focus on even frequency response, and not a deliberate design choice, to utilize a tweeter system that would create a significant dip in an area where many users can still hear (10-15kHz), but then a high amount of energy above that, where most buyers of this speaker will not be able to hear... I wonder if Ken noticed this.*

Take it for what it is worth, this review lacks comparison to other speakers, outside of "magical, life force, beauty." Such comparisons are usually in other reviews and are very helpful to the reader who might not have the opportunity to audition this speaker in person against competitors. It also gives no hints at what the sound of the speaker actually is. How does a speaker have "life force"? Maybe that means it does not exhibit dynamic compression. But compared to what? Respectfully this could be more helpful to the reader.

*P.s. is this academic for most readers of this magazine, who will likely experience some hearing loss in this region?

These speakers with an EPDR of 3.02ohms in the bass were a far better speakers to use to review the Audio Research I/50 integrated tube amplifier with last week, than 2 x pairs that had an EPDR's less than 2ohms.

Cheers George

So…” the Harbeth Super HL5plus XD is easily the finest standmount speaker I've heard..” is actually a limited, old-fashioned looking loudspeaker for 8K which doesn’t do Led Zep. Interesting.

Thanks for great review. The retail price of $7995 is 50% premium over U.K retail price of $5335 in current exchange rate. Please note I deducted the VAT in the calculation because the consumer in U.S. is not subject to it. Just because U.S. consumers are not aware of the facts a U.K. price already includes 20% of VAT (sales tax) importers always charge more to U.S. consumers. Ex) a typical U.S consumer will think this speaker’s U.K. price is $6700 in USD just because the tax system are different between two countries. With shipping and import process, a U.S. consumer is fooled as if they are paying a reasonable price. But, the importer knows about this very well and takes advantages of it. Call it what you think, but I personally am disgusted by it. It’s your money so please spend it however you want. Also, bringing a pair of loudspeakers overseas isn’t easy. So, if you like this brand, you really don’t have a choice. Now you read this, I hope you can get over the fact you paid 50% more just because you live in U.S. and the same importer may charge only 20% premium in other part of Europe. Depending on the exchange rate, sometimes you can pay as much as 80% premium over U.K for this brand for no reason really. So, at least now you can feel happy you are only paying 50% more as of now.

An 8” mid-woofer crossovered to tweeter at 3500 Hz invites some problems.

Mid-woofer diaphragm diameter is almost twice the wavelength of sound at 3500 Hz.
This results in beaming, starting just below 2000 Hz up to the crossover frequency.
This is clearly seen on polar response graphics.

No loudspeaker design engineer would probably start with a design like this.
But does it sound good? Probably yes. (But can’t do Led Zeppelin, or Yes :)

SHL5 Plus version (tested in Stereophile May, 2015 and that I owned and enjoyed for several years) has more to do with an incredible reduction in cabinet resonance than new crossover components.
The non XD Plus has an abundance of cabinet resonance while the new HD has cabinet resonance that is much lower in amplitude, has a huge decrease bandwidth and decays much more quickly.
Not a bad thing but definitely not text book Harbeth lossy design either.

Herb has been noted to describe speaker sound by noting that drivers sound like the material they are made of. (Pardon me if I paraphrased poorly.)

In my experience with Harbeth speakers I have found that to be stone cold true, but it doesn't seem to get mentioned much.

Thanks for a great read, by the way!

___

I like this part: "Good stuff, it makes me happy, but satisfaction is fleeting and soon I—we—need another new fix. You find yourself exploring again..."

In matters of romance and Hi Fi... ;-D

I am never surprised when I meet someone listening to vintage gear and hear them say, "I had those. Man, I wish I hadn't sold them." There is a season for each speaker, under Heaven...but we know seasons are cyclic. Hi Fi works that way, too.

I have found a great way to stay fresh: I keep all my old stuff and when I get that "New is better" urge, I rotate something I already own and get 99% as much joy, on the cheap.

Harbeth says its drivers are made of a "bespoke plastic compound"(https://harbeth.co.uk/harbeth-about-us-harbeth-technology/). So these speakers sound like bespoke plastic compound? Even if yes, I have no concept of what bespoke plastic compound sounds like. Again with respect to the reviewers, this is not helpful to those reading to understand the sound of these or any speakers. My constructive criticism with this review is it doesn't really answer the question of what the speaker sounds like.

I read those articles to describe the sound of enclosures more than drivers, if I remember right, but maybe I don't. It is one thing to say that it "sounds like a paper driver," or "it sounds like a plastic driver," or even, "it sounds like a thin-walled wooden box enclosure," and another to describe what the sound of a paper driver or thin walled box enclosure sounds like. Rambling off topic.

Anyway I was just wondering about the high frequency response and wanting to understand how/if the cabinet resonances impacted the sound to the listener, if noticed at all. On re-read, I suppose they were not noticed

You wrote that the Harbeths had not played satisfactorily with ZZ Top and Led Zepelin. At this point, I would like to point out that you can never exclusively test a loudspeaker or any component and then evaluate it afterwards. When you test, and this applies equally to all situations, you are always testing one component, within an existing system of other components that have an enormous influence. A loudspeaker can only give out what has been put into it. If one tests, one never tests only one component alone, it is always also the sum of the further devices involved, which lead to the result. Only if one would get to the bottom of this loudspeaker in many other systems, a more complete impression would be achieved. This is not to say that your system would not be able to do this, but rather that the combination of the various elements can lead to this impression. I wouldn't be surprised that these speakers could definitely rock in another system.

... high-power solid-state amplifier with the Harbeths.
At UK hi-fi shows, where Alan Shaw can choose the amp, his speakers are driven by a Hegel amp that can supply over 350W continuous and 400W peak power into a 6 ohm load.
For rock music, consider adding a pair of REL S/812 subwoofers.

It is super annoying that the speakers again were measured on the super tweeter axis, whilst they are are tuned to be listened to and measured on the tweeter axis. This went wrong the first time the speakers were measured and now it happens again. Why?

Based on accounts I have read, which include quotes from Spencer Hughes. the origin story of the LS3/6 is slightly different than the account in this review. The BC1 came first, as Hughes developed that speaker in his own home. He took a prototype to hi-fi dealers to demo and received interest in marketing it. He then went to the BBC, which informed him that as his employer, the Beeb had first right to any speakers he developed. The design was designated as the LS3/6 in the BBC roster, then licensed to Hughes for use in his own enterprise, Spendor. The Rogers LS3/6 was a product of Jim Rogers also licensing the design for production, as BBC designs were available to any manufacturer who paid the BBC's specified fee.

That design, with refinements. took many forms: the Spendor SP1 series, Harbeth's HL series, Stirling Broadcast's LS3/6. An interesting through line is that Derek Hughes, Spencer's son, was primary designer for the Spendor and Stirling speakers, and had done design consulting work on the HL5.