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Harbeth Super HL5 Plus XD Bookshelf Loudspeakers Location: Class A Audio, 8/585 Blackburn Rd, Notting Hill, VIC, 3168. The ultimate British domestic monitor A LOUDSPEAKER THAT IS BOTH EXPLICIT AND TRUTHFULLY BEAUTIFUL The definitive Harbeth loudspeaker delivers the ultimate high-end audio experience. This model is the latest iteration of the legendary Harbeth HL-Monitor Mk1 from 1977 that launched the Harbeth company. In continuous production through several design generations since its inception. The SHL5plus XD gets the very best from the Harbeth-made 200mm RADIAL2™ bass/mid driver in a ca
Is this one priced like a rare find, or just an ambitious ask? At A$7,992, it sits well above the A$6,050 75th percentile from your recent comps, so this is clearly an ambitious listing rather than a fair-market buy. For a used pair, I’d want a meaningful edge in condition, provenance, or accessories to justify that gap.
That said, the model has a strong reputation for natural midrange tone, coherent imaging, and an easy, unforced presentation that rewards long listening sessions. If it’s genuinely clean, with original packaging, grilles, and no cabinet or drive-unit issues, it’s still a desirable speaker — just not at this number unless the seller can prove why it belongs at the top of the range.
Independent perspective — not a price guarantee. Always verify condition, accessories and provenance before purchase.
Harbeth Audio Ltd. traces its origins to 1977, when BBC Research Department engineer H.D. (Dudley) Harwood founded the company in the UK upon his retirement. Harwood, a pioneer in loudspeaker cone materials, commercialized his inventions—including polypropylene cones developed during four decades of BBC-funded research—to produce monitor speakers that echoed the broadcaster's precision standards. This heritage, rooted in the BBC's comprehensive loudspeaker investigations from the 1960s and 1970s, positioned Harbeth as a direct descendant of iconic designs like the LS3/5a.
The brand focuses exclusively on high-fidelity loudspeakers, eschewing amplifiers, turntables, DACs, headphones, or cables. Harbeth's innovations center on proprietary materials and engineering, notably the patented RADIAL™ cone introduced in the 1990s, which minimizes distortion for exceptional clarity and natural reproduction. Standout models include the Super HL5 Plus, Monitor 30.1, and Monitor 40.2, all refined through ongoing refinements to critically damped cabinets, polymeric cones, and crossover networks.
Harbeth commands a revered position in the high-end hi-fi market as a niche boutique specialist, prized by discerning audiophiles for its balanced, transparent sound that prioritizes musicality over hype. Under Alan Shaw's leadership since 1986, blending BBC traditions with rigorous quality control, it sustains an irrefutable reputation for world-class performance at low-to-medium volumes, earning critical acclaim worldwide.
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