HPM-100 -vs- ADS L-810
- Thread starter dingus
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That's probably a fair evaluation. Aerial Acoustics makes an item called a "beak". They recommend setting one on top of each of their speakers to improve the sound. Each "beak" is made from a piece of machined aluminum, and is much smaller than an AR91.dingus said:
Ok so that may have been a pretty harsh statement, but watching the guys when they were sitting in the sweet spot, dingus would switch the speakers from A to B and there was a definite in your face, bright, crystal, whatever it was, and charivari and kfa would kringe with the rest of us. so maybe the cotton ball thing was a little too much, but there was a HUGE difference in sound that was being produced.
Dingus's yamaha was gone through by merrylander, so I would think that it is in tip top condition. as for the luxman, they hpm"s sounded bettere in tha configuration, but still there was a Huge difference in sound.
As I stated in an earlier post, we did not play any heavy metal, I do think that the hpm's would probably kick butt and be in your face type speakers.
and my disclaimer which isnt much, I just listen to different types of music, I dont really know or really care what all the terms mean, ie fat, tubby, bright, flat, no soundstage, or whatever, but I did hear a very big difference in sound coming from the hpm's and the 810's.
I liked the sound waaayyy better from the 810's.
Sorry If I ruffled some feathers, sometimes I come across the wrong way. I just heard a better speaker IMOP.
elroy
Charivari
Fighting Naïve Realism
Cotton balls may have been a bit of a stretch, but not by much. You were right on why I left the sweet spot in such a hurry and more than once (kept returning for different tests), it was painful. With the level controls set flat and at an average measured listening level of 87-90dB, those treble peaks were hitting above 100dB before dynamics are even considered. That was simply painful with much any music content, instrument, above ~2kHz and any vocals except the lowest, most recessed. Even after the controls were cranked way down for a flat response, it still hurt. But, the thing to remember is that I am quite sensitive to harshness/distortion in the frequencies that the HPM-100 presents both to the listener. Rather than just severely disliking the sound, it does physically hurt. Same case for me with Advents containing those fried egg tweeters, though that is more a case of a moderate headache after a few minutes thanks to fatigue.elroymcgee said:
I suppose I should've brought ear plugs. It wouldn't be the first time I've worn them while testing the HPMs at higher levels. Back when I put these speakers through any and everything I could think of to be certain of the character, I did a high level test to verify the accuracy of the occasional statement regarding how these speakers supposedly opened up at higher dBs and with more power/current pushing them. Measured response had no change and the few moments I was able to bring myself to remove the plugs showed this to be inaccurate.
The HPMs sound the same with well-recorded hard rock as we heard Sat with well-recorded regular rock. I've a couple White Zombie and Metallica albums and the sound characteristics of the speaker did not help them for regular listening. However, when the mood to crank the volume up and simulate the ear bleed experience of live concerts, the speakers did manage that extremely well. I would say that these speakers excel at reproducing the live amplified concert experience. Surprisingly, they did make the heavily compressed, horribly distorted hard rock album The Union Underground - ... An Education in Rebellion sound almost listenable, which aside from car stereos and boomboxes, is unlistenable with most any other good speaker I've played it through.elroymcgee said:
Don't worry about speaking your mind on the issue. We were all in strong agreement when Saturday ended.elroymcgee said:
- JP
cubdog
banging through drywall
I may have to cross the HPM 100's but first it might be interesting to do a shoot out between those and my JBL L112's and 96's. I always imagined that they might have a similar sound. After reading this thread I hope not. If Parky and I can ever get together we will give it a shot.
cubdog
cubdog
john_w
Miscreant
cubdog said:
It sounds like expectations had a lot to do with the results in this thread. People expected the HPMs to excel in certain ways that they definitely do not. Like Ed, I wasn't expecting much from them. My first reaction was "They look sort of quasi-Kabuki-like to me." But they certainly sounded far better than Kabuki speakers, and far better than White Van quality speakers I've owned.
Cubdog, after the expectations set up in this thread, you will probably be pleasantly surprised by the HPMs and retro will finally have more competition for them!
