Harbeth Tontragers IsoAcoustics Sound Addicted

Getting the most from your Harbeth Speakers by Jaylat

I was very pleased to see that fellow blogger Doctorjohn recently added Harbeths to his already impressive lineup. I'm a huge fan of my Harbeth P3ESR and 30.1 speakers, which to my ears are ideal for reproducing small ensemble jazz, vocals and classical chamber music.

When I auditioned the Harbeth 30.1s at a dealer I compared them to his top system in his dedicated listening room. This monster setup featured huge Wilson speakers, top line interconnects and cables, and a bank of amps and preamps that totaled well over US$1 million. I much preferred the richness of the Harbeths and Luxmans at a bare fraction (less than two percent!) of the price. [Not to mention the Wilsons look hideous, like a recycling bin or one of those robot cleaning machines you see at grocery stores.]

So how to get the best sound out of your Harbeths?

Tontrager Stands
These are really beautifully crafted stands, handmade in Germany from local woods. As they are very expensive, I'd like to report that they make little difference, but the fact is their effect on the Harbeths are transformative. They really make a huge, huge difference.

Did I mention Tontragers are really expensive? Their P3ESR stands cost almost as much as the speakers themselves. I got a set for the 30.1 monitors, which previously had been sitting on an older pair of speakers.

[If you read the official comments from Harbeth's own User Group forum (which I really do not recommend), they will tell you that Harbeths do not need any fancy stands and will work just as well sitting on any old Ikea stool or block of wood. Oddly, they also cite the super-expensive Tontragers as the only third party stands they officially recommend.]

Once the Tontragers were set up, the difference was so striking that my wife (who can take a rather jaundiced view of this audio hobby) came out of her study some 30 feet away, asking if I had bought a new set of speakers? The sound was really that different. Soundstage, details, bass all saw a huge improvement.

As I understand it, the Tontrager stands allow the speakers to "float" on the four points of contact, which turns the entire cabinet into a musical instrument. Think of playing a cello while holding it tightly, which might dampen the sound, versus a loose grip that lets it vibrate. The Tontragers suspend the speakers in the air, allowing them to really sing.

Another big upgrade for the Harbeth 30.1 system came from merely carting the whole setup from the family room (tile floor, big bank of windows) to the living room, which is fully carpeted with drapes over the windows. The sound has taken on a whole other dimension, which underscores the value of room treatment. And it didn't cost a penny!

IsoAcoustics Aperta Series Isolation Speaker Stands
Luckily there are much cheaper alternatives to Tontragers, especially for the P3ESRs. In my case the Tontrager stands would not work in my home office anyway as they would place the tweeters at below ear level, so I opted for IsoAcoustics Stands, which are really excellent. These are designed to sit on a table top, in my case an antique Chinese altar table.

My office has two different listening areas, one at the computer and one for reading, and the small, light IsoAcoustics make it easy to move the speakers around to suit one or the other location. Do they sound as good as the Tontragers? Not quite, but they're pretty good and come in at a bare fraction of the price. They also allow unlimited vertical adjustments which make them very versatile.

If you really want to save money, the Sound Addicted Studio Monitor Isolation Pads also do a very decent job for the P3ESRs and cost less than $20. They are used in many professional recording studios.

Editor's Postscript:

1. I was pleasantly surprised when I checked in and found this very specific but lovely little article. I can see Jaylat, an experienced writer, had a little trouble with the template, which we all struggle with. Features are minimal and the engine seems to have a mind of its own and frequently over-rides our choices. AI at its worst. Next I shall write a small article as to how to overcome some of the idiosyncrasies.

2. Although I probably come across as one who eschews all tweaks and gadgets, that is not at all the correct picture. Truth is, all tweaks make a difference but most do more harm than good, even if the average audiophile (and certainly most reviewers) focuses more on the latter. Truth too, that I think less is more, more often than not. It takes a life time to learn the meaning of the words "judiciously applied". Nowhere is this more obvious than surface contact - stands and racks. As a longtime student of bookshelf loudspeakers, including many rather bulky UK ones, I have come across a vast array of stands and have shaped my personal beliefs, which should be an article unto itself. Nonetheless, I think:

 a) if possible, choose an open-frame stand, which the Tontrager is. The idea, as Jay alluded to, is to minimize the contact surface between the speaker and the stand;

b) avoid putting spikes and cones and what have you between the speaker and the top plate; this is very popular in HK and the Chinese world but I can say I have never heard these "tweaks" enhance the musical presentation; the Tontrager can be viewed to belong in this camp, but the significant difference is the outriggers are integral parts of the whole structure;

c) metal stands with a full top plate can still sound good but one must listen for oneself. Personally I think heavy metal stands, especially 4-pillared ones, run the greatest risk of sounding bad. HK has the largest population of LS3/5A die-hard's (many also own Harbeth) anywhere and the "common" wisdom is that Foundation 4-pillar works the best. Well, I do think reasonably well of Foundation stands but I think my single pillar 21" works just as well as the commonly seen 24" 4-pillared ones. AND, avoid at all cost those HK and China Foundation Clones - they sound dead, the more so when loaded with sand; Sonus faber stands (of the Franco Serblin era) use a combination of metal and wood (maybe MDF) and they sound good (but avoid that marble based one for the Guarnieri; in fact, if I may dare to say so, avoid the Guarnieri as the various Amators are better);

d) Wood Stands (or hybrid) can sound good, but it is not a given. I have not heard the Tontrager, but the design seems sensible to me. I have heard some others sound reasonable (Diapason is one example) but I am certain in my one belief - real wood is usually better than MDF (the latter over-damps). The best example is HK brand Sound Organisation - I'd avoid ALL of their stands and racks, which kill the music. AS Jay mentioned, breathing is important, and MDF usually suffocates;

e) metal spikes should be avoided as much as possible. Yes, they image better, but usually exact an unacceptable cost, lost of flesh, heft and bass impact which, the more you know about audio, the more you'd guard against their detriment (even in chamber music);

f) in the same vein, and it's interesting that Jay mentioned that difference in his 2 rooms. The floor material is a deciding factor. Both of my HK abodes have hard tile floors. My own impression favors doing away with all spikes on the stands, but it is not an absolute, as my Ruark Crusader III seems to like the spikes.

The ultimate advice is: Try everything! EVEN if it is supposedly counter-intuitive. We think we know Science, but the fact is, there are more that we don't know about than do. It doesn't hurt and, as Jay mentioned, it doesn't cost anything. We should always do cost-less tweaks, whereas MOST of those expensive "solutions" are for the birds.

3. One thing I have to say I really appreciate Jaylat's setup. He integrates his setup into the home, not vice versa. He obviously is my kind of audiophile, not fixed in a seat, enjoys the music and is mindful of aesthetics. I am sure he is comfortable, something I wish for you all!