New speaker upgrade

[Andrewjvt]

 Good review, cheers for sharing.?

Sorry to op just wanted to tell you i had a quick listen to k3 last sunday but dont want to derail this thread as its one of the best. Diy speakers very cool

 You can't just leave me hanging like that! *unknw*  *wink* what did you think, what were the speakers used? I'm sure the OP won't mind a slight detour.

I liked the sound very much. Was a quick listen and no serious demo. The most frightening thing was the richer sounds salesman dancing on the spot next to me. Was using focal speakers. From the short time and i compared straight from audiolab 8300 the k3 sounded much better. I liked the sound very much but i cant give any meaningful comparisons as was too short.

Back on topic those ipls look great now the coat is on

 

[radiorog]

Cool! Good to hear your positive comments on it. I agree of course, in that I think it's a great amp. I listen to it, allll the time! *good*

 

[Andrewjvt]

 Cool! Good to hear your positive comments on it. I agree of course, in that I think it's a great amp. I listen to it, allll the time! *good*

Speakers also. I love the dm 2/7s

 

[radiorog]

Cool! Good to hear your positive comments on it. I agree of course, in that I think it's a great amp. I listen to it, allll the time! *good*

Speakers also. I love the dm 2/7s

*biggrin* also good to hear. Yeah, I like them too. I've not heard too many speakers but they are big upgrade from my last £200 speakers. I'd like to hear the focal aria 906, I can imagine they sound good too for similar money. The dm's partner the k3 very well. Warm, detailed, articulate, good bass extension, totally non fatiguing. The k3 gives them the power they like too.

 

[wilro15]

A crossover, yesterday

 

[Andrewjvt]

A crossover, yesterday

Did you fix cross over to back of speaker?

 

[wilro15]

You'd have to ask Colin

 

[jonathanRD]

Hi wilro, out of interest what size room will the STLK's be going into? and how far from the back and side walls will you be placing them.

Longer term, I have my eye on these speakers, so I am interested both in reviews of how they sound but also the size of rooms and their placement. (I am aware of the recommended room sizes)

 

[wilro15]

My room is 12 foot wide and about 25 foot long. The speakers shoot down the long end of the room and I sit about half way along (its one long room, half is a sitting area while the other half is a dining room). The speakers will be able to have about 50-80cm behind and on either side. They will likely be about 2 metres apart.

 

[jonathanRD]

My room is 12 foot wide and about 25 foot long. The speakers shoot down the long end of the room and I sit about half way along (its one long room, half is a sitting area while the other half is a dining room). The speakers will be able to have about 50-80cm behind and on either side. They will likely be about 2 metres apart.

My room is 12 foot wide and 15 foot long with very similar speaker placement so I will be interested to hear how you get on.

 

[FennerMachine]

After demoing many speakers and amps I ended up buying an Abrahamsen V2.0UP amp followed by a pair of IPL S2TLK's from IQ Speakers for my 11'5" x 12'8" room.

I've had the speakers for about 3 months.

Due to their scale and overall balance I could not go smaller now.

I tried the 8” stand mounts but they were too much for my small room. Recommend demoing them for anyone with a large room though! They were definitely fun.

I forgot to update my thread about demoing new speakers from about 5 months ago as I've not visited this forum as much since owning these.

Hopefully no one minds me putting this here as my thread is ancient now?

I'll have to do a detailed review sometime in a new thread.

Short(ish) version:

I am not planning on demoing any new speakers as I have no need or desire to.

Every speaker has compromises but these have the least out of many that I have demoed and owned over about 20 years.

They are so easy to listen to, like speakers that have a soft or recessed treble, but they retain the detail of in-your-face over-bright speakers. Difficult to put into words, they need to be heard to understand. They seem to take all the strengths of good speakers at opposite ends of presentation and merge them into one.

This sometimes makes them seem dull in comparison to systems I've previously owned, but then I remember most other speaker/amp combinations I've heard become fatiguing after a while, or so warm they lose detail, then smile at what I have. I could listen to music all day with these.

