• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Got some HPM60's today and they lack bass?

fucanay

fucanay

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
I just got a pair of these today at a local thrift store for $38, visually a little rough on the veneer, but the drivers and grills were ok. They sound ok, but lack bass compared to my KLH Sixes. I haven't popped them open yet, but I wanted to see if anyone else had compared these two speakers to each other. Or does anyone else find them to be thin sounding in general?
 
Register to hide this ad
HPM, I'm jealous.... 38$ for that price, even if they sound crappy and need a rebuild, you scored!
 
I agree, but do they need a rebuild or is this what they are supposed to sound like? I'm honestly not sure. I've never owned any HPM's or any Pioneers before.
 
you need to check the phasing, the 60's put out some decent bass. someone may have worked on them and crossed a wire inside.
 
fucanay said:
I just got a pair of these today at a local thrift store for $38, visually a little rough on the veneer, but the drivers and grills were ok. They sound ok, but lack bass compared to my KLH Sixes. I haven't popped them open yet, but I wanted to see if anyone else had compared these two speakers to each other. Or does anyone else find them to be thin sounding in general?
Click to expand...

I had HPM 60's in college. In comparison to the KLH's, AR's, and Advents in the dorm the bass wasn't as tight and precise but I really didn't care cause they sure did rock out. At my age now, I much prefer the more relaxed sound of my KLH Model 5's along with their deep tight bass. The HPM's are well respected and sought after so you can't go wrong for the coin you spent. If you do recap them the mid's and highs may improve but I doubt the bass would be improved much. Congrats on a great buy!
 
CT Jim said:
you need to check the phasing, the 60's put out some decent bass. someone may have worked on them and crossed a wire inside.
Click to expand...

You may be onto something here. I opened them up and I think the woofer was wired reverse on one of them. The manual says the blue wire is positive and assuming the red dot next to the terminal means positive, it is wrong. I've got it back together now and I think it sounds better. Can't try at better volume until tomorrow because the family is asleep.

I also found that there are two different designed crossovers in them. See the attached pictures. Strange.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    57.9 KB · Views: 31
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    64.4 KB · Views: 31
gbroot said:
I had HPM 60's in college. In comparison to the KLH's, AR's, and Advents in the dorm the bass wasn't as tight and precise but I really didn't care cause they sure did rock out. At my age now, I much prefer the more relaxed sound of my KLH Model 5's along with their deep tight bass. The HPM's are well respected and sought after so you can't go wrong for the coin you spent. If you do recap them the mid's and highs may improve but I doubt the bass would be improved much. Congrats on a great buy!
Click to expand...
The mids and highs actually sound fine, though I have dialed them back a bit on the back. And I like my KLH 6's quite a bit, but only paired with another set of speakers to provide better midrange. The KLH 17's have been doing that duty for about a year and I put the HPM's in their spot to see if one pair of speakers could do the job of the 6's and 17's. The answer so far has been no, but the highs are better with the HPM's. Maybe not enough to break up the KLH family though.

They are so different from each other that it's hard to tell what I like better.
 
Just to verify your phasing, take a piece of speaker wire and hook it up to each speaker, whichever color or mark for your wire you consider positive. It is important for this test you hook each speaker up the same, although you are testing each one individually.
Then using a small battery, an AA or AAA works, touch the positive lead to battery plus, and negative lead to battery minus. The cone will move either IN or OUT! Then test the other the same way. BOTH should move the same way, either in or out, if they move differently, the phasing inside is incorrect!
I run 6's, 17's, 32's, Advent OLA's, and A25's, and I have a set of 60's on CL now. I didn't care much for the 60's, but I paired them with a Realistic STA-870, and have to say they sound very good, even better than I remember, but still not to my taste.
 
The bass is alive! The wire to the woofer on the left channel was hooked up out of phase, although the cabinet didn't appear to have been opened before. Maybe it's why they were in a thrift store for $38?

Now to decide if I actually like them.
 
Glad you got it figured out- very seldom does Pioneer suffer from anemic bass- unless it is a pre HPM model! Pioneer HPM bass is some of the best one can ask for. I am spending about $140 to restore a 15" HPM woofer that had a oval voice coil that went oval- still well worth it!
DC
 
I like them so far although they seem picky about kick drums l. Some have punch and other flab. I think the KLH's handle a wider range. But the KLH's sound boxy on the highs in comparison. One side of the HPM's has a bit of coil rub on certain songs at high volume. I flipped it over and will see if it settles in.
 
Cast frame version 2 woofers? If so, they work well with a wide range of tweeters in a 2 way.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom