Prithviraj M Vedpathak | 18 Dec 2020 Harbeth is not a company that churns out model after model, but invests a great deal of time and effort in their craft, only bringing out models or upgrades after detailed research and development. Worldwide, Harbeth speakers have a huge fan following; they certainly deserve to be called the Worlds Most Natural Sounding Loudspeakers! All Harbeth loudspeakers are handcrafted in the UK and are designed by Mr. Alan Shaw, a genius designer, whom I had the pleasure of meeting at the Munich Hi-End Show in 2019. The Harbeth factory has only five people with decades of experience in handcrafting and building these wonderful works of art. In Alans words, they are each a musical instrument. Truly said! Each and every model is built to fine detail with precision, and a finer level of detail that is music to the eye, too. The Harbeth range consists of, from the bottom to the top: P3ESR, Compact 7ES-3, Super HL5 Plus, monitor 30.1, Monitor 30.2 and lastly, the big daddy - the Monitor 40.2. Some of these models are available in the 40thAnniversary edition version too. The Harbeth P3ESR Mini-Monitor A gem of a small loudspeaker, is the Harbeth P3ESR mini-monitor, which traces its origins to the iconic BBC-designed LS3/5a. This is the smallest Harbeth everHarbeth's world-exclusive RADIAL2[Research and Development In Advanced Loudspeakers, 2nd Generation] technology from the larger Harbeth models has been transferred to the heart of the P3ESR loudspeaker. They can be kept on a bookshelf or on dedicated loudspeaker stands which make a huge difference in their sonic signature. Remember, a stand is like your home foundation. The better the foundation the better is the sound. This wonderful small bookshelf mini-monitor loudspeaker is quite small, measuring at306 x 190 x 184 mm.When you pick one up, the first thing that shocks you is the weight of the speaker and the build quality. You just cannot stop looking at it! Each and every aspect of the build is done to perfection. You can tell it has been handcrafted to perfection and not on a huge factory production floor, churning out 1000s of loudspeakers per day. This is why there is a huge lead time on getting our hands on one! Good things come to those who wait! The speaker is made up of a 19.05mm ferro fluid cooled tweeter and a 127mmmid/woofer cone with its RADIAL2 diaphragm material. It has a pair of gold plated 4mm binding posts at the back. Beautiful veneer sheathes the cabinet, and a firm cloth grill is specially designed to maximise listening pleasure . This model is suited for small to medium sized rooms, for those that value their music and want to hear acoustic and vocal music to its utmost clarity. Unlike other bookshelf loudspeakers, the P3ESR is a sealed enclosure and not a ported one, which allows for fantastic bass that does not smear the mids/ highs. In all, its a very well-balanced sound. All Harbeths are very amplifier friendly! Thecrossover has the best components which gives you surprising bass extension, flat frequency response, and even the tonal balance with the given frequency response of 75hz to 20kHz +/- 3 dB measured in free space (as designed) with the grill on (as recommended) but low sensitivity of 83.5 dB/1W/1m. The impedance, is a moderate 6 ohms making it easy to drive with real world amplification from 15 watts per channel and power handling is 50 watts max. What strikes you with these loudspeakers is the naturalness of the entire spectrum: it just does not sound like a loudspeaker; it feels like someone is sitting and singing in front of you! The treble is nice and smooth, and not very bright. The most important thing is that the midrange is to die for! Alan has got it right in getting the best of everything in this small package. Mind you, this is not a speaker for head banging, hard rock, very deep bass or bass heavy dance music at insane volumes or SPLs. It is for music lovers who want to listen to their music for hours, without any ear fatigue. Club this little gem with a lovely valve amp or a nice solid state of 50w and more, play it at moderate volume levels, and the P3ESR could play all most anything and deliver the best for its size. Come to Absolute Phase to experience this wonderful gem from Harbeth. No words can do justice to how it can sound. The only thing that can judge this is your ears! Let them decide. I strongly recommend the Harbeth P3ESR with a lovely tube or solid state amp for small to medium room. (credit: Zero Fidelity)
