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

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.

Protecting employees thats a good quality base.

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

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

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

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!

Six years later and I still enjoy watching this . We have a dedicated Harbeth reseller in Montpellier ( France). Love them.

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

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

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

"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.

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

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!

This is amazing!

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

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

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.

Gets really good halfway thru!!!

This is so amazing! thanks for documenting this

What a terrific video!!!

Great video. Enjoyed it thoroughly.

Great, truthful interview!

Great interview, thanks

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!

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.

Well done, enjoyable and informative. Thank you!

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.

Fascinating!

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

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.

Inspiring video. Saved for eternity.

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

It's a joy to see this.

Brilliant interview

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

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

Amazing!

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

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!

Awsome! I highly respect your PERFECTION and DEDICATION.

This is an awesome video

Fascinating interview. Thank you for making this video.

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.

Brilliant video, thanks.

the finest speakers , dollar for dollar

Human vision of manufacturing process. Nice video!

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

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.

Good design and company/employee philosophy.

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

Great vid btw and very interesting

Interesting thanks!

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

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.

Would love to listen to him working and learning.

I have been on a "mission" here. I have been doing some research ( starting with KZfaq 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......

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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!

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.

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...

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

What a fantastic interview. Both men are absolute gentlemen and the manufacturers passion is priceless.

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.

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). ?

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.

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

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

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 KZfaq video without having a complimentary matched pair of Harbeth speakers to playback to?

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.)

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.

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

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.

I make a concrete version of the Spendor BC1 monitor. They really are the bee's knees, though I say it myself. We are booked up for 2.5 years trying to fulfil orders, some of them custom concrete finishes and colours.

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

Gorgeousness

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

Wish I could afford a pair :)

Lovely interview, very informative.