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Hpm 100

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I guess I should add that the tone controls on my SA-9100 are set at 0 all four of them and the controls on the L pads are likewise set at 0 with the only adjustment taking place in my SG-50(M) Spectrum analyzers 10 band Bi channel Equalizer section. (this EQ adjusts both channels with a single set of sliders from 32Hz to 16kHz)

The controls are set at:

32Hz +2db
64Hz -9db
125Hz +4db
250Hz +2db
500Hz +2db
1kHz +7db
2kHz +3db
4kHz +2db
8kHz -1db
16kHz +8db

Now I can get the same effect with the sliders set 2db lower across the board but then I'm running the 64Hz at max drop and for some reason I didn't like that.

Again this is only for my system it's combination of units and their condition and my room.

Your mileage will vary.
 
Ok, now for the experiences of someone who has owned HPM 100s for all of two days...me! And I have no fond experiences of these from my youth, as I was maybe 3 or 4 when these came out, and grew up on my dad's bi-amped, home-made tube-driven speakers, not these. Most of my other speakers are of the Klh/advent/Boston/Epi variety.

I first hooked them to the SX-1280 they came with. My reaction? What the heck is all the fuss about, these sound terrible! Harsh, no imaging, unbalanced. Then I ran the amp section of the 1280 off of a tube pre. The HPMs tightened up considerably, and I started to like them. They sounded incredibly 'live'. One issue I have with speakers that are designed to image above all else is that they often don't sound very dynamic..they don't seem to move a lot of air. But I like imaging, so it's a trade off. Anyway..I liked them with the tube-pre/1280 combo. Then I moved them to a different part of my loft (note, they're playing in a pretty big space) and hooked them to my Fisher x-202b integrated tube amp. They changed COMPLETELY. Sounded like different speakers entirely. I really like them now. They're very efficient, and I haven't heard dynamics like this out of the fisher on any of the other ten pairs of speakers I've had it hooked to. It sounded big, natural, and even imaged to a decent degree.

We all listen to different types of music, in different rooms, off of different systems, and listen for different things. These HPMs sounded night and day different on one system to another. They went from intolerable to nearly-great. All I'm saying is to each they're own, but give them a chance on different set-ups before dismissing them. They're probably not for the Diana Krall-crowd, but to me that's a good thing ;)

-john
 
I got my first pair of HPM-100s two years ago. As I was getting them up the stairs to our apartment, my wife took one look at the boxes and said "WTF did you buy?" I said "Speakers." She said "WTF did you buy?" She kept saying it every 5 minutes until I had them unpacked and inspected. In the interest of keeping my marriage intact, I made the ultimate sacrifice and said "Hunny, wait until you hear Donna Summer on these." She did, loved the way they sounded and told me "OK, you can keep them, but I'll have your n*ts if you buy another pair before discussing it with me." I said, "But Hunny, I have another pair coming for the TV!" Long story short, I'm still intact, the HPM 100s sound fantastic on the TV, and will handle anything from Pink Floyd's Ummagumma to (ugh) disco and make it sound as close to real life as any speakers I've heard...excepting the Klipshorns I've been lusting after since forever.
 
automojo said:
A outstanding speaker, or perhaps well designed speaker (may be a better description) should have the ability to reproduce all types of music, rock, classical, jazz, blues, techno, etc- whatever type you might like- (when of paired with the right electronics of course-) with a minimum of coloration through out it's operating range, and at any reasonable volume level you may want to listen to.
Click to expand...


My opinion of course, is based only on my personal use of the HPM-100. I no longer own them but when I had them they brought me years of enjoyment and to my ears.....my ears only....they did in fact sound true & un-colored. Much more refined than the JBL L-100 which I believe inspired them.
Despite all the measurments, charts, test equipment etc, etc., I only know what my ears tell me.

I'm not smart enough anyway to be able to read response-graphs and use all the associated test equipment to determine a speakers "worthiness". Nor do i want to learn. Screw all that! I'm just a humble music lover voicing an opinion among lots of others. Wether the HPM-100 is "knocked" or "loved" or somewhere in between....it's all fine with me:thmbsp:

Russ
 
Not a popular loudspeaker? How bout over 800 views, And 40 replies, This subject will never die I guess. However, Somebody sure is interested .:yes:
 
I had a close call recently with mine. I friend of mine at work is just completeing a new garage/man cave and was looking around for some speakers. Off the top of my head I offered up a pair of Polk Audio Monitor 10's and we arranged a meet so he could hear them.

Listened for a while and decided he really didn't like them and asked what else I might have. It was a Saturday afternoon and I'd had a few Beam&7's so in a brain cramp I mentioned the 100's. I'd always liked them a lot but as I'm always doing I'd unhooked them to try out something different.

Well, I hooked up the 100's and he instantly fell in love with them as did I all over again. He asked how much and since I was going to cut him a good deal on the Polks at $100 the Beam started talking again and I told him "what the hell, I'll sell them for the same as the Polks":eek: all the while standing there thinking "damn, I forgot how good these sound".

