HPM-1500's--Same as the 150's? Specs?

[surfdoc37]

I have a set of HPM 1500's, can't find any info on them anywhere, though I see where the manuals list both the 150's and the 1500's on the same cover. Are they one and the same? The owner thought these would take much more power than I've read on the 150's.

Also, the 15" cones need new surrounds, anyone had any success doing their own with one of the kits? The voice coil tolerance seems pretty tight, will it self-center once fired up, or will the millimeters make the difference when mounted?

All help is greatly appreciated!

 

[bolly]

all kinds of info, right here.

 

[bolly]

this thread is a good one. here.

 

[surfdoc37]

Great help, thanks! Wish I could have been in Detroit to hear the audition. What have these gone for in the past? Trying to figure out what to put in them vs. a return. I'm thinking if they do the trick they'll replace the current Pioneers I use in my main system, otherwise they'll go away.

The darn woofs do measure 16" rim to rim though. I sold my Klipsch's before I moved into this house, didn't think I'd have the room. Should have kept them... PLENTY of room. The Pioneers sound great but not quite there.

 

[Fuzzy Lumpkins]

The woofers in the HPM-1500's are actually 15 3/4" not 15.

I refoamed mine about 5-6yrs ago and they are still playing great.

 

[surfdoc37]

When you refoamed yours did you shim the magnets or just float the cones and glue? Will they self-center once powered up? The tolerance seems aweful fine right now, would be pretty difficult to nail it if it has to be EXACT exact. You remember?

 

[Retro Stereo]

Great help, thanks! Wish I could have been in Detroit to hear the audition. What have these gone for in the past? Trying to figure out what to put in them vs. a return. I'm thinking if they do the trick they'll replace the current Pioneers I use in my main system, otherwise they'll go away.

I watch the 1500's and 150's on eBay and they tend to sell for anywhere between $600 to $1000 a pair depending on their condition. I don't know if this information helps or not, just something I've observed.



Retro

 

[surfdoc37]

HMP 1500 Demo

Thanks Retro;

I just plugged these puppies in; laid the woofs on their backs because the foams are gone, wanted to hear them despite the fact the surrounds are gone. The nice thing about the 1500's is that you can split the box in half for easy moving and maintenance, allowing the woof section lay down.

The original owner didn't have them hooked up for demo due to the foams being shot (nor did I want him to), but he emphasized how 'clear' they sounded. Now I know why, my ears went south after about two minutes of listening, now I'm deaf above 1kz. :yes: My gosh, these things really push the highs. I'm surprised that Pioneer didn't put a larger mid on this set, seems lacking to me, but maybe when the woofs are repaired I'll have a different impression.

I'm wondering if Pioneer had our natural deafness to highs and lows in mind when engineering the set. According to a tech I spoke with a few decades back, most of us are rather deaf to the extremes due to the rigors of life, machinery, natural listening range limitations, etc., and need to boost the highs and lows to compensate while listening. I can't verify that, but generally when pushing through my EQ's I'm boosting the highs and lows to get a sound I prefer as well, depending on the speakers being pushed. These speakers seem to do that by design.

Just my two cents. That's pushing sound through HALF my G-22k. I'll try them through my Marantz to see how that colors the sound, then take them out tomorrow to try with my main system, along with some Sansui SP 7500X's for comparison with my other Pioneers. Tighter space here in the office, plus the wife's asleep on the other end of the house... (well she was :worried: )

(some minutes later) Yeah, the Marantz definitely sounds better. I'll pull out a couple of more systems that I've been waiting to test to see what fits best. Can't wait to get them out in some space tomorrow to see what the room and other system does for it.