Bass is as good or better than it should be for their size. I didn’t like the idea if transmission line speakers as I demoed a popular brand before and they had bass issues. Something just sounded wrong. These IPL's do not have that issue. They go low and are very controlled. Very natural sounding.

I can turn my amp up with no strain or hardening of treble at all, they just keep giving, and the balance stays even from bass through mid range to treble.

Highly recommended.

 

[paulkebab]

I have the slightly bigger S4tl and sometimes I have to cut the bass back a bit, sometimes push the treble up a bit hence my choice of the Vincent amp; sometimes the bass disappears into an area behind me so I might have to go a bit smaller with the speakers and the S2TLK might just be the ones. The cabinet size is slightly lower so would bring the (excellent) tweeter almost bang in line with my ears. As you say they (IPL speakers) are so easy to listen to regardless of output so it's not an urgent matter, but I appreciate your comments.

 

[wilro15]

The speakers are now ready, I will hopefully pick them up tomorrow or the day after. I have been without a HiFi for a week now, since I sold my Tannoys, and it feels like an eternity!

 

[Andrewjvt]

The speakers are now ready, I will hopefully pick them up tomorrow or the day after.  I have been without a HiFi for a week now, since I sold my Tannoys, and it feels like an eternity!

I know how you feel since ive also sold my kefs for the same reasons. The finish looks great btw.. i thought you were building them your self lol

 

[wilro15]

How come you are moving on from your Kefs? I used to own the LS50s about a year or so ago.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

How come you are moving on from your Kefs? I used to own the LS50s about a year or so ago.

nise speakers by the way*smile*

 

[Andrewjvt]

How come you are moving on from your Kefs? I used to own the LS50s about a year or so ago.

They are good speakers (r700) but imo not great. I listened to atc scm40s a few months ago and need a more dynamic sound.

 

[wilro15]

As promised here is an update on my new speakers (IPL S2TLK) which I have had for 9 days now. I made the journey back to Cheltenham to iQ to pick them up. Spent some time chatting with Colin (lovely bloke) and listening to my new speakers. They looked and sounded the part but I was keen to get them home.

My system is as follows: Bluesound Node -> (toslink) -> Monarchy Audio DIP Classic -> (digital rca) -> Metrum Octave mk.1 -> (rca) -> Roksan Caspian M2 integrated. Cables are cheapies such as Fisual, QED and Atlas.

I'll cut to the chase and say that I am very happy with them! They have a much more balanced sound than my Tannoys I had before, sounding much more natural. There is very good bass extension, but it just slots in with the rest of the music without overloading the room. Detail levels are high, without brightness. Compared to my Tannoys they sound more precise, more intricate and are easier to listen to for long periods.

They are less sensitive than the Tannoys so I need a bit more gain, but I don't listen at very high levels so this isn't an issue. Here are some pics:

 

[wilro15]

This forum software is stupid. It is rotating all of these images automatically and the rotate button doesn't work so I can't rotate them back. Sorry if you have to tilt your head a bit!

 

[jonathanRD]

Looks great!

Definately on my wish list, although I still can't decide what colour/veneer I would choose?

 

[Andrewjvt]

Rosewood vaneer?

 

[steve_1979]

I'm not sure about the yellow driver but they do look really smart with the grills on. Glad you're enjoying them.

 

[wilro15]

Thanks guys. The veneer is Macassar Ebony.

I wasn't sure about the yellow drivers either initially, but actually really like them now they are setup in my house.

I chose the aluminium outrigger feet instead of the black plinth that most other people seem to have.

 

[Andrewjvt]

Thanks guys.  The veneer is Macassar Ebony.

I wasn't sure about the yellow drivers either initially, but actually really like them now they are setup in my house. 

I chose the aluminium outrigger feet instead of the black plinth that most other people seem to have.

I love those outriggers