Harbeth Loudspeakers Factory Visit

Christian takes a trip to his newest love, his favourite Loudspeaker company, Harbeth Loudspeakers, now in their 40th year, for a special tour of their workshops.
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Harbeth Loudspeakers:
www.harbeth.co.uk/

[@fabrip4682]

And now i have undestood why Harbeth speakers sound so well. Thank you!

[@robk5745]

Loved what he said about keeping the good people, first and foremost. Love it

[@franke.lancaster8530]

Fascinating! Thank you so much for sharing this visit with us, Christian.

[@thomasbutton2716]

I "grew" up with a pair of the original Chartwell LS3/5A and sold them last year after 35 years to another old guy who had tears in his eyes while hearing them. Thank you for this Interview Christian.

[@rayl7225]

Age brings experience. Experience brings back memories. Sounds remembered bring back emotions. Emotions bring tears. Those speakers certainly spoke to him.

[@greatwhite1958]

Took me a few speakers brands before I heard Harbeth but now the search is over. The best sound by far.

[@YouTubeIsAssHo]

Me too - only took 20-odd years!

[@TH-lo8mq]

I love my P3ESR, but I have to say I prefer the ATC sound for most listening sessions.

[@greatwhite1958]

@@KZbinIsAssHo yep I know that feeling.

[@ManiVaas]

ATC and Dynaudio to be tried too

[@greatwhite1958]

@@ManiVaas yep had them too but the Harbeth is still the best. The human voice reproduction on a harbeth loudspeaker is just stunning and if you get that right then the rest falls into place.

[@christopherdoolan925]

I bought a pair of 40th Anniversary Edition Super HL5 speakers and couldn’t be happier. They make everything sound wonderful. Thanks for your fantastic video!

[@progste]

This was such an interesting interview, thank you for doing it!

[@dianagales5453]

Protecting employees thats a good quality base.

[@JosephCrowesDIYSpeakerBuilding]

“If I was a tree, that’s the way I’d want to go”😂👍. Ends on a zinger!

[@Hoodrichwitgold]

This is so amazing! thanks for documenting this

[@electronicengineer]

"We keep the workforce people".... What a novel idea. It is clear why Harbeth Loudspeakers build very high quality products. The company actually values its handworkers, which in turn means that the product retains quality from the care afforded it by those same people. An amazing concept! Thank you for this factory visit. It was extremely enlightening for me.

[@JosephCrowesDIYSpeakerBuilding]

Amazing. I have a lot of respect for that guy.

[@paulbrock4414]

A sane voice in mad audio world. This video is great well done and hats off to Harbeth.

[@boriken395pr]

I am looking for antes opportunity of listening to a pair of Harbeth speakers soon. And I admire how well explained wasap everything by this kind educated person on the video. Very well done!

[@backwoodsbillycreeks2174]

Gets really good halfway thru!!!

[@manuelweiss4327]

He even cares about the trees the speakers are made of... i honestly didn't know much about Harbeth Speakers but after listening to him, i wish i could afford those speakers or have the hardware and room to do those justice haha. I really appreciate the passion that goes into making these.

[@omrirechani1104]

With that amazing philosophy and determination you can rest assured you're getting the best product Harberth can produce. Amazing video.

[@Metalwolf765]

This is amazing!

[@IsaacKDick]

Incredibly fascinating ! Overwhelmingly marvelous !! A very interesting factory visit, thank you.

[@sinclabs]

Well done, enjoyable and informative. Thank you!

[@zarster]

Lovely video, never saw a Spitfire Audio video before, nor have I heard of Harbeth, but I do appreciate this behind the scene look into the mindset of a speaker designer. quality stuff through and though, thats for sure!

[@favorit601]

Great, truthful interview!

[@treborheminway1196]

Very interesting. Harbeths are truly amazing speakers. I have only recently discovered them and now desperately want a pair. They really have "that" sound Imo.

