Harbeth Compact 7ES-3 XD2 Loudspeaker Review

Mention Harbeth to music lovers, and their ears will likely prick up. This venerable British loudspeaker manufacturer was founded by Hugh Dudley Harwood in 1977, who was the BBC’s Head of Loudspeaker Development in the nineteen sixties and early seventies. The current range has design cues pointing back to that era in terms of driver configuration, enclosure size and style.

Managing Director Alan Shaw explains that tradition runs deep at Harbeth, with in-house driver and cabinet design, assembly and testing. If you have bought a pair of this company’s speakers in the past three or so decades, you will have a record of the drivers, cabinets, and test results. Harbeth invests significant amounts in research, as evidenced by its advanced polymer speaker cone material, which has undergone extensive development. Shaw explains that the mid-bass units are unique and costly, with injection-moulded driver cones that require expensive tooling and have high manufacturing costs.

UP CLOSE

With a name like ‘Compact’, I was thinking of a shoebox-sized loudspeaker like an LS3/5a. How wrong I was, as this second-generation Compact 7ES-3 XD2 that you see here is a very generously proportioned stand-mounter. Physically, each loudspeaker measures 520x272x305mm and weighs a hefty 13kg. My review pair came finished in magnificent Rosewood veneer, with other finishes available including Black Ash (satin finish), Cherry, Walnut and Oak. I was taken aback by the wood’s lustre as the finish was quite spectacular. The 7ES retails at $7,800 per pair with twelve twelve-month warranty at the time of purchase, which is extendable through online registration to five years.

This is a classic 2-way design, with a 25mm tweeter sitting above Harbeth’s bespoke 200mm mid-bass driver and a front-firing bass reflex port. SEAS designed the aluminium dome tweeter for the 7ES. The new XD2 model uses the company’s next-generation RADIAL 4 cone technology, which is said to have a smoother response across its operating range than previous incarnations, plus slightly increased efficiency and a cleaner transition to the crossover point.

The rear baffle is sparsely populated, with just one pair of solid binding posts and the model identity plate. A removable front grill is supplied. The cabinet is said to have been very carefully refined over the years, and Alan Shaw says that its front and rear ‘screw in panels’ certainly improve the sound because they act as an attenuation mechanism for vibration, lowering energy storage. All Harbeth assembly is done in the United Kingdom, with as many components as possible, such as mid/bass drivers, sourced domestically whenever possible in order to maximise production consistency.

The manufacturer quotes a frequency response of 45Hz to 20kHz (+/-3dB), 6 ohm nominal impedance and a sensitivity figure of 86 dB. The latter isn’t bad, but you’ll need a gutsy, solid-state power amp to really wake this design up. Harbeth recommends a minimum of 25W per channel, but for this review, I used my 100W Primare integrated. This was fed by a Primare CD player and Bluesound Vault node. Interconnects and speaker cables were Tributaries Series 8. Shot-filled Atacama 500mm stands held the 7ES up with tweeters at ear-height.

Positioning the 7ES in my room to get optimal imaging, depth and bass response was not difficult. Harbeth’s helpful instruction manual proposes a near equilateral triangle setup for speakers and listener. My review samples sounded pretty good in most configurations that I tried, but I ended up with the speakers 450mm from the rear wall with a little toe-in to get the best imaging.

THE LISTENING

The Compact 7ES-3 XD2 may have a long name, but it does a simple job, which is to play music in an effortless and natural way. It serves up a deep and wide soundstage, inside which there’s a good deal of detail, and all this is delivered to the listener in a beguilingly musical manner. For example, when I played Jimmy Smith’s Root Down (And Get It), I felt immersed in the recording thanks to the plentiful detail – the background chatter was easy to pick out. The soundstage was broad, extending well out into the room, with an impressive sense of scale.

Rhythmically, it is surprisingly capable. The drum work on this track positively erupted, with a powerful bass underpinning everything. Percussive Hammond organ playing and tight rhythm guitar work pushed things along. Yet the sound never became strident – there was no harshness or over-emphasising of things, meaning that the music’s propulsive drive came from grip rather than edginess.

Tonally, the Harbeth has an attractively natural sound. With I Walk On Guilded Splinters by Dr John, singer Mac Rebennack’s vocals were devoid of nasality and came across loud and clear. The three backing singers were expertly located in the mix, and the solo instrument passages showed satisfyingly realistic timbre. This was even more evident with My Belongings by the Lisa Bassenge Trio, where the vocals came over softly and seductively as she navigated the fusion of upright bass and steel-stringed guitar.

Dynamically, the big Harbeth has plenty of firepower. There was little sign of compression on this recording, even at high levels, and individual notes were free to erupt and then decay away to silence. This speaker’s delicacy in the midband was most impressive, showing great articulation and enough transparency to pull you forward in your listening chair, wanting to seek more. At the bottom end, the music sounded fulsome but not overblown – double bass notes were taut and well weighted.

All of which made Moses Sumney’s Lonely World a lovely listen. Revealing great spatial presentation from the word ‘go’, the 7ES carried his vocals superbly. While his vocal range is wide, here he stays in the upper registers, and not once did this speaker sound shouty. About two-thirds of the way through this recording, everything comes together in what becomes a sort of musical onslaught, with vocals, drums, bass and keyboards all cranked up. Yet the Harbeth sailed through this without protest, turning in a highly engaging musical performance.

The Darkhoue Family’s Modaji Suite, a remodel of Dave Gruisin’s original Modaji, was a treat to listen to. The Harbeth’s ability to replicate percussive speed and timing proved very good indeed. Top-end notes shimmered, bass lines rumbled, and the wide soundstage recreated a convincing recorded acoustic. Most impressive here was the speaker’s ability to replicate the space around instruments and the tonal purity of the brass. Overall, then, the 7ES provided a cohesive and integrated picture of the musical event.

Compared to B&W’s 705 S3, the Harbeth sounded more effortless in the lower octaves. The Bowers speaker did, however, show a touch more detail in the midband, with a generally more forward approach, as if the speaker was reaching out to me. Harbeth’s slightly more reserved sonic signature may be preferable for many listeners, though, as it’s a more cosseting way of making music.

THE VERDICT

Harbeth’s latest Compact 7ES-3 XD2 is more than just a pretty face. It offers a powerful, insightful and engaging listening experience – yet is calm and neutral in a way that many modern speakers are not. Instead of advertising its presence, it lets the listener get lost in the music, which is, of course, what it’s all about. Never harsh on the ear, it offers transparency, pace and scale to keep listeners wanting more. With its charming and authentic style of music making, this is an essential audition if you’re in the market for a serious-sounding, large standmount speaker.

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