Harbeth reviews

Harbeth HL MK4 Bookshelf speakers review
Bookshelf speakers Harbeth HL MK4

To quote from the brass plate fixed to the back of the Harbeth Mk4, "This loudspeaker was individually made and tested by British craftsmen": words calculated to stir our I chauvinist spirits. Yet there is plenty of evidence from overseas sales that Harbeth loudspeakers also appeal to foreign eyes and...
Harbeth HL5 Bookshelf speakers review
Bookshelf speakers Harbeth HL5

The predecessor of this version of ex-BBC designer Dudley Harwood's monitor loudspeaker, the HL Mk4, rated very highly for its wide-ranging neutrality and smart appearance. However I see that the Mk4 cost £475 per pair back in 1987, whereas the HL5 is listed at £825. We can blame inflation...
Harbeth P3 Bookshelf speakers review
Bookshelf speakers Harbeth P3

Several BBC-designed loudspeakers have been manufactured under license over the past couple of decades by a select handful of British loudspeaker firms. A condition of the license has been that every loudspeaker made will match within narrow tolerances the performance of a BBC-held prototype, so that...
Harbeth P3ESR Bookshelf speakers review
Bookshelf speakers Harbeth P3ESR

In acoustic systems, a small metal tweeter with a ferromagnetic coolant operates, covered with a frequent cellular metal mesh. Bass and mids are sounded by a speaker, classical in size and profile, with a very steep cone opening, on the softest half-wave rubber suspension. The synthetic material of the...