[@jamiesims7370]

My Late father used to work for Philips, and I was brought up listening to MFB speakers which were out of this world in those days. I have a real appreciation for craftsmanship and engineering at this kind of level. Fascinating talk with Alan, but I'm not selling my Harley to get a pair of 40th Anniversarys just yet..although...seriously tempting. Brilliant Vid Christian.

[@jacquesthys6378]

j́ jj

[@yv5grb]

Great interview, thanks

[@Borednlonely]

Great video. Enjoyed it thoroughly.

[@jasperdrift3856]

Brilliant interview

[@ervinpoljak8332]

I love this approach and how they sound.....

[@jvgoransson]

It's a joy to see this.

[@kevinbeckenham3872]

Thank you for enjoyable interview with acoustic guru Alan Shaw of Harbeth Loudspeakers. I love hear how the Harbeth loudspeakers perform on a BBC F.M News Broadcast, to test there speech intelligibility to convince me go out and buy a brand new pair of Harbeth Loudspeakers.

[@migalito1955]

Fascinating!

[@resistro]

Inspiring video. Saved for eternity.

[@theoldgit9884]

Brilliant video, thanks.

[@rohandamle6989]

Amazing!

[@jarkmodels]

Absolutely fantastic video and interview! As a very proud owner of a pair of Super HL5 Plus, watching Allan explaining the making process is amazing. You can clearly see his commitment to producing the absolute best he can, and I can testify he has succeeded. The Harbeth's are the most pleasing speakers I have listened too. Thanks for posting!

[@hifequ8728]

Wait till you really hear the competition, placed in your room, A-B them. I have the SHLplus before as well, what a mistake. Really pales in comparison to many competitors. I hate to say and admit coz I was the one who had spent more than $5000 on the SHL5plus, and had to sell at a loss. I rather my friends laugh at me at getting the harbeths wrongly, and have my ego hurt at selling them off, than live with poor sound. Now owning two pairs of other brand speakers at $2500 and $5000 range, in two rooms, and both beat the harbeths hands, feet down.

[@dksculpture]

Fascinating interview. Thank you for making this video.

[@patriciatibbels7772]

Fascinating interview, with my Super HL5s it was also love at first listen!

[@eazyryder1591]

I find acoustic energy (another UK speaker brand) have kept that warm non brittle sound in all of their ranges and have not gone down the overly bright clinical path of many, many other brands

[@OriginalBlackwiggle1]

I've been into HiFi since 1975, and have gone through ton's of gear....until I got some Harbeth SHL5's 10 years ago. Best thing I've ever bought, and will only get replaced with another Harbeth. That RADIAL cone material Harbeth's have sure makes a difference, listen to some similar spec'd Spendor's and heard the difference, the Polypropylene Spendor's have much less detail. The pair matching to the extent that Harbeth goes to makes a huge difference as well, and also one of the factors that make them easy to setup [use light weight open stands] The 'Rave' reviews they get are not hype, it's just the truth....they really are that good.

[@anthonyanello1244]

Love Harbeth speakers and own a set, they sound fantastic and natural. However as an amateur speaker designer, CAE simulation only gets you so far and then I like to adjust the crossover components "to taste" based on listening. Every speaker you purchase is "voiced" to a flavor, or taste as it were based on what the designer thinks sounds the best. So many variables to consider- expected room placement, baffle step compensation, desired output response curve at the listening position, etc. I would love to work for Harbeth!

[@byronomboy]

Perhaps they already nailed their reference data way back, so their method of using CAE is only to narrow probable designs or optimize a chosen design.

[@ezacher4634]

Exactly the reason I would only buy audio from those driven by correct reproduction not "taste".

[@mauriciolacruz]

Human vision of manufacturing process. Nice video!

[@sparkplug964]

Great look into the speaker company Harbeth, not everyday you get to see this, and I did not know the speaker driver where built by hand which is great to see.

