Harbeth HL-Compact 7 ES3 XD

The new Harbeth XD speakers break cover in 2020.

As the pioneering and long time champion of Harbeth speakers in the UK, we have taken our time to fully understand the entire range of Harbeth speakers. Having gone through thorough testing on every single model to find out the best stands, amplifiers, cables and room position for each set. The process has been involved that many of the team ended up with Harbeth speakers in their own system.

Brand new for 2020 the Xtended Definition series from Harbeth looks very exciting, more details coming soon.

The big questions are: How does the new Harbeth Xtended Definition series compare to the anniversary models?

The new XD speakers are very similar to Harbeth’s 40th Anniversary range, which is good news because these where brilliant. The drive units, cabinets, and internal bracing remains identical. There are more finish options, (strangely not all model are available in the same colours), so check out the individual product listing pages below to see all the details. Harbeth Anniversary models where one finish only, so this will open up the XD range to more customers looking to match to their interior decor.

What improvements if any are there from the last generation?

In short, the XD version has a slightly modified the crossover. This is in the case of all the speakers excluding the P3 XD.

When Alan Shaw (Harbeth’s designer and company owner) started to tinker with the P3 crossover he actually found it easier to build it from the ground up. This has made the P3 slightly more open and a tiny bit more forward than its anniversary predecessor. Is this a massive improvement? From my listening at The Bristol hi fi show in 2020 through a Quad system which we use in our showroom I honestly couldn’t tell much of a difference, and Alan even agreed that the speakers perform so it was nearly impossible to improve them. My advice would be; if you’re considering upgrading from Anniversary models then it’s not really a big enough change, but they are a massive leap forward from any of the previous Harbeth models so contact us for a quote to part exchange if you're in that camp.

The C7ES-3 Loudspeaker The icon of clarity and detail Essential neutrality and natural tonal balance Whatever you ask of the Compact 7ES-3 loudspeaker, it always delivers: perfectly.

The clarity is spellbinding and brings the magic carpet ride experience to the listening room in a medium-sized enclosure. The legendary multi-award winning medium-sized Harbeth HL Compact 7ES-3 takes the ultra-clean Harbeth cone technology to another performance level, combining natural sound with a flair for reproducing any and every type of music. The Harbeth secret for natural sound is the result of the meticulous attention to detail. Critically important, but hidden, is the crossover, which carefully integrates the drive units across a wider horizontal and vertical arc. Consequently, the Compact 7ES-3 is far less critical of stand height than many speakers of this size.

SPECIFICATIONS

Transducer system: 2-way vented: 200mm Harbeth RADIAL2™ bass/mid; 25mm Ferro-cooled dome tweeter with HexGrille

Freq. response: 45Hz-20kHz +/-3dB

Free space, grille on, smooth off-axis response

Impedance: 6 ohms Sensitivity: 86dB/1W/1m

Amplifier suggestion: Works with a wide range of amplifiers, ideally from 25W/channel

Power handling: 150W programme

Connector: Two 4mm gold-plated binding posts for wires or plugs

Dimensions: (hxwxd) 520 x 272 x 305mm (+12mm for grille and binding posts)

Finish: Cherry, eucalyptus, rosewood, maple, tiger ebony

Space needs: Overall response optimised for use away from walls
Stands to bring ears level with tweeters: typically 15 - 21 inches. (Tweeter: 440mm up from cabinet base)

Weight: 13.2kg each, without packing

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