IPL Acoustics S5TL

[Ali Tait]

Ever since I moved I've never gotten the Bastanis to sound as good as they did in the old place- frustrating as they did sound great. This led to some online searching for something I liked the look of, and I came across these on Facebook Marketplace at a decent price, so I thought they were worth a punt.


https://i.imgur.com/P5snzaq.jpg



A pair of IPL's top speaker kit. Cabinets are well made but looked pretty rough (they look better in the photos than in reality)-



https://i.imgur.com/S0fyGYZ.jpg


These are a large transmission line design using good quality Hi Vi drivers- 10" paper/kevlar woofer, 4" aluminium/magnesium mid and a ribbon tweeter. 91db efficient too, so will work with a wide range of amps. I'm currently using them with an SM70 Pro and this is a great sounding combo, in fact the best sound I've had at home so far (better than with the Krell..). These seem to have it all- they image like a good static, and when it's there they pack a massive punch in the bass, but don't sound one note-ish or have much in the way of boxy colouration.


Only downside was the way they looked, so I had a word with Colin Topps. Colin has retired from speaker building, but will still do occasional jobs for friends if they ask nicely, and I was pleased he was willing to take these on for a re-veneer and also some new crossovers in separate boxes which I'm hoping will make them sound even better- the standard components are pretty basic fare.

I think Colin has wrought a minor miracle, he just sent me some photos of the first veneer job-

https://i.imgur.com/O3yVN9k.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/RoCUfDF.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/CUey9nV.jpg

Looking forward to getting these back.

[walpurgis]

Looking good Ali. Interesting speakers.

[Ali Tait]

Cheers Geoff, didn't really expect them to be as good as they are.

[walpurgis]

I'd put some fine mesh or gauze over the ports to avoid getting loads of spiders making their homes inside :).

[Macca]

Monster bass on the smaller ones so those must be able to bring the world to an end. Looks first class with the new veneer.

[Ali Tait]

I'd put some fine mesh or gauze over the ports to avoid getting loads of spiders making their homes inside :).

Yeah I had the same thought. :-)

[Ali Tait]

Monster bass on the smaller ones so those must be able to bring the world to an end. Looks first class with the new veneer.

Aye the bass is err authoritative lol.

[walpurgis]

Aye the bass is err authoritative lol.

Half a lifetime ago I heard the ESS AMT-1 Tower speakers at an exhibition. They also used a ten inch driver in a 1/4 wave T/L box about the same size, they were truly devastating through the bass! Sounded damn fine anyway with the Heil driver at the top.

[Boyse6748]

Aye the bass is err authoritative lol.

As you may already know, or not. I have had and built these speakers (as supplied) and I can confirm, they are indeed superb, as supplied. ( I wish I hadn’t sold them) a speaker I wish I still owned.

As usual, a top class job, and the benefit of external crossovers.

All I can say is ENJOY [emoji4]


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[Ali Tait]

Half a lifetime ago I heard the ESS AMT-1 Tower speakers at an exhibition. They also used a ten inch driver in a 1/4 wave T/L box about the same size, they were truly devastating through the bass! Sounded damn fine anyway with the Heil driver at the top.

Would like to hear those, never heard the ESS tweeter. A friend on another forum swears by his pair.

[Ali Tait]

As you may already know, or not. I have had and built these speakers (as supplied) and I can confirm, they are indeed superb, as supplied. ( I wish I hadn’t sold them) a speaker I wish I still owned.

As usual, a top class job, and the benefit of external crossovers.

All I can say is ENJOY [emoji4]


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Cheers Peter, I shall. :-)

[Covenant]

Sadly, IPL Acoustics are no longer trading as Ivan has retired. I still have mine and think they are a fine pair of speakers.
Ali, the finish on your speakers looks superb. I suppose Colin removed the veneer before applying new, is that right? Mine are probably similar in terms of finish.

[Ali Tait]

Jerry yes that’s correct, then he rounded off the front edges so that the veneer wraps in one piece horizontally from one back corner to the other. Makes for a more seamless look.

For anyone interested, the veneer is Decoflex crown-cut Oak. You can see a pair of Colin’s speakers behind mine in the same veneer that are three years old and still look good as new, so it’s a good quality veneer that I know is durable.

