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Regret buying new speakers -old ones better

growla666

Active Member
How many of you have read endless reviews on a piece of kit, taken the plunge and gone and bought it only to get it home, spend hours setting things up, stick on your favourite piece of music and then your heart sinks when you realise kit has taken a real step back.... only this time that's a £2350 mistake. Luckily I haven't sold my old speakers yet so can return to them it's just I want the new ones to be better than they are DAMN! I've got some Hyperion HPS938s and they just don't sound as good as my ATC SCM40s. What next. Nothing else has changed. Less bass (despite bigger cabinets and drivers), midrange not as lucid and there's just something not quite right about them. They sounded very good at the guys place I bought them from except he has more furnishings and a slighty bigger room and was using a hefty Music Fidelity integrated vs my pre/power combo. Options are change the jumpers, change the speaker cable, use my Yaqin valve amp in place of my Krell/Audio Research combo. Anyone got any other ideas? Help......
 
it sounds like you bought them used, so hopefully you can recover your costs.

the room itself lends itself so much to sound, it sounds like he has a great sounding room - your ATC's may have sounded even better than the Hyperion's in there - according to your tastes of course.

Myself, I don't like ATC speakers - but you are not listening with my tastes!

" back to ebay " with them I'd say, and try something else used..

maybe some bigger/active ATCs if you like what they do?
 
I was in the same boat, purchased a used pair of the well reviewed PMC FB1+ to keep the wife happy. After three months of trying to get on with them I realised I had made a big mistake and got shut. Putting my old Snell J/111s back in the system restored the music.
 
I know back to bay sounds obvious. But I only got them last night and it'll take me a while to sell them again. That's the easy option so I'm going to try and improve the room by getting some acoustic tiles/traps and dampers in. The mid range is really hard and shouty....and the bass doesn't extend as well as the atcs which is surprising given the bigger cabinets and bass drivers....
 
Yeah bought them used, good value, beautiful looking and in the right room they sound fab, just not I my room....
 
Going through this myself. Trying to get up the will to sell my "better" new speakers and go back to the old ones, which while not as "good" are much more enjoyable. New ones have a nice wood finish so this isn't easy.
 
have you contacted the distributor to get their thoughts on ideal set up / matching etc to see if there is anything obvious?
 
The Hyperions need a much bigger room to breathe than the 40's. The 40's will play in an average room, the Hyperions need more space.

And they do sound hard towards the top end.
 
The Hyperions need a much bigger room to breathe than the 40's. The 40's will play in an average room, the Hyperions need more space.

And they do sound hard towards the top end.

Yes they are hard at the top which is surprising as the ATCs are not exactly what you call smooth. Thhing is I heard them sound just that, smooth, at the sellers house....maybe it's the krell, too hard and not a good match with them....what do you think SQ?
 
I've had the SCM40's at home and I must say your comments regarding the bass surprise me. It's no criticism of the 40's, but the bass isn't particularly extended - would certainly expect the Hyperions to have greater extension (and quantity).
 
Give them some time. You've only had them in for a day.

You've been comfortable with and familiar with a certain presentation from the ATCs.

Sometimes, it just takes time to acclimate to and appreciate another presentation. And, in some cases, "get" the new presentation.

You will not know until you've given your speakers, the adjustments you make to your system / room, and yourself some time.

Even if you don't go with them, you will have learned a lot about your preferences through the experience. Worth so much more than the slight loss you might take reselling.
 
I always feel I know if a new piece has the potential to work or not after a few tracks. Especially a used piece that's already been broken in.

I've tried to force a new piece to work by changing a lot of things just to make it fit. In the end, the result wasn't what I set out to achieve in the first place. It made sense at the time, but hind sight is 20/20.

I will however say that Krell has always sounded harsh and cold to my ears. I haven't heard Hyperions before, so I can't say what is the root cause. Did your ATCs hint at this before? They're a very revealing speaker that doesn't make excuses for anything. Maybe the Hyperions and the Krell both have the trait that's just too much together?

Take a look at placement and room acoustics as well. That's always the most important component IMO.
 
Give them some time. You've only had them in for a day.

You've been comfortable with and familiar with a certain presentation from the ATCs.

Sometimes, it just takes time to acclimate to and appreciate another presentation. And, in some cases, "get" the new presentation.

You will not know until you've given your speakers, the adjustments you make to your system / room, and yourself some time.

Even if you don't go with them, you will have learned a lot about your preferences through the experience. Worth so much more than the slight loss you might take reselling.

yes you're right, have now got used to the sound and have swapped out the krell for an Usher R1.5 amp. What a sound they make. awesome!:)
 
I find it hard to believe you have managed a downgrade from the atc's

You must have looked long and hard to find those
 


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