Over the years I have used a variety of different stereo amps, av receivers and speakers including Monitor Audio Bronze, Dali Ikon, Cambridge Audio and Dali Zensor. I have ended up swapping equipment on numerous occasions because I enjoy the process of trying different things out.
Recently I decided that I should try spending some more money and see what something a little more expensive is like, so I sold some equipment and with the money from that bought an Abrahamsen amp and then started pondering what speakers I could use with them.
The number of speakers available is somewhat overwhelming and it makes choosing the right speaker quite hard, although in the end given the budget I had it was narrowed down to a few choices and I decided to go with the IPL Acoustics SM2 speakers.
I was intrigued by what DIY speakers would be like (probably the main reason for buying them) and spent some time reading what others had said about IPL speakers online before emailing Colin and asking questions about them. Once I was satisified with everything I placed an order and was told they would be ready within around 5 weeks. Of course I wasn’t able to hear them and it’s always a risk to buy speakers without hearing them but it was a risk I was prepared to take.
Colin provided regular updates along the way with plenty of photos of the speakers being built and a video. It was a nice touch and I found it fascinating to see how the speakers were put together.
Once the speakers were delivered I unpacked them and set them on their stands. They are heavy, feel really solid and the build quality is very high. The santos rosewood veneer looks great and is really well polished. To my eyes it looks like there’s been a lot of care and attention in building these speakers and the end result is great and certainly lives up to expectations. I think the finish of the speakers is incredibly close to what you would expect when buying from the big commercial brands. One final point about the build quality is the grills - they have been set up with magnets so they attach to the front of the speaker very easily and I even quite like the iQ Speakers logo. I normally don’t like badges but in this case it’s small, discreet and not shiny so turned out ideal.
Now onto the sound. I listened to several different CDs including artists like Karunesh, Craig Armstrong, Lesiem, Ane Brune, Dunedin Consort, Jackson Browne, First Aid Kit, Israel Nash, Sleepthief, Thea Gilmore, Amethystium, Dire Straits and Mike Oldfield. So lots of different kinds of music to hear. In the short time I’ve spent with them have been really impressed. It’s been a delight to sit back and listen to all this music. Everything just seems right and balanced regardless of what music I’m playing. That hasn’t always been in the case in the past with other speakers I’ve used where some have excelled with certain kinds of musics but not others. There’s also a great sense of scale and depth when the volume goes up. Also, the bass was something that was a slight concern prior to trying them out, but it’s turned out fine and seems controlled and powerful without booming which I did experience with some of my other speakers. I do find it hard to descibe how speakers sound but the main thing is I’m delighted with these speakers and believe the money has been well spent.
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