[@ericwilliams538]

I have been on a "mission" here. I have been doing some research ( starting with KZbin videos because that's an easy place to start). I'm a person who has an extreme passion for music. To be a little more specific with example what genre of music, Heavy Metal music. No, I'm not talking about AC/DC, Black Sabbath, or Led Zeppelin. I'm talking about heavy metal bands like Emperor, Exhorder, Death, and Testament. These types of bands are considered to be elite bands in the heavy metal word. Out of all the videos I have seen so far, most turn their noises up towards the mention of heavy metal being played through a high end stereo system. I don't understand why that is. We metal heads ( as most people call us) do appreciate hearing the music we love played through amazing systems as well. Well, what we can afford that's is. What exactly it is I would love to do is, find some speakers, turn table, and so on ( a whole high end stereo system) that would benefit heavy metal music... My "research" and journey continues......

[@weird407]

Would love to listen to him working and learning.

[@soundadapter]

thumbs up Thank you for sharing wish you a good start to the new week best regards Frank

[@theadventuresofsteviev4047]

brutal, un placer escuchar a personas con este conocimiento y esta pasión por el sónido, por la música, un placer!

[@goldmember888]

What a brilliant video. I cant believe it has 245 thumbs down. What is wrong with people sometimes...

[@richardherbert3519]

What a terrific video!!!

[@Morgooooo]

This kind of pasion is what i can admire the most !

[@35mmview18]

I watched this because i've just bought some SHL5 Plus HD's. After watching this I feel like i've bought a real piece of British audio history.

[@rokgulic3095]

I am the founder of OLLO Audio and I must say that I really dig the philosophy Alan explains at 4:30 Totally on point. We (audio engineers) are tech junkies and easily forget that perfect tuning is all around us. We dive down the rabbit hole again and again. Sure it's fun, it's also good for innovation, but it's not necessarily supporting the translation. That's a really nice comment by Alan.

[@engjds]

Fascinating, after this I want to listen to some Harbeths.

[@moonphaser3304]

Great vid btw and very interesting

[@Jackinthewoodz]

Playing test music backwards to break any emotional input or distraction: Wizard Level #10

[@darkkitchenrecords2625]

Proofreaders do the same with the copy they proof

[@gorandimiskovski6606]

Just amazing...thanks for such a human approach to hifi

[@dosgos]

Who knew this was such a bespoke shop. Harbeth speakers are popular and well liked in Tokyo. Harbeth has a privileged position in Japanese retail stores with lots of models displayed in the same room; that provides the customer the opportunity to listen to several models under similar conditions. Clearly the speakers share a DNA and the "smaller" speakers also enjoy the same magic.

[@bradleyfried]

Big box electronic stores in Japan with their wall of speakers are perhaps the worst environment ever conceived of to actually audition speakers. That Japanese consumers choose Harbeth in spite of this is a testament to the high regard they are held in here.

[@dosgos]

There are plenty of good listening rooms in Tokyo stores. Plenty of lousy ones also . . .

[@Hongqie]

Expressively speaking this is first time I see a person so in love with speakers...

[@timbeaton5045]

Just like guitars... "What's the correct number of pairs of Harbeth speakers to own???" "One more!"

[@PrinceWesterburg]

I had 20 guitars, solution? I bought another :o) (actually true!)

[@woodsdenis]

I used to have Harbeth designed HHB Circle 5, great speakers,

[@jasperdany]

I assume you got something newer, and may I ask what did you upgrade to ? how would you compare it with your new speakers ? Can you explain ?

[@woodsdenis]

Jasper The woofer in one of them developed a crack, they used the rubber type as seen here. This was after 17 years mind you . Reluctantly it was not worth repairing . I use Focal Alpha 50 now which are great.

[@taiseechanful]

A lot of respect for MrShaw for his views on interconnects, electricity cables , and other accessories.

[@williamfong5408]

What I heard was an honest man explaining stuffs he did. Now I would like to own a pair of Harbeth with confidence. Thanks for the video.

[@rotorfix]

Except his claim of their unique approach to molding speaker cones. Complete bull.