If I had a place for them where they could actually be used, I'd take them too! (But certainly not over the ADS l810s)
Charivari
Fighting Naïve Realism
I think you've nailed it. The problem isn't that the HPM-100s are the worst speakers ever made, but they sure don't have anywhere near the sound they're hyped up to have. Had we gone in there not knowing what they were, the comments probably wouldn't have been to such the degree as they were. However, they still would've been unfavorably reviewed as the visual appearance (they do look like they should sound good) set higher expectations than the sound could meet. "Terribly over-hyped" is the phrase to summarize this thread.john_w said:
- JP
cubdog
banging through drywall
Retro, I only have a passing interest in this thread but I have never gotten the impression that the comments were met to bash the HPM-100's. I get the sense that the reviewers were taken aback by the fact that they did not like them. It seems the reactions and observations have been honest and insightful. Get another group together and the results may vary dramatically. As I posted earlier I'm looking forward to a JBL/HPM face off. I will be honest in my evaluation and if it ruffles some feathers so be it. I would rather read an honest evaluation that I disagree with than one that sidesteps true opinions.
cubdog
cubdog
Fast_Eddie
Upper-middle fi
Retro Stereo said:
I think that might have been some of the "hype".
hype1 ( P ) Pronunciation Key (hp) Slang
n.
Excessive publicity and the ensuing commotion: the hype surrounding the murder trial.
There has certainly been excessive publicity. But that's not derogatory in any way. I would say that this thread certainly hypes the a/d/s l810s. Excessive publicity? Check. Ensuing commotion? Working on it.
Ed
crooner
Tube Marantzed
I definitely believe something was amiss with the HPM-100 pair you guys auditioned. Also, this model was in production for a very long time. It is common for corrections or changes to be incorporated later on. Perhaps that particular pair was early production and not representative of the whole model run. :scratch2:
I thought Bart Locanthi, the HPM's designer, was golden eared (or perhaps I should say 'brass ears') pretty much like the guys Sam Tellig used to hang around with! :lmao:
I thought Bart Locanthi, the HPM's designer, was golden eared (or perhaps I should say 'brass ears') pretty much like the guys Sam Tellig used to hang around with! :lmao:
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kfa888
Addicted Member
I personally had no prejudices towards or against these speakers going in, have never seen or heard them before this little get together. I was pleased by the look of them, seemed very well constructed and the drivers looked very high quality. I will say it again, I wanted to like these speakers. Nether the ranting one way or another here on AK nor the group that reviewed these speakers swayed me at all, I'm a big boy, I speak for myself. None of this changes the fact that to me, in this setting and listening to my own CD's and others music selection they were some of the worst speakers I had ever heard. I was very disappointed and actually shocked. I will go out of my way to hear another pair in a different setting to see if it was just that pair or not. We actually listened to many different speakers that day, all of them before the HPM's as JP arrived later than the rest of us. The minute those were on it was obvious they were not in the same league as the rest.
I do hope to hear another pair and I do hope those sound good.
I do hope to hear another pair and I do hope those sound good.
tentoze
Twangophile
What I've gathered to this point:
1) Some people got together and listened to some different sets of speakers.
2) None of the people cared for one of the sets. The reasons have been well detailed and are no doubt genuine opinions based on a specific listening experience.
3) Said speakers are well-regarded by others on AK, who take exception to those who universally disliked said speakers in this listening experience.
Conclusions I draw here:
- Everyone hears differently, and everyone is entitiled to like what they like
- No one on either side is going to have their opinion changed by this discussion
- Vive le' difference
- Adjourn to respective listening environments and listen to some music
1) Some people got together and listened to some different sets of speakers.
2) None of the people cared for one of the sets. The reasons have been well detailed and are no doubt genuine opinions based on a specific listening experience.
3) Said speakers are well-regarded by others on AK, who take exception to those who universally disliked said speakers in this listening experience.
Conclusions I draw here:
- Everyone hears differently, and everyone is entitiled to like what they like
- No one on either side is going to have their opinion changed by this discussion
- Vive le' difference
- Adjourn to respective listening environments and listen to some music
tentoze said:
Just one more suggestion that would make things easier in the future. When someone is thinking about starting a speaker vs speaker thread, or a review of a bunch of speakers, why not do it here:
http://audiokarma.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=32
That's what that forum is for.
Sound good?
Your guy's best buddy,
Retro
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