New pair of HPM-900's...

[thutton]

Hello everyone,
First off, I wanted to say thanks to everyone on this board. I've learned so much about audio just by reading various threads on this board. So thank you!

My question is this: I recently purchased a pair of Pioneer HPM-900 speakers. I was super excited to get them home and hook them up to my stereo (the speakers being replaced were a pair of no-name Omega XII's). I hooked them up and played a track, and honestly, I was mildly disappointed. The first thing I noticed was that these speakers were very clear and crisp in the highs and lows, but lacked any and all mids. It sounded like someone had EQ'd it to sound like a disco smile.

So I did an A/B test with my old speakers and noticed that the Omega's had all the mids that the HPM-900's lacked.

Am I missing something? Do all HPM-900's sound this way? Is this a result of older capacitors getting farther from their tolerance? And do these speakers need to be recapped?

Thank You!

 

[avguytx]

Have you confirmed that all the drivers are working namely the mids in the 900's? Are the mid and tweeter level controls working properly or do they need to be cleaned? They do tend to have that "west coast sound" going for them for sure. I have a pair of HPM-100's....still wanting to come across a pair of 900's or 1100's.

 

[dumptruck]

Well... it's certainly possible that they need a recapping, but I wouldn't count on it. Even though I'm not a big fan of the HPM series, my first guess would be that your old speakers had an exceptionally shouty midrange that you've become accustomed to. Got anything else to compare?

You may try putting them on stands (or just moving yourself up, down, and around first to see what's what).

Also check for the too-obvious solutions: set any tone controls on receiver/preamp to neutral, turn off any loudness or other bass boost, etc.