Brief review of 2 Pi's [message #37383] |
Thu, 18 July 2002 17:13 |
Garland
Messages: 269 Registered: May 2009
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Grand Master |
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I was intending to wait until I got to audition my friend's recently completed 2 Pi's for an extended listening period before writing any comments but things did not work out as I hoped and I was only able to listen to them for a couple of casual and interrupted hours. So I still want to express my opinion that the 2's are probably the best $150 pair of speakers I've ever heard (and built). From top to bottom the sound is very coherent, with plenty of bass and treble extention, midrange clarity and just plain toe tapping quality! I'm guessing the biggest contribution to their success comes from the fact that there are no x-over components messing with the sound.I purposefully tried to hear any holes or resonances due to the close overlapping of the drivers' individual outputs but I could detect no anomalies. I could truly live with these loudspeakers as my only pair! But of course, after going back to the Theater 4's I realize that these are somewhat limited dynamically in comparison but what fun they are! Bass lines are readily followed, and there is little glomming together of the music when things get complex. They play consistently well at all volume levels and get nicely loud and stay clean with the limited power available from my 2A3 amps. I would recommend these speakers for all types of music and for all applications: Classical, Jazz, Rock and roll esp., H.T.- everything. I only have one question about these particular Pi's. Wayne often says that all his bass reflex speakers have a similar sound. I found however that the 2 Pi's sound very different from the Theater 4's. The 4's sounding more refined with a huge sound stage and the 2's sounding brighter with more pronounced (and extended?) highs and maybe a hint of a bump in the upper bass which is very nice with rock/roll. Both are nice speakers but distictly different. One cost $700; the other $150 to make! Anyway, I know that I am going to build a pair of these super-fun, lively speakers for myself and maybe another pair for my daughters dorm room when she heads off to college this fall! I highly recommend them on the basis of my albeit brief listening experience.System: Sony NS500V DVD/CD/SACD EAD7000 D/A Bottlehead Foreplay Pre modded Bottlehead Paramour 2A3 SE amps modded Pi Theater 4 loudspeakers- Home built with external up-graded crossover P.S. I also got a brief listen to the 2's on my friend's sand amp and the sound was very similar. One cut by the Fugies was awesome! And my friend who is more into high power car audio than I am and was a little bit concerned that maybe a little 10" woofer might not do it for him, is very pleased. After his first night with them he showed up at work with a big grin on his face!
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