[@xanderguldie]

Really?? he didn't explain anything. All I heard was salesman nonsense

[@frankjames4573]

Well, how daft do I feel... I have been a hifi fan for 40 yrs, and only just heard of Harbeth! What a difficult thing to admit. So, soon will be looking into Harbeth as next year, hoping to build a new listening room! Very interesting vid! I love dedication, attention to detail and finess when designing these speakers! I live in the west, near Bristol... Sadly, no dealer around here. Hopefully there will be in the future! Being a retired woodworker, I was only recently toying with the idea of designing and constructing my own speakers. After seeing what's involved in this vid ... ... Will I bother after Iv'e had a listen to Harbeth... Hmmm, maybe not ... lol Damn. Frank...

[@rotorfix]

If you're handy with woodwork, Definitley look into the Audio Note kits. Many prefer AN to Harbeth.

[@JRvandenBroek]

Awsome! I highly respect your PERFECTION and DEDICATION.

[@Mercury1955]

Interesting thanks!

[@drs-Rigo-Reus]

The magic is in the SEAS metal tweeters plus cross-overs.

[@andershammer9307]

I've always compared recorded sound to the real sounds I hear outside. Everything was highly colored until I heard electrostatic speakers. I've had electrostatic speakers for 40 years and nothing sounds better. I even compared them to a live full orchestra and to me they sound the same.

[@David-nu5cj]

Great watch. What a great guy! Nice product. I haven't listened to the speakers but I'm sure they are as warm sounding as him! You sometimes come across gems in acoustic instruments. I tend you try and forget the price/name and use my ears & gut and go with that. I've done that with pianos before. Tried about 30 pianos ina showroom. Went for the one that felt and sounded the best, irrevelant of who made it and where it has come from. Thats why sometimes I don't want to know the price before I test. I can't help but notice that Alan looks alot like Bob Wilson (the old Arsneal goalkeeper & presenter of Football Focus back in the day). Harbeth speakers are indeed in good hands.

[@ralex3697]

David They are amazing speakers Complete quality

[@KvL92]

My favorite Spitfire video so far. His logic, mindset and dedication for creating speakers is lovely.

[@danboy77]

What a fabulous video. Never listened to Harbeth Speakers before, would be interesting to see how they compare against my Meridian Speakers.

[@JamieRowlandthejamieusrowlando]

I used to work at BBC and use a pair of Harbeth Monitor 20.1 Pros. Amazing mid-range and British sounding speaker.

[@garyhope2]

Do "British sounding" speakers sound different than American, Japanese, German or Danish sounding speakers for example? What do "Italian" sounding speakers sound like? Do you get some pasta and a nice red wine with them? Schnitzel and beer (bier) with the German speakers?

[@JamieRowlandthejamieusrowlando]

@@garyhope2 "British sounding" - Tends to be more detailed in mid-range frequencies. "American sounding" - More Low End and smoother sounding, but greater dynamic range. But it's just my opinion. ATC are a company to check out. They are British, but use both methods to make a unique sounding speaker.

[@garyhope2]

@@JamieRowlandthejamieusrowlando Thank you.

[@jjcale2288]

Bullshit! Audiophool definitions! All looking for some kind of DISTORTION

[@cpcnw]

I have some self built LS35a type boxes I built from the Wilmslow Audio kits many moons ago. The spoken voice is very very real through them.

[@latexrope1358]

He talks about polypropylene cones like everyone else but them are using the material. They were popular back in the 70s, but much rarer now. Harbeth are alse far from the only speaker manufacturer making their own driver units.

[@a.johannesbuss7716]

WOW!!! What a great video. Tomorrow I will speak to the local Harbeth dealer and make an appointment to listen to the SHL5 plus XD. And then potentially get rid of my B&W speakers. Engeneering excellence and a way to reproduce music in exactly the way how it was made in the recording studio seems to be the Harbeth philosophy. I like that.

[@CraigHollabaugh]

I love presentations like this that brings out the designer's passion for their craft. Thanks from Colorado.

