Kyle’s Favorite Speakers - Harbeth C7 ES-3 XD

At AXPONA 2023 we showed Harbeth’s new Compact 7 XD loudspeakers in a system with LUXMAN components. We thought the results were terrific and visitor after visitor told us as much after coming to our room. Harbeth has been one of our AXPONA speaker brands for a number of years now, and the results have always been predictably great.

I don’t know why, but I’ve always been drawn in by the Harbeths, whatever the model. They just always sound right - musical, dynamic, and almost “planar-like,” no matter what we pair them with. I believe one of Harbeth’s secrets is their patented cone material they call “RADIAL” (Research And Development In Advanced Loudspeakers) - in use since 1990. In fact, H.D. Harwood, Harbeth’s founder, patented the use of polypropylene as a cone material while working for the BBC in 1976. Thus, Harbeth has been a technical leader within the BBC monitor community ever since. Not to belabor the point, but there is no question in my mind that Alan Shaw’s patented RADIAL material gives his Harbeth models a decided advantage over the other “BBC-based” monitor speaker companies.

I’ve been a big fan of the various BBC designs since the 70s, selling Rogers LS3/5A’s and LS-7’s to enthusiastic music lovers, most of whom still own and love them. Recently, I had the pleasure of comparing a pair of Rogers LS-7’s I sold back in the 80s to the newest Harbeth Compact 7 ES-3 XD’s. While the Rogers LS-7 still sounds quite wonderful, the new Harbeth Compact 7 XD’s go to a whole different level of clarity and dynamics, while still maintaining the warmth and beauty of the original.

I think I understand why Kyle, who’s a terrific musician (trombone player), favors the newest Harbeth 7’s over so many other great speakers here in our store. I believe, as a PHD student, Kyle is especially sensitive to “value for the money.” As a value, the Compact 7’s are indeed hard to beat. The fit and finish, as well as the obvious musicality, are truly first rate. In fact, I’ve taken to calling them “our Magneplanars in a box” - high praise indeed.

Geoff