[jimdgoulding]

Sitting on the pot the other day rumaging thru some vintage Absolute Sounds, I came across Robert E. Greene's review of this speaker.  Owners and persons looking to buy standmount speakers may appreciate tbe closing paragraph:

The Harbeth Compact 7 is coherant, indeed, along with other virtues.  It is small and unpretentious looking, but this speaker is quite extraordinarily good at sounding like music.  It may take a bit of doing to turn up a dealer, but it is well worth the effort.  In my opinion, this will be a classic design.  As with its BBC ancestors, musical people will be happily listening to the Compact 7 when most of its more pretentious, self-consciously " audiophile" contemporaries have fallen by the wayside.  Highly recommended- REG  

Happy listening.


   

[TONEPUB]

A lot of it does, however, the new compact 7 is way different from the original....

[jimdgoulding]

A lot of it does, however, the new compact 7 is way different from the original....

How different is different?  I don't doubt you just wanna know.  Other readers may, as well.  Thanks.

[avta]

I've owned a pair for the past 3 years.They are very pleasant to listen to. I am currently using them with Quicksilver Silver 88 monos, an Anedio DAC and a Squeezebox Touch. What I notice is the very natural sound produced as compared to live music. I listen to classical, opera, jazz and internet radio. For the money I consider them an excellent value.

[TONEPUB]

How different is different?  I don't doubt you just wanna know.  Other readers may, as well.  Thanks.

First, you might check the date on that review, Harbeth didn't start business until 1977...

Each generation of compact 7 has become more refined, both in the midrange, and treble extension, without sacrificing the accurate midrange that has made these speakers famous.  The current version three is particularly good, especially for the money.

[jimdgoulding]

Must have been one of those other TAS issues I was perusing.  The one with the Harbeth review was actually 1997.  Thanks for pointing that out.  It would be interesting to know what changes, if any, have been made to their basic cabinet, something that distinquishes this design, I believe.  And what REG said about the speakers' sound has become something of an audio truism.  Good for Harbeth and music lovers.

[Toni Rambold]

... btw, the review is published on REG's website: The Harbeth Compact 7 Loudspeaker

[avta]

I believe Sam Tellig reviewed them in 2007 in Stereophile Vol. 30 No. 6 if you can find it.

[TONEPUB]

I don't think the basic cabinet has changed all that much.  The model in the TAS review is the version two.  The main diff between the two and the three is as I mentioned - cleaner midrange along with more extension at both ends of the frequency spectrum.  The model 2 sounds more like a vintage LS3/5a - natural midrange, but a little wooly sounding, where the model 3 (current) retains all the character, but is more open and much more dynamic.  A definite improvement in every way.

Having spent plenty of time with Alan Shaw both at the Harbeth factory and the BBC, where he's done a lot of measurements, the primary improvement is their "Radial" cone design, updated in the third version.

We've just posted our review from issue 16 online, with a bit of an update here:

http://www.tonepublications.com/review/the-harbeth-compact-7es-3/

After almost four years with these speakers as a reference component, I remain highly impressed.