[@gino3286]

Hi very impressive and thanks a lot for the video. Extremely interesting the point about cone material imparting the overall sound. I notice that in Harbeth speakers the cone drivers are fixed to the front baffle from the inside and not from outside like usually with other brands speakers. Is their any particular reason for this solution ? Actually I like the idea a lot indeed. It seems to me that in this way the woofer cone is more free in the movement ? thanks a lot again, ginothe front baffle

[@joeygonzo]

the finest speakers , dollar for dollar

[@ardeshirmistry]

Please make more factory visit videos, its quite interesting :)

[@sandyshoremann7524]

Wonderful presentation Sir! Now on a somewhat sad but unavoidable note, my Kent Engineering 103.2 massive woofers recently sagged themselves into a sort of voice coil apocalypse, I might have to give a like-sized Dudley box a listen. I reside in the new Hampshire area and have heard I might find the U.S. of A. importer to live up the road a bit? I recall Walter is his name. Cheers! Sandy.

[@desidesigning]

What an amazing overview and indepth intro!. I absolutely love the British speaker brands! The only downside is the astronomical costs (except warfedale)!

[@phillybill5319]

Great Video. Hopefully one day I'll be able to purchase a pair. All of my home audio speakers have been British starting with Kef 103.2, Celestion SL700 and for the 20yrs give or take IMF TLS80'S. The fact that I'm 65yr old and retired may be a damper n being able to buy a pair.I hope not. The BBC is incredible. I've heard so many great things about Harbeth

[@rustinpieces]

I like this brand. Might turn in my Rogers LS3/5A's in the near future.

[@nickmimi3631]

Also take your time and audition the Falcon LS3/5A. Very subjective process but i fell in love w/the Falcons and can highly recommend the time to audition if you enjoy the others mentioned.

[@beagle7622]

I have a pairing of LS3/5 clones. I bought them new in 1980 they have very thick 3/4 genuine wood boxes . The crossovers are exactly the same as the originals I have been told . Drivers the Kef still in pristine condition as are the tweeters. The most important thing they sound absolutely gorgeous.

[@bentleygt3716]

GREAT Video. i really enjoyed it.. thank you i love the M40.3XD speakers ? . hopefully someday. however. very indecisive on what amp to pick ?. solid state. tube . or both ( hybrid). ?

[@pimianimavdo1523]

Interesting interview. At 19:50 minutes in the video, as we are presented with a cross over, i noticed what looked like a few solid core inductance coils (and 1air core inductor). Not to be nitpicking but that can generate hysteresis sonic artefacts. If indeed these are solid core inductors, does the company offer the option to "improve" the order to get air core inductors to improve the sound reproduction (note: by improve, i mean having as invisible and transparent effectb by not degrading the signal being fed to the transducer...and on a good and transparent hi end system, such inductor changes/replacements will be bringing audible performance upgrades since hysteresis causes "false signals" by means of saturation being looped back in the audio being listened to... Said differently, air core inductors are the only way to, specially if having some measure of loudness in playback level, be able to get clean filtered low pass signals sent to the woofer. Not using air core inductors i.e. Using solid core inductors, will limit the playback fidelity.)

[@llamafrhd]

This is an awesome video

[@moagnor]

"We dont really like that word tollerence" ... Amen. :) 18:39

[@danboy77]

This is the kind of video that can make you spend a lot of money 😂

[@kelvinespinosa1430]

this was exactly i feel from major brand speakers. you can't feel dedication in the performance. if you build guitar for sell you must love the guitars you transmit your dedication and care. if someone play one of the guitars you build he will say WOW this guitar sound so good i take it. and you will gain a name. but when you make things only for money you will always stay in amateur line no matter who you are or how many resources you have. if you don't love what you make you will never dominate it.

[@110welding]

Very informative, I am researching KZbin to build my fist set of speakers. I am open to any advice for low budget surround sound speakers, I am looking to make compact in size.

[@AL-xg7tr]

I got the Monitor 30, Sounds good i also have a pair of Thiel CS 3.6, With the Thiels i get a lot more details and realistic sound. I'm using 2 Mcintosh MC 452, 1 for each pair.

