Albert's post begs the following question....
What were the decision drivers behind the HPS-938 changes? It doesn't sound to me like this is entirely different speaker model, but rather an upgrade that is being designated by the letter W. |
I went to a dealer to listen to a pair of seasoned 938 and came home well impressed; no wonder all the raves here by 938 owners.
The dealer said the retail for the 938 is $4500 but have to wait till late Feb for stocks. Well, that gives me time to get rid of my old Thiels!
I also enquired about the 938W and the retail price is $6000. The dealer said that the 938W is a seperate model in itself. |
Albert, if you are following this post, does the new 938W replace the 938? If so, is the price the same? If not, what are the prices? |
Thank you for posting Albert. I was pretty sure the woofer compliment WAS different on the 938W over the 938 you played for us in NYC in May of 2004. |
Dear Audiophiles,
I am Albert Wu. First of all, I would like to thank you all on behave of Hyperion for your continuous help and support. The purpose of this posting is only to clear some questions raised in this thread.
As shown in the our website, products we introduced in the CES 2005 were the followings,
1. New product, 3 way full range speakers, HPS-938W in Bird-eye Maple wood veneer with 8” aluminum woofer drivers. (The one reviewed by Avguide.com, 6moons.com, enjoythemusic.com and shown in HE 2004 is HPS-938).
2. New Product, BEC-MONO (Solid State Mono Block)
3. New Product, BEC-P25T (Pure Tube Pre-amp)
4. New Product, network speaker cables, NS-250
5. New Product, BP-200 (Balanced Power Cord)
6. Demo CD player, TL 51 Z from CEC
These products basically represent all the design concepts and ideas that Hyperion has developed for the high-end audio industry. They are brand new for the show.
We have redesigned the cabinet and the woofer driver for HPS-938W, and in addition to the metal spike footings, we also added an option of a wider cast-iron footing set for HPS-938W. The total weight of HPS-938W is nearly 60 lb more than HPS-938. The aluminum woofer provides a lower base extension, but reduces the volume about 1dB.
The CD player (TL 51 Z) from CEC is a great player for the money in our opinion. We basically share this product with you.
Hopefully, the editor is okay with my posting. Many thanks to your enthusiasm. As always, enjoy your music.
Albert Wu |
Hi Folks. My customer service experience with Hyperion was very positive. I had a midrange driver that needed replacing in a 938 very early in the break-in process. Yep it happens to the best of them.
Hyperion "overnighted" a complete replacement upper cabinet at their expense. Practically zero down time and no questions asked. I then shipped the old cabinet back using the return label provided.
This is what I'd expect from a vendor and Hyperion delivered without pause.
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I stopped by and listened for a while
They appear to use all new equipment for the demo - new tube preamp, new monoblocks and new speakers, I tried to check these out on their website but no details are available yet.
I also remember the demo guy saying that the bass drivers of the 938W are aluminium as opposed to the graphite ones on the piano black 938s, supposedly to give a better lower freqeuncy response.
I think the sound is still very raw but the traits of great speakers are there - soundstaging, depth and amazingly fast response. I'll definitely pop by a dealer to take a serious listen. If the piano black version can perform as well, I think $4500 is a great bargain. |
Dlwask, you brought up a good point. The electronics could be the cause. Who knows? |
Nobody seems to be mentioning the electronics they were being driven with? If I am not mistaken it was Hyperions own line. I'm sure this had a little to do with their lean sound and slightly accentuated treble. |
Joe, no, they look EXACTLY the same to me. I think the fact that they are in veneer as opposed to black lacquer really changes the look.
One of my big concerns with the speaker has always been the driver. This is probably why I know the drivers are the same as we saw last year - I REALLY focused on them. While the idea is certainly novel, I worry about buying this sort of technology from a company with their track record in terms of customer/dealer service. When the drivers need to be rebuilt down the road (and they ALL need this at some point), who will we turn to? Hopefully, Hyperion will be successful, and be around then. |
From the looks of things at this year's CES, the Hyperion speaker shown by Albert Wu is VASTLY different in looks and drivers than the one I listened to and spoke so highly of in an earlier thread here.
The bass drivers shown at CES are different (different looking anyway) than the drivers in the piano black 938 that were playing in NY in May. |
Fatparrot, it's Hyperion Audio HPS-938.
Honest1, I also felt the same. From the buzz on AgoN, I was expecting to wowed! However, there appeared to be an uneveness (imbalance) in the frequency response. The trebble seemed accentuated (a little bit honky & horn-y :-)). There was also a bit of suck-out in the midrange.
To be fair, the HPS-938 were fast and dynamic. Perhaps, the demo pair was not broken-in. I would like to listen to them again, but a broken-in pair. |
Geez, catch-up Fatparrot! : ) |
What Hyperion model are you talking about? Obviously, not the Rockport Hyperions! |
I heard them, expecting a lot from what were supposed to be $4500 giant killers. $4500 is not cheap, and I didn't think they sounded very good, even if they had been $2000 speakers. |
I heard them and thought they sounded very good expecially for the price. The model shown had more than just the upgraded wood finish. The bass drivers are different, included are the feet with spikes plus the bass module weighs about 20 lbs more than the $4500 standard model. The price difference is $1500 between the two models. |
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I heard them. $2000 upcharge for some wood veneer...youch! |
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