Pipedreams... Any thoughts?

Yes, those are the "baby" Pipedreams at Holm. I thought they sounded pretty good when i listened to them. One thing that i did note was that the system was FAR superior with the Electrocompaniet CD player as a source instead of the Sony SCD-1. Much more musical. Sean >

I have heard the PipeDreams at an acquaintence home and 4 different locations at the most recent CES. 2 of the 4 were set up by the PipeDream folks. In all five cases, the speaker sounded awful..I am talking about really, really bad.. Zero image specificity, vocals were wrong and the sub does not integrate with the mains. I sure don't see what the rush is all about. There are many, many, many speakers on the market that cost way less than PipeDreams and are much, much better.

Nearfield Acoustics Pipedreams systems were in three rooms at CES,not four. With Plinius/Siltech, with VAC/VPI, and with Wadia. We remain in contact with every Nearfield customer and are curious about your private listening experience.

I have owned Model 15 Pipedreams (6' main towers and 2 subwoofer modules) since July of 1999. At that time, when I purchased them, they were the finest, most musically correct transducers I had the pleasure to experience and, based on what I have listened to since, they remain so. They are no more difficult to install and set-up correctly than any multi-piece speaker system. In fact, because of the ingenious active low pass/ passive high pass cross-over that accompanies each system, they are, in fact, easier to place than most multi-piece systems. Therefore, it would be difficult for me to believe that the "awful" sounds you experienced from the 5 installations you "heard" all suffered from improper installation and set-up. The only other plausible reason I can think of for your unfortunate experience is that you are deaf. Fortunately, you have found the Audiogon site and can post your audio system for sale since you won't be needing it any more due to your regretful hearing impairment. If, however, this condition is only temporary I cordially invite you, the next time you are in Northern Ohio, to contact me via email. I would be more than happy to demonstrate the prodigious capabilities of the Pipedreams, properly set-up, in a relaxed and comfortable environment, my home. That is assuming you are capable of hearing (and feeling) sounds in the range of 18hz to 17kHz (approximately). I offer the same "therapy" to anyone else who might be suffering from a similar malady as Cg70754

I don't know about Cg70754 and his Agenda or hearing. While I believe the Pipedreams are the best speakers I have heard ( and I have heard them many times and under numerous conditions), I have NEVER heard them sound Awful. What disturbs me about this post is the claim that they sounded awful in all 5 cases. Very few high-end loudspeakers sound awful, especially on 5 different occasions. 5 complete groups can't discern awful sound, but, Cg70754 can. This is pure BS. I heard the the Pipedreams in 3 rooms shared at CES 2001 with 3 manufacturers - 1) Plinius ( also at CES 2000) 2) VAC & 3) Wadia- wonderful sound in all 3 rooms- Can none of those manufacturers hear "awful"????