Harbeth 40.1 - Should I go for them?

[virajsingh]

Hi,

I am getting a pair of Harbeth 40.1 (in Tiger Ebony fiinish) in Europe with bill and standard warranty and the net ex-store price to me is working out to Rs. 3.75 lakhs. This is about a third of the Indian price and about half of the US/Europe prices.

I expect the shipping and customs to be not more that Rs. 50,000. Should I go for it i.e can Harbeth 40.1 really be the last speaker upgrade one makes?

Request knowledgeable members to please render their views urgently as I have to confirm the deal by tomorrow, if I want to buy them.

Thanks
Viraj Singh

 

[bhagwan]

Yes;
It is a great speaker.
Do buy it.
What will you pair it with ?
Front End ?
Electronics ?
Cables ?
Stand ?
All the Best !

 

[Staxxx]

It is supposed to be a great speaker, but it is important to remember that you will have to spend probably more than the speakers on the amplification at least (perhaps less on the source) to get the best out of them. Plus good cables, all as Bhagwan says, need to be of commensurate quality and a good match.
They will reveal any inadequacies in the chain, like all high end systems. And you may have to spend a long time matching it to appropriate partners.
Welcome to the fun and pain of high-end audiophilia.

 

[malvai]

Viraj! Go for it! Lovely speakers.... had I not found my R's, the 40.1's were the ones I was gunning for!

 

[Shivam]

I have heard them once and loved them.

These will hopefully be my next purchase.

 

[panditji]

Go for it...just incase you don't like them, I will happily buy them from you at 50% of that price (;-)

 

[Staxxx]

Apparently you need a pair of low stands for them - 12 - 14 inches - and they do well quite close together. Enjoy ! Would love to hear them. What amp are you going to use with them please?

 

[arj]

i'll echo Bhagwans Question/Staxxx's remark ..what amp are you using ?

This would be the most critical aspect of the pairing which can take the sound either way. they are not as euphonic as the other harbeths and you will be very well rewarded with good amp matching.(its not meant for tubes/low power amps)

another aspect is the Stand. you cannot underestimate that..and you need an open stand with these (you can get one built)

and yes, if you get it right it can be the last speaker you need. it does all well Western classical/Rock and Vocals

 

[square_wave]

Vinyl Anachronist says;

I'll pair them with the LFD NCSE integrated amp and then retire to a cabin in the mountains.

 

[virajsingh]

Thank you Guys for all your very useful inputs.

I have heard this very pair of speakers offered to me for sale paired with a Naim Amplifier when I had visited the store 2 weeks back. They were on a low height pair of home made stands made of wood which seem to have been built as per the dimension of the standard stands for the 40.1. The distributor did tell me that the amplification was not up to mark, but nevertheless these sounded very very good.

I am not yet sure what other equipment would be their in the chain as this pair is possibly (if I can muster the courage to buy them) the first link of the audio chain that will be built over the next 6 months. I have heard that Harbeths pair well with Accuphase and Luxman so that will be on my radar. Regarding cables etc. I will have go again get some expert advice, including from this forum.

As on now the source will be a Cambridge Audio 840C CD Player and Techinics SL1210 TT with Audio Technica ML440a MM cart through a lyrita phono amp. As far as amplification is concerned I currently have Cambridge Audion 840A v.2 and a Lyrita 845 SET amp.

This is not a 2nd hand speaker but is new pair that is being sold with bill and full warranty (currently out of the box and is doing auditioning duties in the store). It was ordered for another customer who ran out of money and so when I visited the store, the dealer said he wanted to rotate the money and thus was willing to give it for 40% discount over MRP. With me also being able to claim an additional refund of 25% VAT and the shipping being done in the baggage of a colleague of mine who is returning back to India from assignment abroad in that country the price is working out to be very very attractive and this is why I have been tempted (the same pair retails for over 10.5 lakhs in India and even 2nd hand 40.1s list for more on Audiogon) but frankly speaking even at the offer price and no shipping cost the damage to my pocket is way beyond my budget.

