What`s with the Hyperion HPS 938

An interesting question, the answer to which I suspect has less to do with the speakers themselves than the folks who buy them based on reviews with out regard to how they might actually sound in their room with their equipment. When they get the speakers they just don't "sound" like they fantacized that they would using their equipment, they become unhappy, complain, then put them up for sale.

In my limited experience I have found that room and system synergy is critical and the more revealing the speaker the more critical it becomes. Room set-up for the new speakers is critical - you don't just plunk them down in the same place as the old speakers - its back to the drawing board. Room treatments less so but still must be considered - you may need less, more, or different. And matching electronics to get the sound you want is a major task.

I believe that most high quality, revealing but neutral sounding speakers can sound supurb (limited only by the room) but you have to make a dedicated effort to make it happen.

This doesn't mean that there aren't some overly enthusiastic reviewers about who will gush over something new that really doesn't have legs, but you won't find a conspiracy of reviewers from different mags all saying great things if there isn't some good reason.

I agree with Newbee! I just started a new job 130 miles from home. I had to move into a one room, 12x12 converted barber shop with a linoleum floor until my wife can get a transfer and move up here.

My system still sounds good, but nowhere near the same as at home. The size of the room and what's in the room affects what you hear more than you might realize, especially if the sound is being reflected, bouncing off of everything and hitting your ears from all directions.

I forget who said it, but the comment was that how "good" your stereo is, is ultimately based on what you hear, and the speakers and the room have the most effect on that.

Well, I just got mine. Settled on an used ARC LS15 pre and Krell KSA100 to drive the bugger, must say that the combo sounds better than at the dealer's place. The speakers are not yet fully run in for that matter.

Maybe the lowish price of the 938s misled those guys into using lesser electronics which do not bring the best out of the speakers. Of course I agree with Newbee and Krell-man that the room acoustics play the most important part.

Roy

Ctchen's post prompted me to dig further (I stopped searching for reviews and users' comments after deciding on the purchase) and find the contrast in the comments very interesting - 90% liked what they heard. The main complaints are regarding the lower mid/upper bass which are in themselves conflicting; some said that the speaker sounded lean in this frequency range while others claimed that the speaker sounded too "dense" in this region and add some chesty coloration to vocals.

I find my 938 to be very neutral in my setup so I gather all boils down to the front end electronics and room acoustics. Btw, I was using a pair of Proac Response 3 before the 938 came along.

Roy

I agree with the above comments too.

Although I have another theory but this is merely that, a theory:

My understanding is that Hyperion 938s have been out of stock for several months now due to the unexpected demand. New production just started being available again the past few days. What I dont understand is that bad comments regarding these speakers started to appear just 2 weeks ago when these speakers can hardly be found.

When a mid-priced speaker such as the 938s suddenly become recognized as an excellent value for money speakers, able to compete with speakers 3x its price, several people gets shaken up. When these things happen, some react negatively. It is very likely that some countered by posting negative comments. This is what I think is happening here. But as I said, this is merely my theory.

Cheers.