DIY Harbeth 40.1

J

jamiecantar

Well-Known Member
DIY Har-beth 40.1

I heard these the other day and was blown away. they sell for between $10,000 - $12,000 US dollars. I have the DIY bug, so I have to try and make a pair! Clear fidelity, smooth, and very musical. I'm going to try the DIY poor man's version. Anyone tried to make their own? The cabinets look straight forward and pretty simple. Anyone know the crossover layout? The exact drivers?

Team project :D

I'll call my version "Hardlybeth 1.04" :D

At first glance, looks like a:

1. SEAS tweeter
2. Rogers, KEF or Tannoy midrange
3. and some sort of 12" poly subwoofer
 

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Right now I have these Sony ss-G3's in my listening room with a similar Harbeth layout, although unlike the Harbeth's, they are sealed speakers, tighter bass and I'm just blown away from the detail, fidelity and sensitivity. They drive at 94db and take very little wattage to move them. I'm wondering if I can use the same crossover if I find compatible speakers. I'm still a DIY-fer in training, so lot's to learn, it should be fun.
 

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Yes I do feel very fortunate to have bought a set. They will be with me for a very long time. I wish I had some info for you regarding the cabinet layout and driver compliment but I don't. Im sure it has to be on the web somewhere, Ill have a look around.
 
Do a little research on these drivers and especially the Radial material. You are not going to able to replicate this speaker. Three drivers in a box perhaps but Alan Shaw spent years developing and designing the speakers. The Radial material required adjustments in the crossover and lots of listening to get them voiced correctly.
 
One of the local music stores carries the whole Harbeth line and the 40's are just incredible. Would definitely be interested in seeing a equivalent diy homage to try and reduce costs :D The catch will be trying to mimic their proprietary midrange driver and the lossy cabinet design. Good luck!
 
jamiecantar said:
I heard these the other day and was blown away. they sell for between $10,000 - $12,000 US dollars. I have the DIY bug, so I have to try and make a pair! Clear fidelity, smooth, and very musical. I'm going to try the DIY poor man's version. Anyone tried to make their own? The cabinets look straight forward and pretty simple. Anyone know the crossover layout? The exact drivers?

Team project :D

I'll call my version "Hardlybeth 1.04" :D

At first glance, looks like a:

1. SEAS tweeter
2. Rogers or Tannoy midrange
3. and some sort of 12" poly subwoofer
Click to expand...

You picked a speaker that would be difficult to replicate. I'm hesitant to say it couldn't be done, but certainly not without a significant amount of professional level R&D that would cost considerably more than a new pair from Harbeth.

Here's an excellent speaker with a similar layout that is already designed and tested:

http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/SEAS-3-Way-Classic-mkII.htm
 
Well, exactly exactly they won't be, unless I use the exact kit. Same drivers, same wood, same crossover components, but the goal is to get it as close as possible with the same emotional engaging effect as the originals.

Most hi-end speakers use component parts licensed to well known manufacturers such as SEAS, etc. Are the beth's made by beth's themselves? Someone has to make it for them, anyone know the source of the driver company? I think they are KEF drivers myself.
 
I'm very comfortable with DIY work, and I loved a pair of Harbeth speakers I heard. I also know they would be extremely difficult to copy, so I haven't even tried. Harbeth also uses thin wall cabinets that are "lossy" instead of the typical rigid design.

It's a pretty costly gamble and you may not be able to achieve the magic of the Harbeths.
 
I know they won't be exact exact...

A used pair of 40's will set you back $8000- 10,000 dollars.
A used pair of 40.1's will set you back $10,000- 12,000 dollars.

After a little digging the last couple of days, there is not much DIY info on the speakers. I guess know one has tried, except a fellow in Denmark.
 
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Your right, it's a huge undertaking to replicate an exact copy. Especially for a novice DIY'er. It's not an easy task. If one could buy the raw drivers, know the parts used in the crossover, one could try a version that could develop into an exciting unexpected accident at a tenth of the cost.
 
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Before you get too nuts, maybe you should look into Spendor speakers. They have some models similar to the Harbeth stuff. Prices are fairly reasonable on the used market. Much cheaper than Harbeth.
 
Yes Spendors are very nice, very similar and about half the price. Thanks. in my spare time I'll keep researching the Har-beth project, if others want to add and or contribute to this thread feel free, any help and advice is appreciated. :D
 
botrytis said:
And, how much is your time worth? How many tweaks do you expect? How many drivers will you go through? One needs to figure this all into the cost before saying it is cheaper to DIY than to buy originals. Remember Harbeth, as well as many other British speaker brands, use Baltic Birch plywood that has no internal gaps (marine grade). That will be expensive.
Click to expand...

Just as you noted in a previous thread, the diys almost invariably fails to calculate the opportunity cost of their time. I wish Ken were still around so we could get an estimate of what AR spent on their AR3 to 303 project. I'd suspect it was large and that's with the original company replicating a speaker with all the internal company information available.
 
Well I'm going to go against the grain here. If the OP wants to take on this challenge more power to him. I think he understands the risks involved and apparently he feels that the rewards are greater than those risks.

So let's offer him some encouragement and our well wishes rather than tell him what he can't do. That attitude is counterproductive and benefits no one. Good luck man! Hopefully, someone with DIY expertise will step in and offer some helpful suggestions.

cubdog
 
And OP, if you really want to be honest with yourself you'll acknowledge the fact that even if what you build nails the Harbeths on paper, what you wind up hearing with your upstream electronics and listening space acoustics could be quite different than what you heard when you experienced the real deal...because I'm placing all my chips on you not having the same exact upstream electronics and room acoustics as the place where you heard the 40.1's. These two variables have a profound influence over the perceived sonic characteristics of any given loudspeaker and unless you simulate them perfectly all bets are off.
 
botrytis said:
If he wants to - go for it, but go in with open eyes. I mean, if a company makes their own drivers, it will hard to get other drivers that are close to theirs (physical parameters, etc).

.
Click to expand...

Yep, and I think replicating the crossovers will be just as challenging. Replicating the crossovers with the same drivers would be a challenge itself, to replicate the speaker's characteristics with different drivers and crossovers will take a bit of doing.

There are Similar Build Threads out there, with links to parts, pieces, builds, similar designs, etc.

Take a look at that thread for some ideas and go for it!
 
HypnoToad said:
I think any of these designs would be better than a similar commercial speaker costing many times the price of construction and all the hard work has been done for you, this guy is the full ticket IMO.

http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/Diy_Loudspeaker_Projects.htm

Check out the ScanSpeak 3-Way Discovery and the SEAS 3-Way Classic, mkII.
Click to expand...

The "Prelude" was one of the designs suggested in the link I posted. Dang similar to the 40.1, but with the mid above the tweeter.

I'm sure Troels had a reason for doing it that way, but I bet you could use his drivers, crossovers, and a 40.1-looking layout/box and not be ashamed of the performance.
 
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