[Ali Tait]

Some more progress- matching external crossover boxes-

https://i.imgur.com/5uUrZWj.jpg

[Macca]

The tweeters look to be a bit low down, is that an issue?

[Boyse6748]

The tweeters look to be a bit low down, is that an issue?As said previously, I have built and owned these superb speakers, and high frequency imaging was not an issue. Even though the tweeter appears to be low.

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[Ali Tait]

I thought the same gents, I bought a set of 70’s short stands on castors, these bring the tweeters up to to the right height (big black bases came with the speakers and are part of the original design- sand filled)

https://i.imgur.com/kLaCuVr.jpg

[Macca]

looks ideal.

[Ali Tait]

Yeah does the job.

[Ali Tait]

Colin just sent some more photos of progress. Crossover boxes now complete and wired up-

https://i.imgur.com/noo6v8e.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/qZnzam2.jpg

[Boyse6748]

Colin just sent some more photos of progress. Crossover boxes now complete and wired up-

https://i.imgur.com/noo6v8e.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/qZnzam2.jpg

Very nice Ali,

Hope the crossover can go behind the speakers though……

Very envious all the same. (Top Job), “ Sorry not a pun” [emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]


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[Ali Tait]

It can do if I rewire it. I agreed this way with Colin.

[Boyse6748]

It can do if I rewire it. I agreed this way with Colin.When you get fed with them, there's a home here. [emoji537] [emoji2956][emoji2956]

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[Ali Tait]

Lol, I’ll keep that in mind.

[Ali Tait]

Just back from Colin's place with the new speakers. Having seen them in person I couldn't be happier, he's done a superb job with these. Crossovers were rebuilt with Mills resistors and Mundorf Evo and Evo in Oil caps. Original inductors were retained.

https://i.imgur.com/Q3tioF3.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/7Wsi3ai.jpg

[brian2957]

They look fantastic mate. Hope they sound as good as they look :)

[Ali Tait]

Thanks mate, yes I agree. Haven't heard them at home yet, will be back tomorrow, and the crossovers will need to run in, but they sounded great listening at Colin's before we packed them up.

[struth]

indeed ali, they look superb, and i bet they will sound so too.

[Ali Tait]

They sounded great before, should be even better after running in.

Colin’s other half said there was a lot of swearing involved lol.

[struth]

They sounded great before, should be even better after running in.

Colin’s other half said there was a lot of swearing involved lol.

:D sounds about right... what have i created???

[Boyse6748]

Thanks mate, yes I agree. Haven't heard them at home yet, will be back tomorrow, and the crossovers will need to run in, but they sounded great listening at Colin's before we packed them up.

Looking fabulous Ali [emoji106][emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]

Crossover run in time 50+ hours[emoji30]


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[Ali Tait]

Won’t take long, I’ll run them on the telly every night. :-)

[Boyse6748]

Won’t take long, I’ll run them on the telly every night. :-)

[emoji1787][emoji23][emoji16]


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[brian2957]

Aye, keep us posted on these, they look a bit special :)

[Ali Tait]

Will do mate.

[Pepperamip]

The veneer job on those look first rate. That will last decades.

I used mills wire wounds and the not so expensive mundorfs on my crusaders recently. Really made a noticeable difference.

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[Ali Tait]

Decided I liked them enough to spend a bit more, so replaced all the Mills with Pathaudio hand made resistors. Really has made an improvement, this is by far the best sound I’ve had at home. Will leave them alone for a while now, then look at some really nice caps for the mid and top, Miflex copper foil maybe. Liked them on the Bastanis.

[Pepperamip]

Those miflex caps got recommended to me for the treble and seeing the cost of them made my eyes water.

Would like to hear them on a set of speakers out of interest though. Surely diminishing returns comes into play on crossovers at some point?

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[Ali Tait]

Yes of course, but to my mind, if you have a pair of speakers you like well enough, it’s worth trying to get the best out of them. I’ve used Miflex on the tweeter of my Bastanis, so I know they are very good.

[sailor]

Nice looking rebuild. Care to share your findings when replacing Mills with Path resistors.

[Ali Tait]

Not much time on them yet, but I felt it was an improvement, finer detail coming through and a bit more open sound.

[sailor]

Interesting, thanks