The one thing that the rascal failed to mention was that well, gee I don't have the money on me right now can I pick them up next week. "Sure" I said.
Well the rest of the afternoon and evening I just sat there listening to them and taking them in all over again and finding out just how much I do like them.

What to do.:dunno: The following Monday I had to hunt him down and sheepishly let him know that I'd had a change of heart and had decided to hold on to them.To my relief he was very cool about it. I felt bad and even offered the Polks for nothing if he wanted them or cut a deal on any others that I had but he refused. He said that he'd really been wanting to find some.....BOSE.....anyway.:confused:.

What ever. I felt bad for reneging but when he told me that I figured it all worked out for the both of us. I would have kicked myself for letting those go for $100!

Lesson learned? No alcohol when dealing with my gear from now on:nono: That experience was too close for comfort......................R1
 
RussinOhio said:
My opinion of course, is based only on my personal use of the HPM-100. I no longer own them but when I had them they brought me years of enjoyment and to my ears.....my ears only....they did in fact sound true & un-colored. Much more refined than the JBL L-100 which I believe inspired them.
Despite all the measurments, charts, test equipment etc, etc., I only know what my ears tell me.

I'm not smart enough anyway to be able to read response-graphs and use all the associated test equipment to determine a speakers "worthiness". Nor do i want to learn. Screw all that! I'm just a humble music lover voicing an opinion among lots of others. Wether the HPM-100 is "knocked" or "loved" or somewhere in between....it's all fine with me:thmbsp:

Russ
Click to expand...

AMEN!! :beerchug:
 
He said that he'd really been wanting to find some.....BOSE.....anyway..
Click to expand...

I'd say you did the right thing, saved them from a future Bose displacement. You might have one very good friend but you gotta wonder about the choices he makes.........................:scratch2:
 
Ok, the 100's are up and running. I've been listening a bit between them and my mains (MTM transmission lines of my design using 6.5" Peerless woofers and 1" Peerless soft domes). I've run them on the system I usually listen to which is an Oppo DV970HD playing into a NAD 7155 receiver. I've also played them with a JVC CDP into a Pioneer SX-980. All my listening was done with everything flat across the board as that's how I like things.

Please note, the following are my opinions and observations. If your opinions don't agree with mine, cool. See me at the Fest and we'll hoist a brew. If they do agree, cool. See me at the Fest etc. etc.

I don't like them much. They seem to have a hump in the bass and fall off quickly below that. They seem to have a very pronounced upper midrange/lower treble. They seem to have a big valley in between. Some observations on particular pieces:

-Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Flight of the Cosmic Hippo: The incredibly cool bass line seems to come and go depending on note. When it gets below the HPM's bass hump it fades and when it agrees with the hump it jumps out at you.

-Dire Straits, Your Latest Trick: the trumpet and sax at the beginning sound like they're made of tin. They have no "body" to them. When the cymbals come in they really jump out and bite you but they sound kind of like a drum machine cymbal.

-Miles Davis, Freddy the Freeloader: see above on sax.

-Nora Jones, My Little Room: They make her voice seem extremely nasal.

Since they've been billed as great rock-n-roll speakers I put on Judas Priest, Turbo Lover and gave them some juice. I can see where they get the rock speaker rep. They go loud and sound pretty clear. That pronounced upper mid really cuts through anything and the bass hump matches up well with this style bass drum. I could see them as awesome party speakers. I can't, however, see them as my daily drivers.

Again, please note that these are only my opinions. I hope nobody has taken offense. My opinions do not transfer to the owners/proponents of HPM-100's. If you like them, I respect that and I'm glad you've found a speaker that honks your hooter.

Some time in the next few weeks I should be able to get the measurement gear set up and do some plots. Note also, I do not feel that measurements have anything to do with the "worthiness" of a speaker. I do feel that they can be a very helpful tool in figuring out what you like and how to get there.

Ray
 
I found that having tubes in the pre or all the way through filled in the valley that they seem to have in a response of, perhaps the upper mid-range. ( I don't have a way to measure except the ears I was born with). I don't find that they have the most completely natural sound (my AR2s/3s take that prize in at least my collection) but they just feel so..um...live? It's the only word I can think of. There is a dynamic there that isn't perhaps polite like my new england speakers, and I like it A LOT with certain types of music. I pull out my KLH model 6 for lighter classical on my tubes, but for live rock/pop/indie..these really deliver something that the New England sound has always left me cold on. Maybe it's just sheer dynamics.

I like them. I notice the things in them that seem to bother people, but to me no speaker actually sounds exactly like I'm there...and volume of air/SPL and loud to soft and back transients are just as important as frequency curves.
 
All my listening was done with everything flat across the board as that's how I like things.
Click to expand...

