Posted by FredT [ 68.201.203.238 ] on June 27, 2006 at 08:27:32:
In Reply to: FredT -MLTL Bipole speaker impressions posted by Shane on June 26, 2006 at 20:53:32:
Of the five speaker pairs I have upstairs Jim's bipoles are the easiest to listen to. All the others are very good speakers, and each does at least one thing better than the bipoles: The one Pi's and the 3 Pi's can be driven by a 3 watt amp and will play much louder with a more powerful amp, and the Eros MKIII's and the Zaph Audio L-18's offer a bit more sparkle and air and will play louder with a high power solid state amp.
The bipoles offer something that's hard to describe but is very compelling. As far as I can tell it's a combination of deep, tuneful and well-controlled bass combined with the octave-to-octave consistency that only a single driver can provide. And unlike most other single driver speakers I have heard there's absolutely no upper midrange shout or treble harshness. Another characteristic that's more difficult to describe (you have to hear it to understand) the bipole ambience. This reminds me of the dipole Magnepans I've owned in the past.
Early on the treble was lacking, but a combination of different internal wiring and speaker cables, toe-in, and breakin time has virtually eliminated this problem. The bipoles do have a limitation in their absolute ability to play loudly - about as much as the 5" woofer high end mini monitors I've heard. I measured this playing a Keb Mo CD, and to my ears the music started to sound congested when the volume at the listening position (10' from the fronts of the speakers) was peaking at about 94dB (94dB is pretty damn loud!). To put it in perspective, the volume limitation isn't an issue with most music, but with some highly dynamic material, like my "Heroic Music for Organ, Brass, and Percussion" disk, I prefer the Pi speakers.
I suppose the bottom line is this: As I rotate through the other speakers I always find myself returning to the bipoles after a few CD's. I would recommend these without reservation for anybody to use in a second system, and if the loudness limitation isn't an issue I would also recommend them as somebody's main (or only) speakers.
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