"... pretty costs a lot of time and money."
Indeed it does. In hindsight, I should have finished the bass baffle in Sapele so that at least it looked uniform from the front. Oh well, it's the sonic results that really matter in this case. The whole raison d'etre is simple construction, cheap money and mind-blowing performance. For those wanting more of a challenge and who have deeper pockets, the Ergo series beckon.
I've now spent half the morning listening to the PFM-Specials and can add the following comments.
(1) There is clarity in spades. I'm hearing some things in more detail than the current reference E-IIIs, notably in the mid-band. I think it's a combination of a faster driver and one that is not boxed up. Rim shots and the snap of percussion are certainly more vivid. But this adds a bit of a hard edge to bright recordings, but not offensively so in my opinion. The lower treble quality reminds me of a time I demo'd a pair of Intros, but perhaps not quite as ragged. After all, I have been accustomed to the fluidity and organicity of the best 19mm dome tweeter in the world*.
(2) How they sound depends a lot on what's behind them. There is a fair bit of reflection that happens on the backing wall (not surprisingly given a dipole design), and pulling the blinds closed the sound in a little, making it sound more intimate and more direct. As it is, I have a bookcase between them, but they are around 1m pround of the backing wall - so I'm not sure how consequential that is. I can't be faffed moving the bookcase to find out. What is certain is that these are free-standing designs. The will sound crap in more ways than one when placed hard against the backing wall.
(3) The Vifa 10-inch woofer is amazingly good for the money. It does not go as deep as my current Scan-speak 25W-equipped E-IIIs, but then again it's barely run-in. It does not lack impact to any extent, and is more than capable playing bass tunes that are so easy to follow. More importantly, I can't seem to sense any crossover artefacts. Mind you, I haven't 'measured' them yet - preferring to let my ears judge. The XO as built from careful measurement and modelling seems to be delivering the musical goods.
(4) The rhythmic and timing quality is about as spot on as I can imagine. Certainly on par with the E-IVs and I dare say a little bit more tightly defined than the E-IIIs. The way notes start and decay sounds entirely natural to my ears - very reminiscent of the first time I discovered Naim and realised music can be rather startling. My only reservation is the slight edge that I can hear on, say, John Fogerty's Blue Moon Swamp but not on Jack Johnson's Bushfire Fairytales. I'll give it a week or so of running in before I tweak the XO. But I can honestly say I'm absolutely chuffed with them, and if not for the Ergo series whose aesthetics are much more in keeping with my partner's preferences, I'd be happy to live with them.
(5) The dipole mid does paint a bigger sonic picture, more spacious if you like, but the absolute size of the musical subject is still preserved. I'm not getting mouths that are ten feet wide or a guitar that fills the room. Surprisingly, the localisation of the various instruments is still apparent, but they do play at a bigger venue. I think it's a fair amount of natural reverb going on with the design.
Those that are contemplating the PFM-Special need to know that the most difficult part is routing the driver holes and rebates. If you can do that (or get someone to do that for you), then the rest is a piece of cake. The whole can be built from MDF (except for the upper baffle - where I recommend something stiffer) and very cheaply too. The drivers cost USD318 in for all six (plus shipping), and the XO bits come in at less than USD100. I don't think you could buy anything new or second hand for the money that will touch them. But then, I am biased aren't I?
James
* Hiquphon OW-1
as I like the idea of the open baffle.
