I am considering going the Frugal route speaker wise, but how good are Alpair 10p-Pensils SQ-wise? Will they produce music of a quality that compares to high-priced speakers? Are they good enough to have as ones main speakers when on a budget?
I am a MarkAudio fan. I have several other speakers to compare to them to. I have JBL's, Dynaco's, ADS's, and some very nice DIY speakers. If by high priced you mean high quality, the answer is yes. However, if you like heavy metal/hard rock you might want to look elsewhere. If you like most other types of music, the A10p Pensils should be great. Make sure you break-in the speakers as receommended by the manufacturer.
Mike
Mike
I don't know since without defining your criteria for sound quality, it's not possible to say. The general consensus to date though appears to be that the Pensil 10P is a good example of its general type, and if you're on a budget, they should be well suited for use as main speakers with a few provisos:
1/ The rest of your system is up to it -the 10P is not forgiving of poor amplification, &
2/ You do not wish to listen to Motorhead at ~'live' SPLs. Wideband drive units do not do heavy rock at continuous 100dB+ levels.
As for high-priced speakers, unfortunately that doesn't help a whole lot, since there are a large number of high priced speakers out there in a multitude of types. Some of each are designed well, some are not, others are simply mediocre. A high retail price does not necessarily equate to high performance for a given set of design criteria. Some of the most expensive loudspeakers can (can) be amongst the most ineptly designed.
Well my tastes are more in the direction of Norah Jones, Sinatra, Dylan and the likes at 80 dB in semi-nearfield.
Room size / placement is another factor where the FH and Pensils vary significantly. The horns are deeper and require "breathing" space behind for full expansion of rear output. Pensils occupy less square area, and can be placed much closer to a back wall if space is tight. .
Never underestimate the ability of the room ( and WAF) to influence the design calculus 😀
I could live with either design - well, actually do ( Alpair7s currently) , and rotate them from time to time.
While I've not yet heard 10Ps in Pensils, I'd be confident to say that yes, they can deliver excellent sound quality - whether that meets any particular listener's metric / expectations / performance value judgement is much harder to assess.
Never underestimate the ability of the room ( and WAF) to influence the design calculus 😀
I could live with either design - well, actually do ( Alpair7s currently) , and rotate them from time to time.
While I've not yet heard 10Ps in Pensils, I'd be confident to say that yes, they can deliver excellent sound quality - whether that meets any particular listener's metric / expectations / performance value judgement is much harder to assess.
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I have build the Pensil 10p, and i really like the sound.
I suggest you build a pair, you won't be disappointed!
I suggest you build a pair, you won't be disappointed!
Given the total cost to build a pair of A-10p Pencils, it's one of the most inexpensive experiments one can make in high-end audio.
Though I cannot comment on the A-10p drivers, I have a lot of listening time on the A-7.3 pencils. Once the speakers are tuned and their room positions and the listening position are optimized, they are quite good performers.
And don't think the breakin period is only 100 hours. It took mine several hundred hours to reach their best performance.
Though I cannot comment on the A-10p drivers, I have a lot of listening time on the A-7.3 pencils. Once the speakers are tuned and their room positions and the listening position are optimized, they are quite good performers.
And don't think the breakin period is only 100 hours. It took mine several hundred hours to reach their best performance.
100 hrs takes them to the point where you don't have to worry somuch about how loud you can play them so you can really start to run them in.
dave
I have the 10P's in Pensils. Using tubes and class-d amps. I listen to similar music. Depending on your amp and sources, I think you will be very happy with the SQ. 😉
Not to overstate things, but I believe this to be the most musical and simultaneously the most accurate in terms of inner resolution extraction as any "extended range" transducer of this size and type ever built in its direct radiating bandwidth; above the Fs and all the way past human hearing capabilities (for most practical purposes) in the treble. They also make surprisingly good bass if you listen at realistic levels. They do a fine job at limiting frequencies below the fundamental to limit cone breakup and travel making them a perfect candidate for nearfield listening in smallish rooms with reasonable expectations for volume/dynamic output. With VERY bass heavy material with lots of dynamics there tends to be a bit of breakup when driven slightly beyond what they are capable of and may be a turn-off for those used to a 2-way with a large format woofer.