Let me see how things work out.....Will keep you all posted.Thanks once again for all you helpful comments which are really appreciated.
Viraj Singh

P.S. - And yes Rahul if these are indeed bought and were ever to be sold then you shall be the first to know cause I was introduced to the Harbeth Sound through your Harbeths.

 

[soulforged]

I haven't heard them but going by what others say...if they are for keeps and you like their sound...go for them and build your setup slowly around them...you need an anchor to start building your 'final' setup...and speakers are the best place to begin...

but be very clear on whether you are buying them because you liked their sound or because it is a fantastic deal! cognitive dissonance at that price can be brutal

 

[arj]

Thank you Guys for all your very useful inputs.

I have heard this very pair of speakers offered to me for sale paired with a Naim Amplifier when I had visited the store 2 weeks back.

naim is a very good way to start ans i believe there is one on sale tight now in this forum

 

[virajsingh]

LOL
Soul, you are spot on regarding "cognitive dissonance" ...... I really wouldn't want to find it the hard way.

 

[virajsingh]

Update: Received the following message from the Harbeth seller

"unfortunately i have bad news for you, yesterday when we were on the phone the other customer picked up our 40.1 for test in his studio.
Immediately he was so impressed that he does not want to give them back.
All day long i have tried to convince him that he should order new pair and give this pair back, but he says "over my dead body" "

I was actually a bit relieved to read the message cause I was still very uncertain that I should be spending so much and now I have sometime more to be certain that this is what I would want to go for......

P.S. --- I really like the studio owner's "over my dead body" assertion. I wonder if I would have traded blow with him had we been face to face. Guess not, as after all it's just a pair of speakers. Cheers Guys.

 

[ghatgepatil]

The Harbeth seller's contact, if you could share in this Forum? Looks to be a resourceful guy to come up with such amazing prices of very high end equipment!

 

[mpw]

Update: Received the following message from the Harbeth seller

"unfortunately i have bad news for you, yesterday when we were on the phone the other customer picked up our 40.1 for test in his studio.
Immediately he was so impressed that he does not want to give them back.
All day long i have tried to convince him that he should order new pair and give this pair back, but he says "over my dead body" "

I was actually a bit relieved to read the message cause I was still very uncertain that I should be spending so much and now I have sometime more to be certain that this is what I would want to go for......

P.S. --- I really like the studio owner's "over my dead body" assertion. I wonder if I would have traded blow with him had we been face to face. Guess not, as after all it's just a pair of speakers. Cheers Guys.

==================================================

Its best to be methodical and commercial in approach ( being a little fatalistic will help too.. but after prioritising your requirements )

These are are not the be-all and end-all of audio nirvana.

Just dont base ( or re-confirm ) your purchasing decision on someone else's histrionics..

I have never heard a harbeth ( i desire to though.. ) and therefore i cannot comment on the sound...

good luck with your search and yes.. like few others have mentioned..do look at the rest of the chain too..

regards,
mpw

 

[anm]

does that mean the deal is over now? or more pairs up for deal? what's your plan to kill the studio owner, in case that was the last pair?

 

[virajsingh]

This was the last pair the seller had in his store and the deal was only for this pair. I understand that someone else had ordered this pair and had paid some advance but when the speakers arrived a few months later he prospective buyer had run out of money so he never took delivery. I have a feeling he also forfeited some of his advance, which would have allowed the seller to offer this pair for a rather good discount to me as he had already recovered some money by way of forfeited advance. This pair had been in store for over 6 months and within a couple of days the seller had 2 interested parties....call it fate.

I am however given to understand that the studio owner paid more that the price that was offered to me as he had to VAT (which I would have avoided paying).

Well....the search and the research shall continue and lets see where is leads me to. Cheers

 

[soulforged]

Commiserations...

I admire the way you are taking this...I personally would have been more like "I just gotta have it now...come hell or high water"...I guess thats why nature has tried to strike a balance by not giving me the money...

Like MPW said...it's not the end of the world...but hopefully it'd have spurred you to look on...hopefully you'll land up with something you really like and put this 'loss' behind you...