[@bagobolts08]

Nice! They go about it with common sense, the sound is all based upon the compliance of the cone! Of course you use CAD, I realized that when I went to school for 3D Studio Max! The glorified CAD! Why wouldn't a designer use it? You have an extensive database of components if you don't create the drivers yourself, my personal choice for my cones is a treated woven hemp! I like the air motion transducers in conjunction for tweeters! Harbeth is tackling the reference speaker problem I always had especially with the cabinet modeling software employed, for example Lineman! I remember a demo presentation software to use on your computer to enable you to listen to the different amp/cabinet models available to the guitar player! The only way your selection is going to sound correct (heh) is if you happen to be using the exact same reference speakers used when the sound was engineered! I would have loved to have been there when they created the technique used to create the modeling software i.e. the data collection software and logistics for collecting it correctly! Data critical to reproducing the instruments timbre (voice, guitar, piano, brass, woodwind,etc.) accurately which is not possible if not collected accurately! Leading to my closing point... How the hell am I supposed to know how they sound over a KZbin video without having a complimentary matched pair of Harbeth speakers to playback to?

[@amdenis]

I have done military, DOE and civilian engineering in the engineering space since the late 80’s and when watching this video and seeing your crossovers I assumed “nice to see a company working slightly up from the bottom basement components in so many speakers today” (even some mid-priced use iron core inductors, sand cast resistors and lower grade capacitors across all driver ranges). However, I figured these were relatively low to mid-priced speakers. WOW, how can you justify using these low/moderate end components in such premium priced speakers? Anyone worth their salt could reengineer those speakers to sound SO much better than they do with another few hundred in components. But I guess if margin is what you are after, and you figure nobody knows any better, just keep the quality and price of your crossover components low.

[@willbrink]

Listening to speech as a test is something I had not thought of. Female vocals are usually my go to for evaluation of speakers as the reference, but I like the idea of basic speech, which makes sense.

[@lemmyk7879]

Speech is the most important detail what made BBC Monitors like Spendor, Rogers, Harbeth so famous in the world

[@leejacksonjr30]

Sounds like this company takes pride in their work and concentrates on quality & workmanship rather than mass production.

[@brainache555]

Lee Jackson Jr You can do that when the price of each speaker covers so much of the cost making it.

[@superbreastman]

I'm gonna have to work this pinacolada beach laptop thing into sample development...brilliant!

[@superbreastman]

What a super lovely interview. Technical what's needed and philosofical, emotional and culturally smart for the rest. Won - der - ful.

[@Mrcloc]

I don't like plastic cones, I prefer paper. But I love Harbeth speakers. The process for making Harbeth cones is definitely a difference.

[@pliedtka]

I used to like older Focal plastic cones in their 5" designs, even the 6.5" were quite OK, often a bit easier on ear, with well damped modes. Paper sometimes has this sort of 'surface noise' depending how good is the cone, and what's in the mix. I sort of like their warm sound qualities but often they are behind in other qualities comparing with stiffer cones.

[@FrightfulAccountant]

I still use some Technics SB3670 speakers and I can imagine them being produced in mass once upan a time, on a busy factory line of a large plant somewhere in Japan. I won't have the ignorance to state they sound comparable to speakers like those of Harbeth. But keep in mind it is like comparing a Honda Civic to a Bentley. The Bentley will win for all of its refindment and balance and so on. But at the end of the day, the Civic will give you a relaible, enjoyable ride for a fraction of the price of the Bentley. Many audiophiles tend to forget that wisdom. A good speaker is the one that gives you the possibility to enjoy your favorite music, no matter what the brand may be ;-)

[@djshumon]

Im a technics collector but prefer pioneer cs speakers.

[@beatsmyheart4539]

I watched all the videos on your channel. Do great artwork. I have four 10W 40mm 4 Ohm subwoofer to fit in two boxes. So the point to make is how many inches box I would make a 40mm One speaker. Please guide

[@zogzog1063]

The advantage of voice, rather than an instrument, as a point of reference is that the ear is highly attuned (and familiar) to the voice. We can all for example tell the subtlest differences with inflections of a person speaking.

[@aussie8114]

I want to believe they test and match every driver and test every crossover.