They seem to have a hump in the bass and fall off quickly below that. They seem to have a very pronounced upper midrange/lower treble. They seem to have a big valley in between.
Click to expand...

Your ears reflect the manufacturer's published freq. response curve to a tee. It will be interesting to see (if your are going to report out this way) how your test measurements/listening observations with the L pad controls at flat are compared to tweaked L-pads positions for flattest measured response. Interesting stuff, yes.
 
RayW said:
Got the HPM woofer back together. I did the best I could but I'm afraid the coil got a little ovalized. It has a very tiny rub now that's not audible when playing music. I played some music through just the woofer and it sounded ok. I got the driver back in the cab while the kids were asleep so I couldn't turn 'em on.


Ray
Click to expand...

With all due respect WHAT THE HELL? Your reviewing a pair of speakers you admit aren't in proper working condition???? I don't remember anything in HPM-100 literature mentioning they came with Oval voice coils?

See this is exactly why these kinds of threads drive me crazy.

Some questions to judge your Review: (beyond the condition issue)

What condition are the cross overs?

Have you replaced any crossover parts

Have the L pads been cleaned?

What kind of speaker wire are you using?

How far a part were the speakers placed?

How far off the floor and what type of stands if any are you using?

What if any angles were used to "point the speakers"

How far from the speakers is the listening position?

What is the size of the room?

What is the construction and surface of the floor, walls, ceiling?

Where are the speakers placed in relation to the walls of the room?

Because all of the above is important and a factor in the sound you hear unless you are listening to the speakers as if they were huge headphones in which case they weren't designed to be listened to that way.

There is much missing from these kinds "reviews" IMHO
 
I think for everything ever made there is a review that says "this is the greatest thing ever" and a review that says "I wanted to kill myself to end the pain of having to experience this thing." And it's turned into a very expensive hobby for me because I've learned that I have to judge things for myself by living with them for awhile in my various music systems. And when you live in a one-room loft, learning you don't like Original Large Advents (for example) despite all the praise is a pain in the behind, or toes as you trip over them! If only we all heard the same things the same way.
 
But...observations on AK have at least given me a place to start to know what to buy and judge for myself.
 
Thank you for your excellent review, Ray! You've certainly brought everyone a better understanding of what HPM-100s actually are. :thmbsp:

A major question I've had, which I hope you'll be able to answer, is the toe-in issue. The factory curves indicate that the HF is much "hotter" on axis, telling me they should sound more balanced off-axis, i.e., facing forward, not toed in with the normal listening triangle.

However, since they're not mirror-imaged, what imaging is available should be better with them toed in. Do you confirm this?

I look forward to substantiation of the listening findings, and more, in your measurements.... :yes:
 
JohnVF said:
I found that having tubes in the pre or all the way through filled in the valley that they seem to have in a response of, perhaps the upper mid-range.
Click to expand...

Or, another possibility sort of opposite, is that the tubes mellowed what is either side of the valley, so it seemed to level out.
 
Mark's EQ shuts down the bass hump, fills in the valley, and boosts the VHF:
Mark W. said:
I guess I should add that the tone controls on my SA-9100 are set at 0 all four of them and the controls on the L pads are likewise set at 0 with the only adjustment taking place in my SG-50(M) Spectrum analyzers 10 band Bi channel Equalizer section. (this EQ adjusts both channels with a single set of sliders from 32Hz to 16kHz)

The controls are set at:

32Hz +2db
64Hz -9db
125Hz +4db
250Hz +2db
500Hz +2db
1kHz +7db
2kHz +3db
4kHz +2db
8kHz -1db
16kHz +8db
Click to expand...
I'd say Ray's findings from listening pretty much confirm how Mark has EQ'd them.

There's more consensus here than contention, folks, and my bet is that Mark and Ray's sonic preferences are in fact quite similar.... :yes:
 
Zilch said:
A major question I've had, which I hope you'll be able to answer, is the toe-in issue. The factory curves indicate that the HF is much "hotter" on axis, telling me they should sound more balanced off-axis, i.e., facing forward, not toed in with the normal listening triangle.
Click to expand...

I listened to them directly on axis as I was setting things up and they were indeed pretty sizzly. For this session of listening I had them pointed straight into the room. They do sound more balanced that way, IMO.

Ray
 
RayW said:
Some time in the next few weeks I should be able to get the measurement gear set up and do some plots. Note also, I do not feel that measurements have anything to do with the "worthiness" of a speaker. I do feel that they can be a very helpful tool in figuring out what you like and how to get there.

Ray
Click to expand...

100% agree and would extend that a bit further, they are helpful in figuring out what you like and if you are into DIY speaker building, they are critical in how to get there. :)

Also, your general impressions of the HPM100s would mirror yours and as Zilch points out, on axis (without EQ) they are a little hot sounding. To me, they were a bit better when listening off axis, but in the room I was in, the imaging issues were more of a result of reflections in the room than the clustered array of non-mirror imaged drivers.
 
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