They do soundstage well considering the size of the driver and limited output level, but I feel it's a more than worthwhile trade-off for the level of intimacy you can achieve with these drivers. Dual loading them as is outlined in many threads with other Alpairs, or sourcing an appropriate woofer in a FAST set-up could potentially give the best of intimacy, inner resolution extraction and dynamics, and dare I say "Holy Grail" speaker. Of course any such pursuit should not be entered into lightly and without realistic expectations of the limitations and possible sound degradation of such configurations.
However, even on their own, with a proper cabinet they can produce adequate SPL levels for most normal listening and with a quality subwoofer the bass output can be augmented to present a wonderful tonal balance overall.
One thing for certain is that you will learn quickly about components upstream and it may sound ridiculous to say this, but these measly little $110/ea. drivers require some substantial gear and forethought upstream as minute changes can result in tremendous gains. Perhaps unlike any transducer of any kind I've yet to encounter.
Put VERY simply, these speakers will almost certainly reveal to you things in the recording you've never heard, will allow you to connect with the music in a way you've probably never experienced before, and will have you pulling out old recordings wondering what they'll sound like on these speakers. To me that's what its really all about!
They do soundstage well considering the size of the driver and limited output level, but I feel it's a more than worthwhile trade-off for the level of intimacy you can achieve with these drivers. Dual loading them as is outlined in many threads with other Alpairs, or sourcing an appropriate woofer in a FAST set-up could potentially give the best of intimacy, inner resolution extraction and dynamics, and dare I say "Holy Grail" speaker. Of course any such pursuit should not be entered into lightly and without realistic expectations of the limitations and possible sound degradation of such configurations.
However, even on their own, with a proper cabinet they can produce adequate SPL levels for most normal listening and with a quality subwoofer the bass output can be augmented to present a wonderful tonal balance overall.
One thing for certain is that you will learn quickly about components upstream and it may sound ridiculous to say this, but these measly little $110/ea. drivers require some substantial gear and forethought upstream as minute changes can result in tremendous gains. Perhaps unlike any transducer of any kind I've yet to encounter.
Put VERY simply, these speakers will almost certainly reveal to you things in the recording you've never heard, will allow you to connect with the music in a way you've probably never experienced before, and will have you pulling out old recordings wondering what they'll sound like on these speakers. To me that's what its really all about!
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Have you done a direct comparison to the Dynaco's? FYI< I found my Scan-Dyna A-25 MKII's, arguably the best ever A-25 variant to be one of the most musical speakers in existence, and I felt strongly enough about the MA Alpair 7's and shortly thereafter the Alpair 10's to sell them, as the MA's were every bit as musical, and to my ears, even more enjoyable AND refined. Almost hard to believe.
Stacey Kent - This Happy Madness (radio edit) from New Album 'The Changing Lights' - YouTube
Would such music be right up their alley?
Would such music be right up their alley?
I suspect rather like Jacqui Naylor, Stacy would be even more enjoyable "in the flesh", so to speak 😉
100% true, in my experience.
With other speakers, I have sometimes struggled to convince myself that I can hear a difference when I make changes in source(s) and/or amplification. Major changes (eg. switching between tubes and Class D) are usually quite obvious, but changing individual components within an amplifier or pre-amp can sometimes only make subtle changes which are not so obvious. With the A10P, these subtle changes come to the forefront in a way that I have not experienced before.
For example, the other day I decided to change the input capacitors on my tube amp. Since it was made in China and I had already replaced some questionable coupling caps and grid return caps (which brought big improvements), I decided to see if I could improve this amp even further. I removed what appeared to be Sprague orange drops and replaced them with equal value WIMA MKP*. The difference in the sound was so dramatic that all 3 females of the household almost simultaneously stated "that sounds bad, really bad." I agreed (talk about smeared mid-highs!!!), but I was confused. Could 2 single components make that much of a difference? Well, I pulled them out and put the orange drops back in (while my dinner got cold) and all the life came back. The next day I decided to try something else; I took some very high quality silver mica caps (of a much lower value) and installed them in parallel with the orange drops. The difference this time was very, very subtle, but not irrelevant. The 3 girls could "sort of" hear a difference, but we all agreed that it was a positive change; as one daughter said "it is just a bit clearer". "Top end sparkle" is what I would say.
For $110 a piece, it is just incredible to me that the A10Ps enable my entire family to hear the subtle differences as described. I never thought this was even possible.
* I think the WIMAs, sourced from e-bay, are almost certainly fakes after my experience with them.
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