Harbeth P3ESR Bookshelf Speakers Review

t is simply amazing how one speaker can change/manipulate/mend or sometimes even decide the course of an entire generation’s approach and attitude towards loudspeakers and what they expect from it. One speaker that will always be in the list of trend-setters for speaker design is the BBC LS3/5A speaker—a legendary speaker that has achieved the ‘Classic’ status. The Harbeth P3ESR came in our studio bearing a striking resemblance to the BBC speakers and we were off on a nostalgic journey. OUT OF THE BOX Well if you are not acquainted with compact bookshelf manufacturing then we suggest get prepared to see some boxy designs with no jazzy frilles. The Harbeth P3ESR follows the same but with a slight twist—the shiny veneer for the cabinet. Clad in a lustrous mahogany veneer look, the speakers are an eye candy if you dig simple minimalist designs. While initially it did not excite us immediately the simple and straightforward look gradually grew on us as we spent more and more time with the speakers. Also, like most yesteryear speakers, one can blindly vouch for the build quality of the Harbeth P3ESR as well. The compact structure packs in a substantial amount of weight and the corresponding sturdiness is satisfactory. TECHNOLOGY    We lay more emphasis on the “yesteryears” because the legacy that the P3ESR carries dates two decades back to 1993 when the first edition of the speaker was called P3. The P3ESR follows the same design with some changes on account of technical innovations and gradual advancements. The P3ESR employs a 0.75" ferrofluid-cooled aluminum-dome tweeter, protected by a mesh screen for the high frequency zone. For the mid-bass they have a 5" plastic-cone woofer, mounted on the front baffle. The mid-bass driver employs Harbeth's proprietary and patented Radial2 material, which is also used in their more expensive designs. Radial2 is said to be a thermally stable, low mass and a low–energy-storage composite polymer that offers more clarity and better low-level resolution than polypropylene, which was used in the earlier versions of the P3ESR. The front baffle that holds the mid-bass driver on a die-cast chassis is also clad in the same veneer that is used for the rest of the cabinet. Another trademark of the P3ESR (or for that matter any speaker based on the BBC LS3) is the complex crossover network, which in this case is made up of five inductors, ten capacitors, and three resistors. As from our experience, lesser the number of components in a speaker better is its performance. But the BBC design has always proved to be an exception, and we hope the P3ESR also does the same.

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Intro-Out Of The Box-Technology

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Performance-What Say AV?-Specifications