Tom Norton | Jun 02, 2006 | First Published: Jun 03, 2006
Hyperion (not to be confused with Aperion) may be a small speaker manufacturer, but expect to hear more from them and about them in the future if their new HPS-968 speakers are any indication of what they're up to. Yes, like most exhibitors at the show, they were demonstrating 2-channel only, and with 35W monoblock tube amps to boot. (I didn't catch the amp brand, but wasn't looking closely at amplifiers at the show). Judging speakers with tube amps if you plan on using them with solid state can be dicey. Apart from any inherent sonic signature the amp may have, the output impedance of many tube designs often interacts with the impedance of a speaker to produce very real frequency response deviations that can be both measured and heard. That's fine if you plan on using tube amps with the speakers (even more appropriate if you plan to use the <I>same</I> tube amp you listened to in the audition), but solid state amps are generally far more neutral in the way they interact with speakers. That's why if I'm auditioning speakers at a show, I prefer that they be driven by a good solid-state amp. Nevertheless, the Hyperion HPS-968s sounded wonderful—in my opinion one of the best sounds at the show. And yes, Hyperion does make both a center channel and smaller models, the latter suitable for use as surrounds.
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True, it's not as cool a user experience as moving holographic frames in midair, like Tom Cruise did in Minority Report. But admit it: You get the slightest thrill when you work a touchscreen. And if that screen just happens to be built into a remote control, well, you feel as finger-empowered as E.T.
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Jacob George has built the Rethm horn loaded speaker for the purist. A single driver system with no crossovers whatsoever. The speaker itself has a sort of wheezer device that almost looks like the tail of a badminton, but the fact that he was getting full range sound out of a single speaker was impressive enough. The speaker is available in two models, with ($9,500/pr) or without ($7,500) the extension (shown) that drops the speaker's low end from about 50 Hz to 38 Hz. It does make you rethink where you're going to put the TV though. With extension careening off the back end, this isn't designed for those living the i-Life.
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